Culture

Ethnicity

Costa Rica is situated where the Mesoamerican and South American native cultures met. Therefore the north of the country was the southernmost point of Mayan influence and the central while southern portions of the country had Chibcha, South American influences. When the Spanish conquistadores arrived in the 16th century, most of the colonisation and cities were established in the southern-central part of the country. These influences are still seen today, as the north-western part of the country's population (Guanacaste) have a generally darker skinned native-American-like population, while the central and southern parts of the country have lighter skinned, European-like factions.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Atlantic coast of the country was populated with African slaves, during the construction of the railroads to the eastern coast. As a result, the eastern-side of the country (Limon), has a predominantly black African ancestry. During railroad construction, thousands of Chinese families also arrived in Costa Rica, but unlike the African population they spread to most of the country. Even though they are widespread, there are few large concentrations other than San Jose and Limon. All of these influences have developed the extremely varied ethnicity of the country.

Ticos and Ticas

Costa Ricans have long called themselves Ticos, in reference to the use of diminutives particular to Costa Rican speech.

In Spanish it's common to create diminutives by suffixing the -ito/ita morpheme. This helps soften speech and appear more approachable when interacting with others.

Thus momento (a moment) becomes momentito (a brief moment). In Costa Rica, as in some other regions, when a noun ends in -o or -a, the -ito/ita morpheme is frequently, but not always, replaced with -ico/ica; for example, momentico. This practice gives words a diminutive but affectionate quality.

Music

Most music and the most representative folklore comes from the north of the country (the part that once had heavy Mayan influence), including the Nicoya Peninsula, and the Atlantic coast (Afro-Caribbean culture). Costa Rican music includes a rhythm known as tambito as well a distinctive musical genre known as punto. Two examples are the punto guanacasteco, which hails from Guanacaste Province, and the punto sancarleño, from San Carlos in Alajuela Province.

Nowadays, rock music is very popular. The Costa Rican rock movement started around the 70's - 80's and bands today enjoy some popularity, especially among young people. Bands such as Gandhi and Vagrant Downfall (who defines their music as 'eclectic rock in Spanish') and Evolucion (among others) are quite popular. This movement started in the early 80's with the pioneer work of the band Café con Leche and José Capmany.

Religion

Catholicism is recognised as the official religion in Costa Rica and even though many Costa Ricans claim they are Catholic, devotion varies among the population.

A common practice among Latin American countries is the presence of a 'Patrona'. This represents a variation of the Virgin Mary and is unique for most countries. The 'patrona' of Costa Rica is the 'Virgen de los Angeles' also known as 'La Negrita'. The Virgin is one of the most important Catholic symbols because it is country specific and allows common people to identify with religion and feel a sense of direct contact with a saint to whom they can pray.

There are several religious festivals in the country but the most important is the tradition known as La Romería in which people from all over the country walk every August 2nd from their home to a cathedral dedicated to the Virgin in the city of Cartago.

When they arrive, followers visit a dark coloured stone image of the Virgin Mary that appeared in the 16th Century to an Indian native on a hill located in Cartago, the same place where the Cathedral was built.

Despite Catholicism being the official religion, Costa Rica is considered to be quite tolerant of other religions. Some of the religions in Costa Rica include Jehovah's Witness, Judaism, Islam, Hare Krishna and other smaller groups that practice traditions of their ancestry. Protestant forms of Christianity are common in Costa Rica, and make up 14% of Costa Rica's Christian population. The main religion in Costa Rica is Roman Catholicism.