Culture and customs of Costa Rica PDF
Preview Culture and customs of Costa Rica
Culture and Customs of Costa Rica Recent Titles in Culture and Customs of Latin America and the Caribbean Culture and Customs of Argentina David William Foster, Melissa Fitch Lockhart, and Darrell B. Lockhart Culture and Customs of Colombia Raymond Leslie Williams and Kevin G. Guerrieri Culture and Customs of the Dominican Republic LsabelZ. Brown Culture and Customs of Ecuador Michael Handelsman Culture and Customs of Costa Rica Chalene Helmuth Culture and Customs of Latin America and the Caribbean Peter Standish, Series Editor GREENWOOD PRESS Westport, Connecticut • London Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Helmuth, Chalene, 1965- Culture and customs of Costa Rica / Chalene Helmuth. p. cm.—(Culture and customs of Latin America and the Caribbean, ISSN 1521-8856) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-313-30492-0 (alk. paper) 1. Costa Rica—Civilization—20th century. 2. Costa Rica—Social life and customs. I. Title. II. Series. F1548.H45 2000 972.8605—dc21 99-089161 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available. Copyright © 2000 by Chalene Helmuth All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, by any process or technique, without the express written consent of the publisher. Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 99-089161 ISBN: 0-313-30492-0 ISSN: 1521-8856 First published in 2000 Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881 An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc. www.greenwood.com Printed in the United States of America @r The paper used in this book complies with the Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National Information Standards Organization (Z39.48-1984). 10 9 8 7 6 5 To Carmen Naranjo, who embodies Costa Rican hospitality This page intentionally left blank Contents Illustrations ix Series Foreword xi Acknowledgments xiii Introduction xv Chronology xix 1 Unique in Latin America 1 2 The Legacy of Social Reform: What Makes Costa Rica So Different 27 3 Religion 43 4 Social Customs 59 5 Broadcasting and Print Media 77 6 Literature 85 7 Performing Arts 99 viii CONTENTS 8 Art 111 Appendix A: Internet Resources 119 Appendix B: Presidential Elections 1953-Present 121 Appendix C: Costa Rica at a Glance 123 Glossary 125 Selected Bibliography 129 Index 131 Illustrations Map of Costa Rica xiv National Post Orifice 3 Coffee tree 13 Children line up to "vote" 33 A mother walks home with her schoolchildren 35 Metropolitan Cathedral 51 Neighborhood pulperia 60 Soda Tapia 62 Farmer's market 65 Women's soccer match 68 City park 69 Preparing for the holidays 72
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