Costa Rica and Its Traditional Festivals
At the start of the year, Costa Ricans come together for various traditional festivals in the northern part of the country, in Zapote, Palmares, and Santa Cruz. This was an opportunity for Clémence to truly immerse herself in the local festivities.
She shares her experience with you…
This year I experienced the festivities in Zapote and then the famous“Fiestas Típicas de Santa Cruz.”
The latter are renowned throughout the country; they bring together many Costa Ricans for a week in early January, particularly residents of Guanacaste.
Santa Cruz holds the title of“National Folk City ” because it preserves the country’s customs and traditions in terms of dance, music, and cuisine.
The Santa Cruz festival is a patron saint festival in honor of the Black Christ of Esquipulas, who is the object of devotion and veneration by millions of Catholics in Central America.
So I immersed myself in these local traditions during an evening out.
I’d never had the chance to see so many people gathered in one place in Costa Rica. I later learned that 10,000 people were in attendance at the concert I went to that evening. (The downside…the traffic jams afterward!)
I started by exploring the city center, which was filled with parades, people dancing, street vendors, and “marimba” concerts (a musical instrument similar to a xylophone, typical of popular culture in the province of Guanacaste) etc…
Unbelievable! I couldn’t help but walk through those streets with a smile on my face!
Then, I wrapped up this exploration with a concert by a famous Mexican band that’s very popular with Costa Ricans: Los Angeles Azules.
The people of Guanacaste proudly wore their cowboy hats and boots and let loose to the beat of the cumbia, a dance style very popular among the Ticos!
I think I was the only Frenchwoman in the middle of that crowd, and I really had a wonderful time—and, as always, I was surrounded by the smiles of the Costa Ricans.
I wouldn’t be surprised if these joyful holiday traditions are linked to the fact that this region is home to so many centenarians! Life is good in Guanacaste!
Perhaps you’ll have the chance to travel to Costa Rica during this time and discover for yourself these wonderful traditions, as well as the incredible Guanacaste region, home to stunning national parks and some of the country’s most beautiful beaches…
Clémence, Travel Designer at Terra Caribea
