BREAKING: Death reported at Costa Rica’s Envision Festival [Updated]

by: Robyn Dexter Feb 26, 2018

The final day of Costa Rica’s Envision Festival took a tragic turn as a death was reported at the beach just outside the festival grounds.

An attendee, reportedly a volunteer, passed away at Uvita Beach in Puntarenas. The man, identified as 32-year-old Wesner Chavarría Camareno, was pronounced dead the morning of Sunday, Feb. 25. Camareno was transferred to a local hospital but had expired by the time of his arrival. Security personnel for the festival declined to comment on the situation, though witness reports state that Camareno was in the water up to his knees before suddenly disappearing. A festival source informed Dancing Astronaut that drowning was the cause of death, though further details were not forthcoming.

Envision Festival is a four-day music and arts event that has taken place at Rancho la Merced in Uvita for the past eight years. Envision personnel told Dancing Astronaut that this is the first death to take place at the festival since its founding in 2011.

[UPDATE 7:30 EST]

Envision Festival released an official state on Camareno’s death:

Envision Festival organizers were shocked by an accident that took place Sunday morning, on the beach adjacent to the site where the festival takes place.

The organizers are deeply moved by the loss of a human life under still unknown circumstances during the fourth day of the event.

The safety of all who participate at the festival is always a top priority, that is why the organization has a deployment of security personnel throughout the event, with free water, harm reduction provided by Zendo, an herbal medical clinic and a state of the art western medical facility. The Red Cross stays available 24 hours of the day, from the before the event all the way to the end of the festival.

Being aware of the risks associated with the beach, the security protocol of Festival Envision prohibits the exit to the beach during night hours. The access from the festival to the beach closes daily from 6 in the afternoon. With sunset, all attendees must enter the festival site, and access is kept closed until 6 am the next day.

Envision Festival reaffirms its position as an entity that promotes the protection of the environment, learning and celebration of both culture and art, supporting tourism every year in Uvita, Dominical, and Bahía Ballena.

[UPDATE 2:07 EST]

Users have taken to Envision’s Instagram account to voice their displeasure with the lack of response from the festival.