The National System of Music Education (SiNEM), in an effort to expand the services offered to the community, launched a transformative project that seeks to be a beacon of hope for young people undergoing rehabilitation in Coto Brus, Puntarenas.
This is the Priority Care Program (PAP) – SiNEM Comunidad Encuentro Men’s Rondalla, which was created with the purpose of using music as a powerful tool for personal growth and rehabilitation for 50 young people at the Comunidad Encuentro Rehabilitation Center, located in the canton of Puntarenas.
Comunidad Encuentro, founded in 1993, is an institution dedicated to the rehabilitation of young people and adults affected by addiction and drug use, providing a safe space to transform lives.
Its mission is to offer its residents a dignified, drug-free life, collaborating with various institutions such as PANI, IAFA, IMAS, and JPS. It currently houses around 95 young people, offering them a new opportunity to recover their well-being.
SiNEM announced that:
This SiNEM project in the Encuentro Community began its development in late 2024, as a proposal by Gersan Arias, head of the SiNEM Coto Brus headquarters, who envisioned music as a way to offer the center’s youth a new way to express themselves, heal, and strengthen their self-esteem. This project is part of the so-called Priority Care Programs (PAP), where SiNEM seeks to extend its impact to specific communities such as rehabilitation centers.
Rehabilitation Assistance
The main purpose of this program is to offer young people a positive alternative for their rehabilitation, promoting essential human values such as discipline, perseverance, and teamwork.
Music becomes a therapeutic tool that helps strengthen their character, while providing them with new opportunities for personal growth and development. The project began operations in February 2025 with a successful and emotional inaugural class, according to the institution.
The project involves the active participation of 50 young people, who receive instruction from three distinguished professors at the SiNEM Coto Brus campus: Kenia Quirós, Jafet Arguedas, and Gersan Arias.
Sessions are held once a week, lasting three hours, and focus on the formation of a rondalla (group of musicians) structured into three sections: the choral section, which is responsible for the vocal aspect of the project; the minor percussion section, where young people play percussion instruments; and, finally, the string section, made up of young people who play guitars and electric bass.
Contribution to the improvement of human quality
This project not only seeks to develop musical skills but also to strengthen the human values that form the foundation of a more caring society. Through music, SiNEM and the Ministry of Culture and Youth make a valuable contribution to the personal development of young people undergoing rehabilitation, helping them regain their confidence and preparing them for a future full of opportunities.
Sandra Herrera, director of SiNEM, talks about the support this project provides to the population:
The Ministry of Culture and Youth, through its public policies and programs like SiNEM, plays a fundamental role in the social and cultural development of Costa Rica. Its comprehensive approach seeks not only to promote culture and the arts in the country, but also to provide support to the most vulnerable populations, using culture as a tool for inclusion, integration, and social transformation.
