The laid back, non confrontationist attitude of the ‘Ticos’, as the people of Costa Rica are referred to, had initially led to the visual art forms being somewhat neglected as compared to what was happening in neighboring countries of Latin America.
The original inhabitants of this country, the Indians, had little art and it was only when the Spaniards came in first as conquerors and then as settlers, was there any substantial developments in art, culture and music. Since then people have migrated from Africa, the Caribbean, North America and lately Asia, leading to a rich variety of cultures melting together to form a unique blend that is purely and typically Costa Rican. However, the Spanish influence still dominates in the form of the prevalent language, religion (Catholic) and the visual arts.
Museum of Costa Rican Art
Ticos have progressed well on the way to lead the ‘Pure Life’ and are able to enjoy some of the highest standards of education. Culturally they love their music, dance and theatre with the National Symphony Orchestra performing regularly at the National Theatre in the capital San Jose to rave reviews, reggae music is heard more on the Atlantic seaboard. The xylophone-like marimba is the mainstay of Costa Rican music and local discotheques across the large towns as well as in the smaller resorts play a heady mixture of local and international popular tunes. Latin music, jazz and Penas (a performance art blending poetry and spoken words with music) are also very popular, and all these can be experienced in places like the Goethe Institute, Chavetas Tavern, Cocoloco, The Shakespeare Bar, etc. Theatre is another big draw for Costa Ricans and there seem to be more theatre companies per capita here than any other country in the world! Watching Spanish or English language movies are the preferred option for mall loving younger Ticos.
Recently local artists have made a name for themselves by exhibiting mature and contemporary art forms that can be seen and bought at places like Alliance Francaise, Juan Santa Maria Museum, Museum of Costa Rican Art and the numerous galleries spread across San Jose and other cities. Dance is another form of entertainment the Ticos excel in and practically everyone takes lessons some time or the other. Folk dances are bright, boisterous, exciting and can be enjoyed at the many carnivals and fairs taking place year round all over the land. Floats, food and drink as well as non-lethal bull fights are other crowd pullers at these events.
Costa Rican vacations without dining out at the numerous fancy restaurants and eating street food are experiences not to be missed. While the staple food is rice with black beans, salad and a meat / fish / sea-food side dish, there are various other dishes to savor. Exotic fruit are plentiful here and the beer as well as the coffee is famed the world over.
More adventurous entertainment can be had in the form of surfing, snorkeling, diving, hiking, taking night walks next to spewing volcanoes, white water rafting, sky diving, etc. Costa Ricans themselves love their football (soccer) and those so inclined can lose their shirt at the casinos.
