REAL TRAVEL WITH PURPOSE STORY
Guanacaste Sings for Peace
In February 2026, a school choir from California traveled to Costa Rica for an experience created especially for its ensemble: concerts, community, local culture and voices united by one shared message.
An Experience Outside the Annual Festival
A Real Example of What It Means to Travel with Purpose
Guanacaste Sings for Peace was not an edition of the international festival held in June. It was a special experience built around the visit of one ensemble: Mountain View High School A Cappella from California.
The program brought the visiting choir together with youth, community and intergenerational ensembles from Guanacaste. Every performance became a space for genuine connection, not simply an artistic activity.
The experience showed that a choir journey can be adapted to the identity, ages, repertoire and values of a particular ensemble without depending on the dates of the annual festival.
I want to make, with our arms, one gentle arm that embraces the earth.
Jorge Debravo
The Experience at a Glance
Music, Place and Human Connection
February 17–19, 2026
in Liberia and Santa Cruz
with a customized program
youth and intergenerational ensembles
A Journey with Meaning
Three Days to Discover Guanacaste Through Its Voices
The itinerary connected sacred, educational and community spaces, revealing different dimensions of the province’s cultural life.
Liberia
Concert at 7:00 p.m. at the Immaculate Conception of Mary Parish, with the participation of host ensembles.
Santa Cruz
Concert at 6:00 p.m. at the Civic Center for Peace, a space created for coexistence and community participation.
Educational Encounter
The program also included Colegio Santa Ana in Liberia, bringing the choral experience into an educational setting.
The Visiting Choir
Mountain View High School A Cappella
This mixed-voice ensemble brings together students in grades nine through eleven from the San Francisco Bay Area. Its work combines musical excellence, shared responsibility and student leadership.
The choir came to Costa Rica eager to meet its people, understand the country’s cultural richness and carry those lessons into their own lives.
The Host Voices
The Local Community Was Not Just an Audience — It Was Part of the Experience
The choirs of Guanacaste shared their identity, educational work and commitment to coexistence, inclusion and Costa Rican culture.
A student leadership project with repertoire centered on resilience, hope, peace, coexistence and the conservation of nature.
A space where teenagers, adults and older adults build community through singing.
A community ensemble that preserves Costa Rican repertoire, especially works created in Guanacaste.
An independent ensemble dedicated to expanding vocal possibilities and promoting Costa Rican choral culture.
United for Peace
The common song gave the ensembles a symbolic space in which separate choirs could become one voice for a few meaningful minutes.
This work captures the essence of the project: performing for one another is not enough; the purpose is to listen, coordinate and build something together.
What This Experience Demonstrates
A Choir Journey Can Be Designed Around the Purpose of Each Group
There Is No Need to Wait for the Annual Festival
The program may be organized on other dates when a choir wishes to experience Costa Rica in its own way.
Community Transforms the Journey
Encounters with local choirs, students and community spaces add a depth that a sightseeing tour cannot provide on its own.
The Itinerary Begins with the Choir’s Identity
The ages, repertoire, educational goals and values of the group guide the selection of activities, places and host ensembles.
Your Choir Can Also Experience a Journey Created Around Its Needs
Tell us who you are, what you hope to share and what you would like to take home from Costa Rica. We can design a journey that connects music, culture, community, nature and purpose.
Our Partners and Allies for Peace
