I've heard live jazz performances in a variety of places: New Orleans, Memphis, St. Louis, Columbus, and more. The venue is as important to the performance as the music itself. It sets the mood. It adds to the vibe.

Friday night, I had the opportunity to add Santo Domingo to my list. I went to hear Swing En 4. The performance was in the ampitheatre at INBIOparque, which provided a lush, beautiful background. The music was an eclectic mix of jazz styles, occassionally infused with latin beats. Most of it was excellent and had me tapping my feet. Coltrane and Salsa - what's not to love? On a few occassions, they slipped into something a little more like Kenny G, which I didn't enjoy as much. But overall, it was a great evening.

Saturday morning, I went to the feria to get fruits and veggies for the week. My plan was to make salsa picante, so I loaded up on fixings (tomatoes, onions, limes, cilantro, various peppers, and even a few mangos). Then I saw something that I had to try. It was huge, bigger than my head. And it was green and spikey. But I knew it wasn't a guanabana because it was too cheap - only 300 colones. It was breadfruit! After I bought it, the vendor tried to explain how to prepare it. But the only word I understood was "salt." Luckily, I've found a few recipes, so I'm not completely lost.

Labels: costa rica