UPDATED

Congratulations to the winner of the commenting contest, Ericka Castillo Arias, she will be going with her friend to the Festival Imperial weekend courtesy of The Costa Rica Star!

Unfortunately Alex did not respond in time to claim the tickets to Imperial Festival, so we are resorting to another method. Tell us why you want to go to Imperial Festival on our Facebook page and we will pick the best answer to win the tickets tomorrow night March 20th at 6pm. Good luck.

Congratulations to Alex Durán Román for winning the 2 weekend tickets to the Festival Imperial concerts. You have 6 hours to reply to your Facebook message or email us at [email protected] to receive your tickets! You were randomly selected, and a photograph of you holding the tickets will be taken if you are okay with this, to verify your contest win within our community.

UPDATED

Do you want to go to the 2012 Festival Imperial and experience some of the best musicians in the world, live at Autódromo La Guácima racetrack in Alajuela, northwest of San Jose on March 24-25?

Courtesy of The Costa Rica Star network.

Enter our tickets (entradas) giveaway contest for 2 weekend passes, valued at over $200 USD.

Last month we gave away 2 tickets to see Don Omar at the Palmares concert, this month it gets even better!

To enter this contest:

1. Click the “like” button below to join our Facebook page.

2. One of our Facebook page members will be drawn from random on Sunday March 18th at 11AM. The winner will receive the 2 weekend tickets to Festival Imperial delivered to them anywhere in San Jose province OR they can be picked up at the Festival Imperial entrance gates before the opening of the weekend musical events. The winner will be contacted via a Facebook profile direct message.

*We will take a photograph with the winner holding the 2 tickets and announce your name along with the photo if you are okay with this. If you are selected to win the 2 tickets and you cannot make it to the concert weekend, we will select another winner from our Facebook page.

*A response is required within 6 hours of being messaged on Facebook on Sunday March 18th at 11AM. Good luck in the contest!

3. Now that was an easy contest to enter!

Festival Imperial introduction and overview

Approximately 50 days ago we published an article about the different options for beer lovers in a land dominated by the Ticonic Imperial beer brand. On that article we touched upon the most talked-about topic, at that time, on Costa Rica’s social networks and blogosphere: the long-awaited official announcement of the Festival Imperial 2012. With another 50 days or so to go, The Costa Rica Star will send one very lucky reader and a companion to the festival scheduled to take place at La Guacima motorsports park on March 24 and 25. Our last concert ticket giveaway for the Don Omar concert in Palmares pales in comparison to what Cerveza Imperial has in store for music lovers.

Background

Since its inception in 2006, the Festival Imperial has always been a momentous event underscored by its eclecticism. Big names like Cafe Tacuba, Duran Duran, Incubus, Jamiroquai, Sting, and The Smashing Pumpkins. One of the most fondly remembered festivals transpired in 2008, when Gandhi and Malpais, the most celebrated bands in the history of Tico rock, shared a stage. For Tico musicians, playing at the Festival Imperial is a great honor, and this year that distinction goes to 424, Akasha, Color Noise, Huba & Silica, Patino Quintana, Sonambulo, The Great Wilderness, and Zopilot. Two more national acts will be added later.

Festival Imperial is, without a doubt, the most significant music event in Costa Rica, and with this year’s musical lineup it promises to sizzle. Twenty international acts and eight local performers will light up the stages at La Guacima over one hot summer weekend, and those in attendance will get to see big-name acts such as Bjork, Cypress Hill, LMFAO, Maroon 5, Moby, and more. The lineup for this year’s iteration of the festival was a highly speculated item of discussion among social media netizens in Costa Rica. It is interesting to note that back in December we commented about an open letter published on Casete Fotocopiado, a blog maintained by music journalist Victor Fernandez. On that blog post, Victor lamented some of the strange juxtapositions of festivals past, such as reggaeton models sharing the stage with the Smashing Pumpkins, causing distractions among the band. Another dubious choice was bringing Latin heartthrob Enrique Iglesias to the festival, as he would do a lot better as a solo act at the National Stadium in La Sabana, or even the Saprissa Stadium in Tibas.

Social Media

The organizers of the Festival Imperial must have been paying attention to the social media buzz surrounding the musical lineup, as this year’s event is probably the most refined. The organizers include no less than C3, the group responsible for the Lollapalooza brand around the world. Just like Victor Fernandez had proposed on his blog post, some of the artists who will be at Lollapalooza in Chile the week posterior to the Festival Imperial will play in Costa Rica first. Victor had also asked for Sonambulo and Patino Quintana to represent the local scene, and the Imperial eagle granted him his wish.

Anyone would think that most, if not all, Ticos would be stoked with this year’s dream lineup; but the sad fact is that we love to complain, a fact that played out over social networks and mainstream news outlets immediately after the official press conference. Many people expected -no, demanded- the presence of the Foo Fighters, the Arctic Monkeys, Foster the People, Coldplay, Radiohead, The Strokes, and The Killers. Might as well throw in reunions by Oasis and the White Stripes, right? Such was the discussion last night during El Chivo, a weekly radio show dedicated to live music and the local scene that plays on 104.7 Hit FM. For those who are lamenting this year’s lineup, there are alternatives such as the Festival Internacional de las Artes (FIA), a week-long event preceding Festival Imperial that will see classical music, dance, jazz, literature, theater, and more. Dinosaur rockers Alan Parsons Live Project and Puerto Rican wonders Calle 13 will also perform at FIA.

Why you need to go

For Tico hipsters who think that Arcade Fire hasn’t put out anything decent since 2004, this year’s festival is a dream come true with bands such as Cage the Elephant, The Flaming Lips and Gogol Bordello. It’s also nice to see that the ladies are well-represented in terms of beauty and talent. Bjork, Bomba Stereo from Colombia, La Mala Rodriguez, and Ximena Sarinana.

The focus is of the festival is on modern rock, hip-hop and electronic music. For those who are inclined to think that Festival Imperial is only for youngsters, consider the following: Bjork, Moby, and the Flaming Lips have been performing for at least 30 years each; thus, if you add up the years they have been active the result will be close to a century.

For anyone wondering who Bjork and Moby may be, the hipster answer would be a silent roll of the eyes. You really haven’t lived until you’ve heard and seen the stage antics of Gogol Bordello, the captivating beauty and rhyming skills of rapper La Mala Rodriguez, the haunting guitar pop of Akasha, or the smooth-as-silk arrangements of Thievery Corporation. Good luck with the contest above.

To find out more about the Festival Imperial 2012, keep checking news.co.cr and our Facebook Wall for updates.

Here is a list of the official bands that will be performing

Maroon 5, Björk, LMFAO, Thievery Corporation, Cypress Hill, Moby, Gogol Bordello, The Flaming Lips, Skrillex, TV on the Radio, Major Lazer, Manchester Orchestra, Felix Martin and Al Doyle, La Mala Rodríguez, Ximena Sariñana, A-Trak, Akasha, Sonámbulo, 424, Bomba Estéreo, Porter Robinson, Huba & Silica, Zopilot, The Great Wilderness, Color Noise, Patiño Quintana

Here are related links:

Official event website
Official Facebook page
Official Twitter profile
Official Youtube page
Imperial Cerveza website
Florida Bebidas

Wikipedia English
Wikipedia Espanol