In the style of musical groups such as Minor Threat, The Clash and the Dead Kennedys, three young men from Guanacaste punish their instruments and scream lyrics of discontent about how they see Costa Rica in the post-Free Trade Agreement (FTA) era: A socioeconomic model gone wrong. This is Hembolia Cerebral (Brain Aneurysm), a hardcore punk trio from Costa Rica’s Gold Coast that, like their Russian counterparts Pussy Riot, are not afraid to scream their minds about social reality.

To the members of Hembolia Cerebral, the 21^st century has split the province of Guanacaste into two distinct areas: There are the luxury resorts and expat enclaves where life seems very far removed from the conditions they grew up in; and then there are the poor neighborhoods where farmers have been losing their jobs and where water shortages have become de rigueur even as tourists take long showers, golf players enjoy green courses and developers plan water amusement parks with wave pools.

Socioeconomic and political protest has been a fixture of punk bands since the sub-genre was born in the legendary CBGB OMFUG dive bar and performance place in New York City. It took quite a few decades to reach Costa Rica, and no one thought it would ever reach the impoverished community of Canas in Guanacaste.

There are a quite a few punk and hardcore rock acts in the capital city of Costa Rica, but the musical performance space in Guanacaste mostly consists of marimba bands that play traditional music, cumbia groups and fusion jam bands that play a combination of rock and reggae to please tourists’ ears. Hembolia Cerebral is far removed from that sound: This trio rocks extremely hard, and their message is not always fluffy. Take, for example, the translated lyrics of their hit single “Surfing in (insert slang and profane word used to describe excrement in Spanish):”

Cast your surfboard and paddle out

It’s nice wave that comes out of that hotel

You have to be ready

To get dirty

And bust your best move

Surfing in (insert slang and profane word used to describe excrement in Spanish)

The lyrics above make allusion to the issue of many hotels in Guanacaste directing their waste water and sewage to rivers, estuaries and ultimately the Pacific Ocean waters that surfers and swimmers enjoy. This song is from Guanacore, the band’s latest album, which you can listen to at Hembolia Cerebral’s Bandcamp profile.