This free-form session on the sand is appropriate for all ages and genders; no prior experience needed; no shirt, no shoes, no problem.  Come out to dance and play; it's aerobic in a light-hearted way. Try something new; get into the groove; get back to your youth inside the hoop. We'll have plenty of hoops in all sizes to experiment.  Learn the basics, how to keep the hoop looping, try out some tricks, maybe master a move to impress the kids.  SalveMonos Annual Drumming Circle is coming up soon; the perfect event to show off your new moves!  Want to join in the fun but too timid to try?  Then come and bring a drum, don't just stand by!

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January 25 - 27

It's been inspiring to see that the Playas del Coco "Cultural Encounter" has focused on racism, discrimination, and rights, in offering several workshops and presentations to educate around these themes, identify how they affect our daily lives, and inspire action for change.  Thursday and Friday's events have included a puppet presentation for kids: 'Amo Mi Melanina' (I Love My Melanin), youth workshops on racism, oppression, and discrimination, and a workshop for community leaders to evaluate how we experience racism in the community.

Kech and I are honored to be invited back to participate in Saturday's event 'Ensenamos a los Ninos a Sonar'  (Let's Teach the Children to Dream), which will take place in Coco's beachfront park Amor de Temporada 9 - 3pm.  This is a free event with tons of activities designed for children 3 - 10 years old.  Kech will be bringing out a giant canvas and beautiful palette of spray paint to showcase large-scale street art technique, inspiring kids to pursue their artistic talents and value how public art can uplift community.

I will provide the hoard of hula hoops to offer an opportunity for free play and exploration, creative movement, innovative game-making, and joyful challenges to learn and master new skills and build self-confidence.  Hula Hooping is fun way to build strength, develop body-awareness and body-control, and promote mobility in a safe and gentle aerobic activity for all ages.

We loved being a part of this event in December 2019, and we're so happy to see the event grow this year; we hope it will continue to be a Coco tradition.  Many thanks to Ophir Cultura for organizing this event, to the University of Costa Rica's Social Action projects, and support from ADICOCO, Cine Hermosa, and many other local organizations and businesses that make this event a success.  See you in the park.  ~ Teagan​

Salve monos
Playa HErmosa, GTE

Invites you to Attend their
10th ANnual
Drumming Circle

This Wednesday
January 24, 2024
3:00 - 6:00 PM

Playa Hermosa,
First Beach Entrance
NEAR HOTEL BOSQUE DE MAR

Salve Monos Playas Hermosa aims to protect the local Howler Monkey population and conserve its habitat.  Salve Monos has dedicated enormous efforts to identify monkey corridors and restore deforested areas to maintain and expand the monkeys' routs with the trees that provide the leaves, fruits, nuts, and flowers that comprise Howlers' diet.  Where roads, power cables, and developments have severed the natural corridors, SalveMonos builds crossover bridges to help the monkeys to traverse their territory safely.  The numbers of monkey electrocutions and deaths indicate that there is still much work to be done, and Salve Monos hopes to get the whole community involved to protect these beautiful creatures.  

Salve Monos strives to educate residents and developers, and with this annual drumming circle event, to animate community involvement,  uplifting energies, and inspiring participation, activism, and financial backing in support of this noble cause.   Salve Monos Hermosa is a non-profit organization, and Karol Allard has been it's beating heart infusing this project with vital energy for more than a decade.  Once more, she is calling on the community to reverberate this heartbeat, so please grab a drum,  come have some fun, and be a part of the change. ​

This drumming circle holds a special place in my heart.  I remember when I first heard about the 2013 event and Karol's message to raise the community vibration resonated.  I was big into hula hooping and flow arts, and sharing them with the community to encourage a "healthy pulse."  At the time I had a collection of 30+ hula hoops, and I offered to bring them to the event to accompany the drumming and to help get people moving and shaking in new ways.  It was a blast, and I've been blessed to be involved with the event in subsequent years, bringing out the hoops and fire dancing on the bill in '14, '15, '19, and '20.   Although until about a month ago, I hadn't once returned to my fire tools since dancing at the 2020 drumming circle, when Karol invited me back this year I knew this was a nudge in a good direction.  I've never felt so underprepared for a performance, but I don't think that feeling ready or at my best is of much importance.  If we wait until we're ready we'll never accomplish much; so let's celebrate where we are, let a little momentum move us, and look forward to what tides may change from these little healthy impulses.   See you there.  ~ Teagan