HEREDIA, COSTA RICA TEL: +506-238-3241 E-mail: res@casaholanda.com Webpage: www.casaholanda.com
YOUR NEWSLETTER MAY / JUNE 2007

In This Issue: Cuarteto UNA May Concert Violinist, Saúl Bitrán stays at CH The Performing Arts in Costa Rica 101 Melico Salazar: CR's Famous Tenor Our Hummingbirds at CH From the Kitchen: CH's Chili Recipe		Link Back to the Newsletter Directory Link to the Casa Holanda Homepage Link to CR's Dept. of Art Administration Link to CR's National Theater Link to Teatro Melico Salazar Link to Cafe Britt Teatro Dionisio Link to Cuarteto Latinoamericano (Saúl Britrán)
Photo of the Month: A candid shot of Álvaro Gonzalez, playing with his string quartet in concert at Casa Holanda.		¡Saludos Amigos! Keeping in line with themes, since Casa Holanda is involved with Costa Rica's Art, Theater and Music scenes, it is only fitting to have an edition dedicated to the classical music scene here in Costa Rica. For such a small country Costa Rica does seem to have a lot going on. A very vibrant dedication to the Arts, which reflects many talented and creative people it has and continues to produce. We will leave all the wonderful jazz and Latin pop here to the promoters. This newsletter will lead you to the country's concert halls that will delight your ears and satisfy your intellect.

Cuarteto UNA Gives Concert at Casa Holanda Quarteto UNA playing Shostakovich's "Ghosts of the War" at Casa Holanda's Sunday concert (Left to Right: Guido Calvo, Peter Ostermann, Patricia Gonzalez, and Alvaro Gonzalez) Although this rainy season as been really rainy thanks to "La Niña," Sunday's concert stayed dry for invitees listening to fabulous music performed by the new string quartet, Cuarteto UNA. Guido Calvo and Peter Nitsche Ostermann covered the violins, with Patricia Gonzalez on viola, and Alvaro Gonzalez on cello. All of the artists in this group consist of musicians who are, or have played, with the Costa Rican National Symphony, and are professors at the nearby Universidad Nacional (or UNA). The string quartet is in residence at the university and thus, their name. On the program were two contrasting pieces, Dmitri Shostakovich's powerful "Ghosts of the War" for string quartet and Franz Schubert's String Quintet, which the ensemble left the audience astounded. Many commented that acoustic music sounds so much better live than in a recording.  During intermission, guests were invited to our refreshments table with Casa Holanda's home-made chili and zuccini bread." Special thanks to Cuarteto UNA for adding to our concert series. Renowned Violinist, Saúl Bitrán stays at Casa Holanda Casa Holanda was privileged to be the host to violinist Saul Bitrán, member of the Grammy nominated, and award-winning string quartet, Latinoamericano, from Mexico. The quartet consists of the three Bitrán brothers (Saúl, Arón and Alvaro) and violist Javier Montiel. It was formed in 1982 and has been concertizing all over the world ever since to enthusiastic reviews from "The Washington Post," "The Los Angeles Times," and others. Mr. Bitrán was here in Costa Rica in May to conduct a week long master class at UNA's School of Music in coordination with Cuarteto UNA. During some of his scarce, free time he honored me by reading through my Violin Sonanta. Quite clearly a master at the violin, in the first time through, he made the piece jump to life. His playing demands immediate attention from the tone and passion he puts into his playing. If Cuarteto Latinoamericano performing in your city, you will be in for an exciting concert. Click on this link to go to Cuarteto Latinoamericano's website.   The Performing Arts in Costa Rica 101: A Foreigner's Viewpoint One of the reasons why I moved to Costa Rica was the apparent devotion the country has to classical music. Their National Theater is a work of art in itself, and host consistently quality concerts. The people here love music, and are highly creative. Talented musicians live and work here, and native composers works are impressive and profound. The government, large banks, and universities support with Arts with a budget set aside for them. That is the good news! The bad news is the government, large banks, and public institutions support the Arts with a budget set aside for them. Therefore, an emphasis is placed on performance of only the "war horses" of classical music.  If only to prove that Costa Rica is worthy of inclusion into that "club of the cultural", often at the expense of new works and very talented composers who are Costa Rican. There are those occasions, however, that new music is featured, although few and far between in the favor of Beethoven, Verdi, or Puccini. Many touring companies come to Costa Rica and fill in these gaps. Another drawback in the music scene is the lack of communication and proper arts administrative organization.  