• More than 45 activities will be held between June 19 and 24.
• As part of this celebration, the MCJ announced the “Semilla Sonora” fund, which seeks to finance new Costa Rican music.
• Consult the full program at: https://tinyurl.com/258zszyx

The Ministry of Culture and Youth will celebrate the “Fiesta de la Música” (Music Festival) throughout Costa Rica, with activities in all seven provinces and at various venues in San José.

The Popular Melico Salazar Theater, the National Theater of Costa Rica, Central Park, and the National Culture Center will join forces for concerts on Saturday, June 21, the day of the “Fiesta de la Música.” The program, which will include more than 45 activities, can be consulted on the MCJ’s social media and website.

Jorge Rodríguez Vives, Minister of Culture and Youth, stated that “The Fiesta de la Música is more than a celebration: it is an act of memory and future. This June 21, Costa Rica will sound in unison from Limón to San José, with bands, tenors, and the presentation of the new album and documentary by our Youth Symphony, a project that honors the legacy and ignites the future. On this day, we pay tribute to three essential figures of our musical culture: Marvin Araya, Víctor Hugo Berrocal, and Alfredo ‘Chino’ Moreno, whose work has forged generations of artists. Furthermore, in alliance with ACAM, we are launching the Semilla Sonora Fund, a concrete commitment to promote Costa Rican composition and sow new melodies in our history. Music brings us together, transforms us, and projects us: today we celebrate that power with pride and hope.”

The concerts will be performed by the National System of Musical Education, with venues throughout the country, the various ensembles of the National Music Institute, as well as the Meritorious National Concert Bands of the MCJ’s Band Directorate.

In addition, on June 21, at 3 p.m., at the Popular Melico Salazar Theater (TPMS), the album and documentary “Legado” by the Youth Symphony Orchestra will premiere. This institution, created 52 years ago, has become a hotbed of professional musicians. The children who started in the Youth Symphony Orchestra in 1973 are now musicians in the National Symphony Orchestra or in various orchestras around the world.

That same day, at 8 p.m., also at the TPMS, the “Symphonic Rock” concert will be held, paying tribute to musician and promoter Alfredo “Chino” Moreno. Music from national bands such as Gandhi, Suite Doble, Voodoo, 424, Time’s Forgotten, Miguel Solari, and Balance will be performed. There will also be participation from musicians from the National Music Institute and the SIFAIS String Orchestra.

Consult the full program at: https://tinyurl.com/258zszyx

Launch of the “Semilla Sonora” Fund

The Ministry of Culture and Youth, the Association of Composers and Musical Authors of Costa Rica (ACAM), Fundación La Libertad, and the National Music Center invite all individuals affiliated with the Association of Composers and Musical Authors (ACAM) to participate in “Semilla Sonora,” a national call for applications to the Competitive Fund for the Creation or Production of Original Unpublished Music.

This call, aimed at the almost 5,000 people affiliated with ACAM, will be open from June 17 to July 31, 2025, in three areas: composition, single production, and album production.

The competition seeks to encourage and strengthen Costa Rican musical talent through a competitive fund for the creation or production of original unpublished works. The project represents a joint effort between ACAM, the MCJ, and Fundación La Libertad, with the aim of democratizing access to cultural resources, diversifying the national musical offering, and making new sound proposals visible in various genres.

For Edín Solís, president of ACAM, “this is a great opportunity for national authors. Joining the economic and work efforts of our association with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Youth and Fundación La Libertad cannot be missed; it gives us the possibility of having more music made in Costa Rica and with the economic support to do so with the best possible technical quality.”

“Semilla Sonora” expects to benefit 15 winners: six in the composition competition, five for the production of an unreleased album, and four for the production of unreleased singles.

This initiative is part of the framework agreement recently signed between ACAM and the MCJ for collaboration between the national authors’ and composers’ entity and the Ministry, institutions that have maintained a productive relationship for several years and which is reinforced by the formality supported by this type of tool.

All information, regulations, forms, and promotional materials will be shared through the social media of all involved parties and through the websites: www.acam.cr and www.mcj.go.cr