Costa Rica (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Matthew Firestone [22]
In conjunction with two indigenous women, Paula Palmer wrote Taking Care of Sibö’s Gifts, an inspiring account of the intersection between the spiritual and environmental values of the Bribrí.
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POPULATION
Costa Ricans call themselves Ticos (men or groups of men and women) or Ticas (women). Two-thirds of the nation’s more than four million people live in the Meseta Central (Central Valley) and almost one-third is under the age of 15.
In the 1940s, Costa Rica was an overwhelmingly agricultural society, with the vast majority of the population employed by coffee and banana plantations. By the end of the century, the economy had shifted quite dramatically, and only one-fifth of the labor force was employed by agriculture. These days, industry (especially agro-industry) employs another one-fifth, while the service sector employs more than half of the labor force. Banking and commerce are prominent, but tourism alone employs more than 10% of the labor force.
Costa Rica hosts an annual tennis tournament known as La Copa del Café (The Coffee Cup).
Most inhabitants are mestizos, having a mix of Spanish and indigenous and/or African roots, though the vast majority of Ticos consider themselves to be white. Although it’s difficult to offer a precise explanation for this cultural phenomenon, it is partly due to the fact that Costa Rica’s indigenous populations were virtually wiped out by the Spanish conquistadores (conquerors). As a result, most Costa Ricans prefer to trace their ancestry back to the European continent and take considerable pride in the purity and clarity of their Spanish.
Indigenous Costa Ricans today make up only 1% of the total population. These groups include the Bribrí and Cabécar (Click here), the Brunka (Click here), the Guaymí (Click here) and the Maleku (Click here). For more information on their histories, see boxed text.
Less than 3% of the population is black, and the vast majority is concentrated on the Caribbean coast. Tracing its ancestry to Jamaican immigrants who were brought to build railroads in the 19th century, this population speaks Mecatelyu: a creole of English, Spanish and Jamaican English. It identifies strongly with its counterparts in other Caribbean countries; coconut-spiced cuisine and calypso music are only a couple of elements that travelers can enjoy. In Limón, still common are the rituals of obeah, or sorcery, passed down from African ancestors.
Chinese immigrants (1%) also arrived in Costa Rica to build railroads in the 19th century, though there have been regular, more voluntary waves of immigration since then. In recent years North American and European immigration has greatly increased, and it is estimated that roughly 50,000 expats from these two regions presently live in the country.
Get player statistics, game schedules and find out everything you ever needed to know about La Sele, the Costa Rican national soccer team, at www.fedefutbol.com (in Spanish).
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SPORTS
The national sport is, you guessed it, fútbol. Every town has a soccer field (which usually serves as the most conspicuous landmark) where neighborhood aficionados play in heated matches.
The selección nacional (national selection) team is known affectionately as La Sele. Legions of rabid Tico fans still recall La Sele’s most memorable moments, including an unlikely showing in the quarterfinals at the 1990 World Cup in Italy and a solid (if not long-lasting) performance in the 2002 World Cup. La Sele qualified to participate in the 2006 World Cup in Germany, although the team failed to progress beyond the first round; it didn’t manage to qualify in 2010. Costa Rica has also played several times in the Copa América, twice making it to the quarterfinals. Women’s soccer is not followed with as much devotion, but there is a female national team. The regular season is from August to May.
Surfing