Everyone seems to be doing their "own" thing and not open to colaborating with others. If there is a successful program, people will jealously guard their local talent, or conveniently put obstacles in the way so their talent will not be available for other work. Also there is no directory of musicians available, either print or on the Internet. Many artists do not have a webpage and unless you know the right person, there is no way to contact Costa Rican artists directly. This is to everybody's disadvantage, preventing artists from getting more work and productions falling by the way-side because the artists are not contactable. However, back to more positive aspects, unlike New York City, affordable venues (or concert halls) do abound. Talent here is affordable. With even a little substantial money, an ensemble can find places to perform. Here are the major ones: the National Theater for opera, dance, the symphony and choral works; Teatro Melico Salizar, for more large-scale and popular, and theater productions; Teatro Mozart (Zapote), for more smaller works; Jazz Cafe (San Jose, San Pedro district); the Cafe Britt Theater for Music, Film and Theater (Brittespressivo, Heredia); The Municipal Teater of Alajuela (Teatro Municipal de Alajuela); The Little Theater (Escazu), for community theater in English; the National Dance Theater (Teatro de la Danza, San Jose), and the theater in the National Children's Museum. Significant music festivals are: The Credomatic Music Festival (Festival de Musica Credomatic, August, various locations, free concerts offered), Festival of the Arts (Held in a different town every year); and the Jazz Festival at the Cafe Britt Theater (Brittespressivo, Heredia, August); and the San Jose Street Music Festival (Fiesta de la Musica San Jose, June). All in all, a person from New York could move to Costa Rica and still have the ability to satisfy their cultural apetite. What is more important, is that Costa Rica has the concert infrastructure, the audience, and the international traffic to deserve a real, substantial patronage of the arts, either from foundations or individual donors. It would be well worth your investment, to be able to create something great.   Melico Salazar: Costa Rica's Famous Dramatic Tenor Manuel "Melico" Salazar Zúñiga (January 3, 1887 - August 6, 1950) was, and still is, Costa Rica's most famous dramatic tenor. He was raised in Cartago and his family eventually moved to Turin Italy where he would meet his wife. They had no children. Salazar's star began to rise as he sang and tour around Latin America in the 1910's. Receiving rave reviews and known for the power of his voice and his high notes, he championed the famous dramatic tenor roles in the contemporary operas of his time, Caballería Rusticana and Pagliacci. He repertoire was extensive, however, with roles in operas by Verdi, Bizet, and Donizetti. As early as 1913, he had his debut in New York with the San Carlo opera company and later accepted the position of principal tenor with the Lambardi Opera Company which toured primarily the United States. In 1919 he sang the tenor role of Ramedes (Verdi's Aída) in a spectacle in Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn where there was a crowd of 60,000 people. Once again he received excellent reviews from the critics. In the early 1920's probably the most recognized name in opera died, Caruso, and there was a scramble to find his successor. While singing in Italy, Salazar was discovered by an agent from New York's Metropolitan Opera (then in the old theater on 38th Street), and accepted a contract where he was in good company of all the famous tenors of the time, such as Gigli. He was the tenor of choice for many special productions in New York. In 1937, Salazar returned permanently to Costa Rica, even made a cameo appearance in an obscure 1940's movie with Caesar Romero and Celeste Holmes filmed in San Jose. On December 13, 1981 the San Jose's Popular Theater was renamed the Melico Salazar in honor of one of Costa Rica's most famous sons. The newly renovated Melico Salazar Theater in San Jose, Costa Rica   Our Hummingbirds at Casa Holanda The shiny, jewel-like quality of the hummingbirds at Casa Holanda melts into the lush greenery of the garden. When you think of Costa Rica, many people think of the many hummingbirds. When I purchased the house, the garden had been seriously neglected. They planted a lot of non-blooming shade plants, but I changed all that. With verbena and a wild passion flower, I managed to finally attract the little critters. We also have 3 feeders filled with nectar for them to enjoy. These birds seem so magical with their jewel-like feather and their miniature bodies. The hummingbirds in Costa Rica will rest and not keep flying like those in North America. Also they squeak and chirp here, coming in some pretty big sizes. Unfortunately