Avelino Here, There and Everywhere
Fabio Avelino dos Santos was born in the small town of Limoeiro,
near Recife, on the Atlantic coast of Brazil. He
started playing guitar at the age of fifteen and began performing to audiences
at the age of eighteen. He considers Brazilian musicians like Luis Gonzaga to
be among his major musical influences, as well as the writer Paulo Coelho and
The Beatles. Avelino had a big smile when he told me about the difficulty he
had learning the Beatle song “Yesterday”, his eyes a little lost in memory. But
then, Avelino smiles a lot.
Let’s fast forward now to 2012. Fabio has
been living in Tamarindo for nearly eight years. When he arrived, he spoke only
Portuguese and he now handles himself very well in Spanish, English, Italian
and French. His musical influences have grown to become international as he
continues to perform in this town and outlying areas that get visitors from all
over the world. If you go out at night in Tamarindo, chances are good you have
seen him perform: he could easily be the hardest working musician here. He told
me (smiling, again) that during the high season, it is not unusual for him to
perform as many as twelve shows in a week. He recounted to me a time he played
in Pinilla at midday, then a sunset show at Playa del Coco and wrapped it up
with a night show in Tamarindo, then singing to himself on his way home on his
scooter, to keep from falling asleep. His shows are exuberant as his passion
for playing can be magnetic, drawing the crowd into his always upbeat energy.
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| Performing at Open Mike at Pasatiempo |
Fabio recently completed his new CD “Costa
Rica Paraiso Tropical”. It was recorded live at a sunset show on June 10 of
this year Langosta Beach Club. I believe it is one entire set, played
consecutively from beginning to end, so it is an excellent representation of
what to expect at one of Avelino’s shows. Fabio sings and plays guitar accompanied
by local musician David Herzovich, who actually hales from Argentina. He
plays a steady, anchored bass guitar, allowing Avelino to venture into his
musical flights of fancy. As a duo, they call themselves Che Brasil. The twelve
song set opens with a lively percussion and vocal intro, setting the tempo for
the show. Avelino tracked and looped the basic percussion tracks and adds live
percussion along the way. The music definitely has a Caribbean
influence, as well as samba and bossa nova; it is very up-tempo, jubilant even.
Standouts on the sixty minute disc include “Sina” and “Filhos de Gandhi”. My personal
favorite is “Estrela Divina”, a song in which Fabio poetically describes an
early evening star as a “descendent of the Big Bang”.
Avelino also told me he is working on new
songs that will continue to incorporate Spanish, Portuguese and English in the
same lyrics, a true musical marriage of cultures. The CD is available at any
Avelino live show; finding a live Avelino performance should not be a problem
at all in the Tamarindo area: he’s everywhere!
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