Cultures of Costa Rica

With only two days left in Costa Rica, I have learned various cultures here so far, especially from the Boruca village. As one of my biggest goal for this trip, learn and tell the culture of Costa Rica, I will be sharing some things about cultures I’ve learned here (with some extra research because I couldn’t remember everything) in the post.

Boruca Masks 

As we were visiting Boruca village, we got a chance to paint our own masks. David, our guide there also explained for us about the importance of it. La máscara de Boruca, the mask of Boruca is a traditional mask made of wood, which is used by Borucan people and souvenir for tourists. I learned that there is usually a person who carves the mask to its shape, and they past to the next person to paint it. We met the mask carver, who is David’s cousin, and he shared to us about how he makes the masks. He said that they use balsa wood to make the masks because it’s soft enough to carve. We asked him about how he decides what to carve on them, and he told us it depends on the customer’s preference and purpose, so each mask is unique. David told us that the masks are for strong soldiers of the village. There are different meaning behind each one, but a lot of them shows fight to protect their families. I also saw many masks at a museum for sale. They were all very colorful and unique, and all of them seemed to have a theme. Some of them had animals on them, such as jaguars, butterflies, frogs, birds, and even some combination of those. A lot of them were scary faces of people, with some decorations of feathers. The masks were all so beautiful and I really enjoyed learning about them.

Pura Vida

One of the most unique word to Costa Rica I found is Pura Vida. Pura Vida translates directly to “pure life” in English, but it’s a phrase used in various situations in Costa Rica. I saw it everywhere here; a sign at the airport saying “Pura Vida means welcome”, in posters at hotels we’ve been, big signs by the roads, and on souvenirs like hat, badges, and shirts. I also heard it a lot, mostly from locals. For example when I said “Gracias(Thank you)”, they reply with “¡Pura Vida!”. At first, I didn’t know when or how to use this phrase, but I figured it out that it is a spiritual word for Costa Rican, where they share their positivity and energy with each other. I love this word so much and I hope to have one like this in Canada too. I found out that Pura Vida is a word that connects people in Costa Rica together, and remind them their proud as Costa Rican. Another word that is unique to Costa Rica is Tico and Tica. It is a word that Costa Rican call themselves, and Tico is for boy, Tica is for girl. I found it on the menu in a restaurant we went, "Ticos Gallo Pinto" was the name of the meal. I really enjoyed having these unique and happy words flying around.

Tamales 

When we visited the Boruca scouts, we asked them what their favourite food was, and all of them got the same answer, "Tamales". I was very curious what kind of food it was, since I never heard of that before. Fortunately, we got a chance to make Tamales by ourselves in the village. The scouts took us to a small neighborhood, and a lady told us how to make the Tamales. First, she mixed salt and oil with rice, and cut the pork into small pieces. She didn't have a recipe, but she knew exactly how much amount to put since she has been making it from long time ago. She mixed some seasoning with the pork like Achiote. When it was our turn to make it, we first pick up a big leaf of plantain, and scooped a spoon of rice, a piece of pork, and another scoop of rice. Finally, we wrapped it around with that leaf, and it's finished. Tamale is a traditional food in Costa Rica, espacially in Boruca where the recipe has been past down from grandparents to parents, and to them. I was suprised by how well this traditional food has been kept for, and how the kids still love them a lot. Because I know there is a lot of food from other countries like America and Mexico around Costa Rica. Even though we didn't get to taste the Tamales, I still enjoyed making one with the Boruca scouts. 

Stone Spheres

As we entered the Museo Comunitario de Boruca (Community Museum of Boruca), we saw a big round stone in the building. According to David, these stone spheres are not only found in Boruca, but the whole Diquís Delta and on Isla del Caño areas. And the stones are made by Diquís. They were discovered by Americans in 1930s when they came for business. Because they were planting banana trees, they had to cut the original plants so they have space. They found the stones while doing that, and were suprised by it. For a while, the stone spheres was a mistery, but after researches, we found out that they were made by Diquís culture. The stones are a cultural symbol for the Diquís, and they were made to put beside their front door to protect them. I was suprised how round and big the people could make the stone to be, because I believe they didn't have much tools to use at the time. It is an interesting history of Costa Rica, and I would like to explore more about it. 

These four are mainly the cultures I have learned and discovered in this trip. I feel like we focused more on wildlife and the environment then culture or history of Costa Rica on the trip, but I still saw a lot of unique cultures here. I was amazed by how well they are keeping their traditions and cultures, and I would like to keep their Costa Rican spirit forever. Even though we only have a few day left at Costa Rica, I will enjoy every moment we get until the last minute! ¡Pura Vida!

By Rika