for me, hummingbirds are very territorial, and one is very possessive of our garden flowers and feeder. But just yesterday a hummingbird war has begun and now 5 of them are fighting over it. I've seen them very often chase off birds twice their size as well. The sparrow family is afraid of them, and so I moved seed feeder a little farther away from the battles. They are attracted by bright red objects. Many times when I take lunch in the garden, the hummingbird will fly very close as if wanting to talk, but they are thinking there is nectar in the coffee cups. In the beginning, I bought the nectar from a pet supply place, but when they had run out of the $4 red, strawberry kind and had a clear nectar for $8, I said 'no more.' I want to share with you this recipe for home-made nectar. It's simple and cost around 2 cents to make. I can vouch it is a huge hit with the residents. The red on the feeder is enough to attract them and when they remember they have had a good experience, they come back over and over again. Do not use anything by white sugar. Boiling kills any contaminants in the sugar or water and is essential or else you will harm them instead of feeding them. Casa Holanda's Home-made Hummingbird Nectar (Excess nectar can be stored in a refrigerator up to 1 week) 1/2 cup of white sugar 2 cups of tap water Clean feeder with soap and water. Rinse thoroughly to get any soap residue off. Warm the water in a medium sized pot, add the sugar, and then bring the mixture to a soft boil for at least 2 minutes and not more than 3. Leave partly covered and let mixture cool thoroughly. Pour into the clean feeder, not putting too much. If a lot of nectar is left after a week, adjust the amount as necessary so that it will be almost gone by week's end. Wash feeder frequently.   From the Kitchen: Casa Holanda's Chili Recipe Straight from the tea party in Alice in Wonderland, I served chili in this to our guests at the concert. Also pictured is the "scotch bonnet" pepper (the little red pepper), and the mugwort herb (the sprig), which you will need for this recipe. Some things I guess you just take for granted. I confess that Chili has been one of them. Wanting to serve something that is inexpensive, everybody likes and will serve a lot people, you can serve this dish with tortillas, over rice, practically anything. So many guests commented on it, that I thought I should give out the recipe. Interestingly enough chili can also be called 'Ragu'. Casa Holanda's Chili (Serves 6, can be stored in refrigerator) 1 large iron skillet 1 large sauce pot 2 cups of red kidney beans 2 15 oz. cans of peeled tomatoes WITHOUT SALT 1/2 lb. of fresh ground beef 1 large onion 1 large red bell pepper 1 Scotch bonnet hot pepper (whole) 2 medium cloves of garlic, minced 1 tsp Fresh cilantro 1TB Fresh Spring onions 1 sprig Fresh thyme 1 leaf Fresh basil 1 tsp Fresh oregano 3 leaves Fresh mugwort (or "artemisa" in Spanish) 1 tsp salt 2 TB of brown sugar 2TB chile powder 1TB olive oil 1/2 tsp black pepper Using a food processor, or by hand, roughly chop the vegetables, somewhat fine, but not too much. Separately, finely chop the herbs and set aside. Cook on high the kidney beans with plenty of water in a crock pot until tender. Do not add salt because salt will inhibit the absorption of the water into the beans. In the skillet brown the ground beef. Pour the beans with its juice into your sauce pot. Put in all ingredients, except the herbs. Simmer the lowest heat your stove will go for about 20 minutes. Around the last 5 minutes, add the herbs and before serving sprinkle fresh herbs on top. Serve alone or on top of white rice. So that's it for this edition. I hope to see you soon at Casa Holanda. Some days are coming up in June where we are booked solid, so please make your reservations right away. And new things are happening all the time. Check often at the website to keep up-to-date, to check availability, and if we don't see you, please tell your friends about us. E-mail me at james@casaholanda.com for reservations or just to say hello. Chao! James A Yigüirro, or clay colored robin, sings his song to the mountains in this view from the house. The Yigüirro is Costa Rica's national bird. "Casa Holanda, Bed and Breakfast" Your place for good times, good food, and good friends. You have been included on this e-mail because you have some connection to James Nathaniel Holland or Casa Holanda. I respect your privacy and if you wish to be removed, simply reply to this newsletter with "Please Remove" in the subject line.

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*All photos in this newsletter are original and property of Casa Holanda.
Photo of Melico Salazar taken from Teatro Melico Salazar website.
Photo of Saul Bitran taken from Latinoamericano website.

© Copyright 2007 James N Holland, Composer, Pianist, Singer