Meow! Hiss! Cat's don't like fire!
Pura Vida! The penultimate post about Costa Rica! It was going to be the last one, but I didn't want to miss an opportunity to use the word "penultimate". Plus as one post, it was running loooong.
So! The last evening, there was a dinner/dance thingy. Outside! Nice! And there's a band! How nice! Plus people in animal costumes doing gymnastic-y things and playing with fire, which is what's happening in the pic up there! Also neato!
Don't touch her wings!
Plus a woman dressed as a butterfly! Right there! So. This band. They start up, but it's the arriving, chit-chatting, get your buffet dinner part of the evening, not the "dancing" part of the evening. So the band is playing slow-type songs, I guess because that makes better "eating and chatting music". But the band...is like really good...and the singer's voice...it's incredible. And I can't help listening...until in my head I am just wishing everyone would shut up so I can listen. And I want disengage from my table conversation and just watch. And honestly, I might have done it..except...
Look. JJ had a great time. But these days, you know, the heavy stuff is just never that far away. I hadn't seen G-man and E-man in the two weekends before I left. So I was missing them. And I had decided that I wouldn't call them each night from Costa Rica. Which was ok. But they don't have email addresses or anything, and the relations between the ex and me aren't good enough that I could skype or something, so that means abso no contact. And the daily emails from his teacher let me know that Gabriel was having kind of a rough week. So I felt helpless to support him. And I also knew that, while I was still in Costa Rica, everything was care-free, no complications. But that when I got back, the seemingly unending crapticity would start up again.
I think the next sentence of Ebert's review says something like:
"perfect tropical vacation viewing!"
So, as much fun as JJ had, there were also down times (One night, I may or may not have gone down a sad sack rabbit hole that ended with the purchase of the movie "Ordinary People" on iTunes and failed attempt tried to download it onto my phone...a perfectly reasonable thing for a person on a tropical vacation to do). And I was feeling kinda down at this dinner. And this band is singing these slow and sad songs. Covers. By Adele and the like. And I am just like "If I keep listening to this, I am going to go sit on the lawn in front of the band and cry." Which I ultimately decided would be inappropriate in the circumstances. So I shut 'em out and continued makin' with the small talk.
And this band? Like what was the deal? Why was a band this amazing playing a dinner party? Well, that I can't answer (other than through central american/north american income disparities, I guess). But I did find out later that night that the woman singer? Her name is "María José Castillo" Here's a pic:
Denim!
Yes, that is her on "Latin American Idol", in 2008. On which she finished second. And now she is singing in front of a bunch of people lining up to spoon pasta onto their plates. I am sure it's not an isolated incident in the music world. And for all I know, the band was getting paid relative to Costa Rican income levels, tons of cash. But it was still fucking weird. And they did keep playing past the dinner and people did get up and dance and stuff, so that was more sort of "traditional concert-y" I guess. And I was glad I got an opportunity to hear that voice. Dang.
But JJ couldn't stay too long past dinner. He was leaving in the morning! Plus... he had one last chance to meet his goal. Monkeys. That required 5 am run. So I took off and hopped into bed.
Did JJ get up? Did JJ run? Did JJ... become one with the monkeys...?
Find out in Part VII!
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