Dance Teacher
Cahuita Music Program, Costa Rica
Marlene is from Sixaola and Limón Centro, Costa Rica. She was recommended by Zoraida due to her extensive experience in leading dance groups in Cahuita. Marlene has pursued higher education at ULACIT and Castro Carazo universities, where she studied Tourism, Hospitality, and Dance. With a long-standing career, she worked for JAPDEVA for 23 years as a tourism promoter, showing her deep involvement in promoting cultural activities in her community.
Her passion for dance led her to study Experimental Dance Theater in 1984 under the guidance of Xiomara Evans. She went on to form a dance group for JAPDEVA and later created two calypso dance groups in Cahuita in 1997 and 1999. Marlene believes music is a crucial part of culture, acting as a form of art and an opportunity for future growth. She encourages others to embrace cultural activities, seeing them as a way to develop mentally and productively use their time, especially after school.
Marlene is influenced by a range of artists, including Bryan Adams, Savage Garden, and Julio Medina in the calypso genre. She focuses on teaching basic calypso dance steps and believes that learning various cultural practices is essential for personal development
