The good news is the marimba music. The bad news is that you are unlikely to hear any unless you’re in town on a Friday or Saturday night, or during a fiesta [the town’s big marimba festival takes place during the last week of May]. Ask around. It’s a small town and if something is happening everyone knows. There’s also a famous marimba school, where if you are lucky you might hear some marimba being played. Videotape of marimba competitions are on display.

I spoke with Jackson, better known as El Potente [the Powerful One], because of his ability to play for hours nonstop. At 23 years old, he is a top miramba player. El Potente told me how the marimba came to San Lorenzo from Africa with the first castaways. The music is very similar to African marimba music, but there are subtle differences, he said. For example, resonators used on African marimbas are made of gourds, but in San Lorenzo they use bamboo. The most interesting experience in San Lorenzo is to see and hear this culture for yourself.

|Article contributed by Dominic Hamilton|||