Travel Reference
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Best Musicians
PURA VIDA SOCIAL CLUB
LANCE BENNETT AND LETTY ANDERSON
Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to
loneliness.
Maya Angelou
People congregate on the sidewalk and lean against the door frames outside Dos Locos as
the Pura Vida Social Club ends another classic rock song in their typical spirited fashion.
The bar is humming with the crowds inside and out enjoying the steady flow of great music
on a Saturday afternoon. Bass player Letty Anderson steps up to the mic and thanks Dos Lo-
cos' owner Vera for the venue, while Vera thanks her dance partner for the spin around the
floor. It is indeed 'Pura Vida' — pure life and exactly what a Saturday afternoon in Quepos
should be.
“The Pura Vida Social Club is the cornerstone of great music in our area,” says vacation
rental home manager, Karen O'Bryan. “Whether it's the core members or guest musicians
(locals or folks passing through), we can always count on consistent quality entertainment
creating a fun atmosphere that makes it hard not to get up and dance!”
Carolyn Onay, owner of Jaime Peligro Bookstore gets happy feet too; “Pura Vida Social
Club not only has some of my favorite people in it, but their music and jams always get me
movin'!”
You could be forgiven for thinking that the Pura Vida Social Club has a swinging saloon
door band roster. Every week you'll find someone different fronting the band or providing
'hired-gun' musical support. That's just the way they like it though.
“Our band consists of Lance and me and our drummer Jonathan Rodriguez Morales aka
Johnny Bench, for his ability to quickly 'catch' onto a new song. Until about a year and a
half ago we were playing with Jim Phillips, playing a little of this, a little bit of that,” ex-
plains Letty. “We decided we would just back up local guys. Whoever wasn't working that
day would come and play with us.” That decision has them backing up almost every lead
singer and more than a few out-of-towners. It also provides a pretty broad musical palette
for them to work from. “We play country, we play classic rock, alt rock, country rock, 80s
rock — you name it! We're like THE backup band,” Letty laughs.
