Costa Rica

The Republic of Costa Rica is a country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the south-southeast, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, and by the Caribbean Sea to the east. Costa Rica is seen as an example of political stability in the region, and sometimes refered to as the "Switzerland of Central America." Costa Rica has no army.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Costa Rica

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In Costa Rica, the locals refer to themselves as "Tico" (maje) or mae (sort of "man" (actually maje means "dumb") idiom in a very popular and "only with close friends" way), or "Tica" (female). The "Tico" ideal is that of a very friendly, helpful, laid back, unhurried, educated and environmentally aware people, with little worry for deadlines or the "normal" stresses of United States life. Visitors from the United States and Europe are often referred to as "Gringos," which is virtually always congenial in nature.

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The reason that the Costa Ricans call Americans (mostly) "Gringos" is because during the war, the American soldiers were dressed in green, traveling through Costa Rica. The Tico's were shouting to them "Green Go!" earning them the name "Gringos".

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In fact ticos was a name given by the rest of centralamericans who used to hear them end many words with the "-ico" diminutive suffix, such as "un momentico" which is in a short moment, or "platico" which is a little dish.

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Costa Rica boasts a varied history. Costa Rica was the point where the Mesoamerican and South American native cultures met. The north west of the country, Nicoya, was the southernmost point of Nahuatl cultural influence when the Spanish conquerors(conquistadores) came in the 16th century. The center and south portions of the country had Chibcha influences. The Atlantic coast was populated with African slaves due to the practice of enslavement in the 17th and 18th centuries. In addition, during this 19th century thousands of Chinese families came to the country to work on the construction of the railroad system connecting the urban populations of the Central Plateau to the port of Limon on the Caribbean.

Related Topics:
Nahuatl - Conquistadores - Chibcha - Limon

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