Communities · Montezuma, Cóbano, Puntarenas

Musicians Release Protest Song Over Clearing Near Montezuma Waterfall

Seventeen musicians released the protest song 'Catarata sin Tractor' on Oct. 24, 2026, to draw attention to tree cutting and earthworks on a hillside near Montezuma waterfall on the Nicoya Peninsula. SINAC documented about 6,564 square meters of altered land there, including protected public land, and the case is with Costa Rica's judicial investigators and environmental prosecutors; no one has been charged.

By Pura-Verde.com Editors · Published October 30, 2026 · Updated October 31, 2026
Original report: The Tico Times: Costa Rica Artists Rally to Protect Montezuma Waterfall After Environmental Damage (2026-10-26)

The Montezuma waterfall, a short forest hike from one of the Nicoya Peninsula's best-loved beach villages, now has its own protest song. On Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, 17 Costa Rican and international artists released "Catarata sin Tractor" ("Waterfall Without a Tractor") to draw attention to tree cutting and earthworks on a steep hillside near the falls, The Tico Times reported on Oct. 26. The case behind the song is still under investigation, and no one has been charged.

The song and the people behind it

The project was organized by musicians and environmental activists Fabián Pacheco and Rialengo, working with the environmental coalition Bloque Verde, according to The Tico Times and Delfino.cr. Contributors include Lucas Alberti, Marypaz Munay, La Voz Nativa, Luz María Romero, Paolo Nájera and Flor de Mar, among others. The track came out on A La Batalla Records on YouTube and SoundCloud, with a wider release on Spotify and other platforms planned for Nov. 13.

Pacheco and Rialengo have worked together before on environmental songs, including one about the Térraba Sierpe mangroves. For this one, Rialengo summed up the message to Delfino.cr in six words: "La catarata y la ecología se defienden" (The waterfall and ecology must be defended).

What SINAC documented

The facts on the ground come from Costa Rica's conservation agency, SINAC, through its Tempisque Conservation Area office in Cóbano. A technical report dated Sept. 11, 2026, described in reporting by The Tico Times, Delfino.cr and Semanario Universidad, found:

• About 6,564 square meters (roughly 1.6 acres) of altered land near the Montezuma River and falls.
• Of that, 554 square meters is State Natural Heritage land, public land with special legal protection. The rest is private.
• About 827 square meters of the private land falls inside the river's legally protected buffer zone.
• Vegetation cut and cleared, trees damaged, and soil moved to build terraces, fill and retaining structures.
• On one property, a cleared strip 10 to 20 meters wide and about 70 meters long on steep ground facing the waterfall.

SINAC's Cóbano office had no record of a permit for the tree cutting, The Tico Times reported on Oct. 11.

How the case unfolded

Neighbors raised it first. On July 21, the Montezuma Integral Development Association and about 200 residents wrote to SINAC and local authorities asking whether hillside work going on since 2025 had environmental and municipal permits. Residents said trucks had hauled gravel, fill and stone to the site from August to November 2025.

SINAC's first inspection in July found about a hectare of altered land and no one on site, so the agency referred the case to the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ). After a second visit on Aug. 12, regional director Nelson Marín said the violations were continuing and announced a halt to the works, according to Delfino.cr. SINAC later described it as a precautionary stop on one of the properties. A Sept. 8 follow-up found no new tree cutting, only soil added to grow grass on an existing terrace.

SINAC has since sent more information to the Public Prosecutor's Office unit for agrarian and environmental crimes. Legislator Norjelens Lobo Vargas has requested a certified copy of the case file.

Where the investigation stands

As of the Oct. 11 and Oct. 26 reports, the criminal case remained open, nobody had been charged, and authorities had not publicly identified who was legally responsible for the work. Prosecutors hadn't said when they'd decide whether to file charges.

A key technical question is still open. SINAC says it must establish what the land looked like before the work and whether its vegetation met the legal definition of forest. That determines whether the work counts as an illegal change in forest land use, and SINAC hasn't said when that assessment will be done.

What the artists and activists say

The campaigners go further than the official findings, and their claims are theirs alone. Bloque Verde argues the case shows weak enforcement of environmental law in tourist areas where land values are climbing, and told Semanario Universidad that protecting the area "debe ser una prioridad nacional" (should be a national priority). Pacheco has criticized what he sees as disregard for environmental law among some foreign investors and questioned whether officials are doing enough. The Tico Times noted that the investigation hasn't established those allegations.

Visiting Montezuma waterfall

The falls are reached by a public riverside trail from Montezuma village, and The Tico Times reported that authorities had not announced any access restrictions. Residents did report rocks falling onto the riverbank near the trail. Stay on the marked path, check conditions locally before you go, and keep off the river rocks after heavy rain. For other protected areas nearby, see our national parks map and our guide to nature reserves and wildlife corridors.

Montezuma is one of several places where neighbors have pushed agencies to act this year, alongside the Río Tárcoles dock case and the fight to restore Sámara's Río Lagarto mangrove. In nearby Santa Teresa, also in the Cóbano district, a marine biologist has raised a separate concern about development on the southern Nicoya Peninsula: beachfront lights driving away nesting sea turtles. Nationally, lawmakers gave final approval on Oct. 5 to tougher penalties for organized environmental crime, though that bill still awaited the president's signature in late October.

Frequently asked questions

What happened near Montezuma waterfall?

SINAC documented tree cutting, vegetation clearing and earthworks on about 6,564 square meters near the Montezuma River and falls, including 554 square meters of protected State land. The case is with judicial investigators and environmental prosecutors.

Has anyone been charged over the Montezuma clearing?

No. As of late October 2026, no charges had been filed and authorities hadn't publicly identified who was responsible.

Is Montezuma waterfall open to visitors?

As of the Oct. 11 Tico Times report, authorities hadn't announced any access restrictions. Residents reported some fallen rocks near the trail, so check locally before you hike.

What is 'Catarata sin Tractor'?

A protest song released Oct. 24, 2026, by 17 artists organized by Fabián Pacheco and Rialengo with Bloque Verde. It's on YouTube and SoundCloud, with a wider release planned for Nov. 13.

Sources and original reporting

1. The Tico Times: Costa Rica Artists Rally to Protect Montezuma Waterfall After Environmental Damage (2026-10-26)
2. The Tico Times: Prosecutors Probe Clearing on Protected Land Beside Montezuma Waterfall (2026-10-11)
3. Delfino.cr: 17 artistas se unen para defender la catarata de Montezuma con la canción 'Catarata sin Tractor' (2026-10-25)
4. Delfino.cr: Sinac documenta afectaciones ambientales en más de 6.500 m² cerca de catarata de Montezuma (2026-09-30)
5. Delfino.cr: Sinac constata delitos ambientales en Montezuma y ordena paralizar construcción cerca de río (2026-08-13)
6. Semanario Universidad: Sinac confirma afectación de patrimonio natural por intervenciones en catarata de Montezuma (2026-09-29)
7. CRHoy: OIJ y Fiscalía investigan daños en río y catarata de Montezuma (2026-10-11)
8. Ministerio Público de Costa Rica

We wrote this story from the published reports and official sources above. We didn't interview the people named unless the story says so.