Walter Ferguson was born in Guabito, Panama. His family soon settled in Costa Rica and he spent most of his childhood in Jamaica Town, a neighborhood in Port Limon. There he lived in his aunt´s house, where he used to receive organ lessons. His parents moved to Cahuita, a small hamlet in the far South of the province, where he lives until today. From an early age, he showed a grand interest in music and he learned to play the harmonica, guitar and clarinet.