Costa Rica Culture and People

When Columbus arrived on the coast of Costa Rica in 1502, he found numerous autonomous tribes, all with distinct cultures and customs. After Spanish colonists followed, Costa Rica endured two generations of warfare. Indigenous populations fell from an estimated 400,000 to 80,000 within little more than 50 years. Today, Quakers and ethnic Costa Ricans (who refer to themselves as "Ticos") populate the Monteverde area. The more developed Costa Rican-dominated town of Santa Elena has 6,500 permanent residents as of the most recent census.

Family ties are very strong throughout Costa Rica, and traditions revolve around the family from birth to death. Some immensely important family traditions are baptisms, first communions, engagement parties, weddings, and funerals - events which are attended by the extended family as well as by friends and their family members.

For the past 100 years, the country has known only two very short military regimes. Following a civil war in 1948, in two of the most innovative moves in recent history, Costa Rican president Pepe Figueres constitutionally abolished the army, and limited presidents to serve one term only. Nine presidential campaigns since 1949 has produced victories for the opposition candidate seven times - all with an 80 percent voter participation rate! In a region plagued by civil wars, human rights abuses, and until recently dictatorships and poverty, Costa Rica stands out as an exception. The new Constitution of 1949 included a progressive labor code, upheld a system of social security, and contained a set of social guarantees (such as a minimum wage), that gave the average citizen rights that were ahead of their time.

In 1869, the country became one of the first in the world to make education both free and obligatory, funded by the state's share of the great coffee wealth. By 1920, fully half of the population was literate, and by 1970, 89 percent were able to read and write. Education up to the sixth grade is obligatory, and the network of public schools is dispersed into the far corners of the land. The country is now home to a handful of well regarded universities, such as the National University and the University of Costa Rica. Fully 27 percent of the national budget is spent on education and culture, supporting four public universities, three symphonic orchestras, five autonomous state publishing houses and a growth rate in education of 10 percent yearly.