Whenever I meet someone, my first instinct is to ask them what kind of music they listen to. This question often gives me the insight I need to understand who they are; it opens doors to ‘real’ conversations about topics like memories and beliefs. Music is not something that fades into the background; it is a vehicle to communicate who someone is beyond anything they can say. My conversation with Daniel Nivia, a Costa Rican student from the Class of 2023, proved this to be true.

Nivia has a multi-layered and complex relationship with music. He is a musician who plays the violin and bass guitar, but above that he is someone who looks at his music interests as phases which define his identity and guide his knowledge about his home country and the world. He digs deep into the technicalities of production, opening his ears for instrumental excellence and his eyes for more artists he could explore.

“It was always the music of my parents,” Nivia said when explaining his early music taste. However, it was when a friend of his in Costa Rica introduced him to local artist Cocofunka that he started to develop his own taste and make connections with his home country and region through music. From 2012 to 2014, he heavily explored Costa Rican and Latin American artists and he describes it as the phase that best speaks to who he is.

This sentiment deeply resonated within me. A few years before starting my time at NYU Abu Dhabi, I was exposed to the local alternative Arabic music scene, particularly the one in Amman. This was when I made my strongest connections with music as well as the people around me. I played and attended concerts and worked with some of the best musicians — in my humble opinion — in Jordan.

During this time, I felt the most at home in Amman because I saw it in a different color and was determined to share this with everyone else. This feeling intensified when I came here, and I found myself using every opportunity to play some of my favorite artists for anyone who would listen. It also made me acutely interested in understanding what comprises that very localized music scene for other people in their own homes.

Nivia had a similar experience based on music classes in high school, as well as some local live concerts.. “What I felt was special about these classes was the fact that there was something I would not get from history, economics, maybe a little from geography but not much,” Nivia reflected. “So, with music, I had access to learning about Japanese music, learning about Chinese music … it gave me that window into really looking at places and knowing, hey! Now I know that Indonesia has this type of music that is Gamelan music, normally used for puppet shows,” Nivia elaborated.

However, when it comes to the exposure and recognition that local music scenes get, there is always this feeling of frustration that prevails. Personally, it pained me to see local artists pouring their hearts into what they produce, only to be met with underwhelming support.

Nivia seems to have the same concern. After attending a concert by two of his favorite bands in 2018, Colombian band Monsieur Périne and Venezuelan band Rawayana he was simultaneously ecstatic about young, contemporary artists able to tour the region, yet disappointed that Costa Rican artists do not get the chance to do the same.

“There is talent, like, there is a lot of talent. It is just a matter of knowing how to use the resources to get your talent abroad and making the country more than just a tourist place or about nature,” Nivia expressed, reflecting on a webinar he attended about the arts and culture scene in Costa Rica.

Some time off university and an online Jorge Drexler quarantine concert pushed Nivia to take on a project he has been considering since highschool: a role in putting Costa Rican artists under the spotlight.

The Blue Sandwich is Nivia’s Instagram page. On it, he shares beautifully designed infographics about Costa Rican artists that are close to his heart.

Image courtesy of Daniel Nivia

But it does not stop here. He hopes to grow this project into something bigger. “I really want it to develop into a website that is accessible for anyone over the world and gives visibility amidst the Spotify algorithm,” he explained. “Making sure that these artists are still able to be displayed to people … having some source of visibility will help.”

As we spoke, it became clear to me that music is what drives and inspires Nivia — it is his way of being himself and representing his country. Nearing the end of our conversation, Nivia offered to curate a playlist that contains some of the most notable tunes from his life so far. Many of us have a soundtrack to our life, and this is a part of his. Make sure to listen to it — in order — and check out his Instagram project. Open your ears to the world’s music. There is so much to listen to.

Illustration by Dhabia AlMansoori, playlist compiled by Daniel Nivia.