(Came from the Main page)

When my mother passed away in February 2006, I was filled with nostalgia, and therefore, I decided to revisit my childhood. The road was full of dear memories of my father who passed away twenty years earlier. I started to realize how important my mother had been during those years and I understood that she had been able to fill the void created by my father’s absence.


"Leal Arrieta Family (1953), portrait by Rodolfo Stanley"

I remember the last time I talked to my mother in Santa Cruz. She let me know how happy she was that I had picked up the guitar and was singing again, because she wanted the people of our hometown to know me. This was my motivation to carry out this project and that is why now I dare share this music with you. Please receive it as something dear to me, a tribute to my parents and to the beautiful province of Guanacaste.

Santa Cruz is a nostalgic song written by my father during the 1940’s where he expresses his sense of belonging to a land that he had to leave in order to pursue his career in the province of Heredia. This beautiful song ends with a trademark Cuban rhythm that portrays my father’s constant joy.

Serenata de Amor is a bolero that my father wrote during his youth, back when serenades were the ideal and most popular way to express romance.

When I asked my daughter, Indiana, to sing the song Para Ti with me, my intention was to recreate the candlelit scenes of my parents singing to the tune of a guitar.

Frío en el Alma is a gorgeous sample of the heart of an era of romantic interpretation. The cheerful Liberianita I adapted from an old song frequently interpreted by my father, it is a tribute to the beauty of the women from the town of Liberia.

The songs written by my brother Edgar are a significant part of this project. In addition to practicing medicine, Edgar has for uncounted years contributed to promote the spirit of Guanacaste and the essence of its culture through the musical production of his Trío Los Guayacanes. Of Edgar’s vast production, I decided to include in this album Linda Santacruceña, Añoranza de Ti, and Romance en Callejones, songs that depict beautiful portraits of Guanacaste.

The sun has a special meaning in the lives of people born in Guanacaste. Solsticios Guanacastecos reflects how we perceive its extraordinary presence in our lives from dusk until dawn. It was my uncle, Aquiles Leal, who turned this poem written by Alberto Arenas into a musical piece.

In his song, De Dónde Vengo, Balo Gómez was able to convey everything I ever wanted to say about Guanacaste in a song. That is why this project carries the name of this delightful composition. Thank you Balo for letting me play this song in this album, its lyrics are always with me.

Si Yo Pudiera Leer Tu Mente was composed by Manolo Martínez Miyares, the artistic director of this project. His song deals with a situation that many men have experienced when their best friend is a woman who suddenly becomes the object of their love.

My experience with the Estudiantina of the University of Costa Rica was an important period of my life, and the song Ella is dedicated to my dear friends in the Estudiantina, whom I will never forget.

Finally, I wish to thank all the people who motivated me to complete this project: my wife Nuria for her strong support, my brother Edgar for his commitment to promote Guanacaste’s beauty and culture, my friend Rodolfo Stanley for his enthusiasm and generous artistic contribution to this project, Manolo Martínez for his tireless efforts, dedication and professionalism, my voice instructor, Cristina Vargas, for her valuable guidance, and to Roberto Zúñiga for working on this project as if it were his own. Thank you so much to all of you! To conclude, I want to dedicate this work to my children as a way to show them that it is never too late in life to take on new challenges, and to share with them and you a piece of my joyful spirit.