Cura Vida Festival

Cura Vida Festival is a week-long musical ceremony at PachaMama Eco Village & Retreat Center in Nicoya, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. It is built around the Cura song book, sung by the Brazilian musician Carioca Freitas with a choir of female voices. It suits people drawn to sacred song, prayer and meditation in a group, and to ceremony held within a clear, steady structure.

What to Expect

The festival opens with an Opening Circle and closes with a Final Closing Circle. Between them sit three consecutive nights of Cura, the heart of the week. Each night is a musical ceremony in which everyone is seated around a white altar, with a fixed place in the circle. The structure is meant to hold the group so that attention can settle and the ceremony can become a space for prayer, meditation and expansion.

The songs speak of sun, moon and stars, and they invite healing, awakening and unity. The organizers describe the nights as a chance to dive into the questions you carry and the insights you wish to explore, and to meet whatever unexpected comes up along the way.

After the Cura nights comes an additional evening, the Waterfall of Music Ceremony. It is guided by the music and teachings of the forest, the earth and the stars.

Between ceremonies the days are open. The natural setting of PachaMama and the rhythm of village life give room for rest, integration and conversation with other participants.

About Carioca Freitas

Carioca Freitas is a musician from Rio de Janeiro, known for blending traditional Brazilian sounds with contemporary styles. His music draws on samba, bossa nova and MPB, and meets jazz and electronic influences. At Cura Vida he is described as the musical guide of the ceremony, working alongside the Cura song book and the choir of female voices.

The Setting

PachaMama Eco Village & Retreat Center lies in Nicoya, in the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica. The festival happens within the life of the village, and the surrounding nature is part of the experience, especially in the open time between ceremonies. Guests may stay on site at the guest rate, which includes lodging at the eco village. Visitors may attend without accommodation.

Before You Go

No prior musical, ceremonial or spiritual experience is described as a requirement, so the festival is open to newcomers as well as people with an established practice.

The full program is included: the opening circle, three nights of Cura, the Waterfall of Music Ceremony and the closing circle. The guest rate adds lodging. The visitor rate covers attendance without a place to stay.

A 13 percent Costa Rican value-added tax is added to the total, and travel to and from PachaMama is not included.