Music as Additional Blue Zone Attribute: A Sound Ethnography of Nicoya, Costa Rica

Abstract

Nicoya, Costa Rica is one of our world’s five Blue Zones and is currently the only Blue Zone in Latin America. The Blue Zones were discovered by National Geographic fellow Dan Buettner in 2007 and are globally recognized for their healthy practices in nutrition, exercise, socialization, and high populations of elders and centenarians. While works about the Blue Zones seek to promote secrets to extend one’s physical longevity, this research also has the potential to contribute to the understanding of the existing connections between music and aging. In making such connections, it is possible to see that diet and exercise are not the only contributing factors to what constitutes a region as a Blue Zone. Through a compilation of field notes, collaborative semi-structured interviews, and observations of elders in their communities, this sound ethnography of Nicoya, Costa Rica demonstrates that Nicoyans prioritize music and sound in their communities through playing musical instruments, dancing, songwriting, as well as writing and/or reciting poetry. This thesis also discusses how Nicoyans use sound as a sensorial practice in connection with everyday tasks such as cooking and land cultivation. While this ethnography is specifically dedicated to the Nicoyan communities, this study has potential to expand current knowledge of the Blue Zones, and encourage further inquiry about the relationships between human longevity and involvement with music and sound.