The Cultural Richness and Variety of Costa Rica

Languages of the country: Five indigenous languages belong to the Chibcha language family which are Cabécar language, Bribri language, Maléku language, Buglere language,and Guaymí language. There has been lots of immigrants that settled in costa rica, which contributed to the foregein language use. One of the foreign languages is Mekatelyu or Patua (an english based language). And of course spanish is the official language of costa rica, used in politics and educational institutions.The quaker community speaks an older dialect of English.

Monetary unit of the country and how it compares to the dollar: Costa Rica’s currency is the colon (₡), named after Christopher Columbus. It comes in both paper and coin form. The paper money goes from bills of ₡1,000 (called a “mil” (Spanish for 1,000) or “un rojo” because of the bill’s red color) to ₡50,000, but we’ve never seen anything higher than ₡20,000 come out of the ATM. Coins go from an almost valueless ₡5 to ₡500 (“quinientos” (Spanish for 500)) and are quite heavy for the higher denominations. One USD is 577.12 CRC. if it makes more sense, 500 CRC would be 87 US cents.

Current type of government and leader of country: Costa Rica is a democratic, free and independent republic. The current President is Mr. Carlos Andrés Alvarado Quesada and the Vice presidents are Ms. Epsy Campbell Barr and Mr. Marvin Rodríguez Cordero. Include some basic information on the leader of the country: Carlos Alvarado was sworn in on 8 May 2018 and replaced Luis Guillermo Solís, and became the 48th president of Costa Rica. Carlos Alvarado was born in 1980 in San José and grew up with his brother and sister in Pavas. Carlos is married and has a son. He has a Bachelor’s degree in communication, and a Master’s degree in political science from the University of Costa Rica. Alvarado studied at the Sussex University in England and has earned a Master’s degree in development studies.

Information on the weather in the country during the different times of year: the carribian side is usually experiencing rain, but it the fall the rest of the country is having the worst rain period of the year and the carribian side will usually be dry and sunny. During the North areas winter (meaning the U.S.), Costa rica is experiencing “summer”. Costa Rica’s seasons are reversed relative to the U.S., Europe and Canada.

A description of two major components of culture that are important to the country (art, dance, food, holidays, etc.): Maize is consumed as tortillas, which accompany rice and beans—typically eaten three times a day with eggs, cheese, meat, or chicken and with chayote stew or salad at lunch or supper. The midday meal was once the largest, but the long lunch break has succumbed to a fondness for fast food. Beverages include coffee, sugary fruit drinks, and soda. Alcohol consumption is high. Support for the Arts. Beginning in the 1950s, the state provided extensive support for the arts and arts education, funding a National Symphony and Youth Orchestra, a major publishing house, dance and theater troupes.