“The highest distinction awarded by the Republic of Costa Rica in the field of cultural and scientific production was granted to Manuel Monestel in 2024. The jury that awarded him the prize gave the following reasons: for being a promoter and driving force of popular music, culture, and traditions of the African diaspora.” because he left his mark on the development of Costa Rican ethnomusicology Because he manages to coherently communicate profound messages— musical, literary, and political—in a way that is accessible to diverse national and international audiences; because he has used his sociological training to question and subvert relations of power and domination, with an identity-based proposal that challenges established cultural hegemony finally, his legacy of preservation of intangible culture is in line with Costa Rica constitutional recognition as a multicultural and multiethnic country.

-Víctor H. Acuña Ortega, University of Costa Rica

Manuel Monestel is a treasure.  He played a central role in rediscovering an almost-lost calypso music in Costa Rica and he writes about it with unparalleled authority, insight, and brilliance.  He reveals in the Black working-class music of Puerto Limón a profound creativity and a deep African continuity.

-Marcus Rediker, author of The Slave Ship: A Human History Monestel’s gift as a remarkable performer demonstrates that Calypso has a profound impact on the Central American Caribbean, initially through the legendary artistry of Walter Ferguson.

-Paul Lovejoy, Distinguished Research Professor & Editor, The Harriet Tubman Series

Manuel Monestel A sociologist, writer, songwriter, ethnomusicologist and a musical performing artist. For the las 50 years he has studied the music from the Caribbean province of Limón in Costa Rica, specially calypso and its role in the history, the cultural processes and the struggle against racism and ostracism. Since 2014 he has been a member of the Research Chair of African and Caribbean Studies of the University of Costa Rica.