A Night with Max Goldenberg

We had a special experience last night. After classes we took a bus to Nicoya to see Max Goldenberg, a well known Costa Rican folk singer and political activist. First we went to his house which was a beautiful hacienda set back from the road. He and his wife had a stunning wrap around porch made mostly of post and mean natural wood (teak?). They had made some amazing drinks, one called Toad's Water which was the color of dirt water toads love. It was made from Ginger and lime and other herbs. It was really tasty. They also had pineapple juice.
He first spoke about how Costa Rica markets itself as the happiest place on earth and the Blue Zone and all that, but they have some very real problems that seem to get lost in the marketing blitz. Problems like extreme poverty, inadequate services, privatization of essential government services. He and his friend Louis also are organic farmers and they talked a bit about genetically modified corn and its impact on Costa Rica.
After, we walked to his families restaurant run by his daughters and their husbands. It had a huge brick oven and they are known for their pizzas. They brought us a variety of tasty, crispy fresh pizzas. While we ate, Max, his Brother Paco and a third played music for us. Although his lyrics were lost on me, I enjoyed the melodies and the atmosphere. The Spanish speakers in our group really benefited from the night. Max's daughter was our waitress and also got up and sang.
I was impressed because he seemed to be living an authentic life. He had his art, his farm, his family. He often smiled and laughed. I hope my students realized what a special night it was.