Everything that you would expect for a tropical destination is served up on a golden platter on Costa Rica's Caribbean coast. Lush surroundings and friendly people are the ultimate compliments to any traveler's vacation. Bordered by Nicaragua and Panama, the Caribbean coast spans almost 200 kilometers. |
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This Caribbean town is the perfect place to visit if you're in need of rest and relaxation. The residents are open and friendly and the town itself lends itself to exploration. Limón boasts a population of some 85.000 people, most of which are of Afro - Caribbean heritage. The town has increased in size steadily since the 1970s and has proven to be a good place for Costa Ricans to settle down. The climate is warm and tropical, the surroundings are beautiful and a recent influx of tour operators has brought a new focus of the town. Limón was founded in 1870 as a port for exporting bananas and grains. Today it continues this tradition although it is now complimented by the arrival of cruise ships that stop off for a few hours of shore leave. The number of parks in the immediate area make Limón a great base point for travel up and down the coast. The hotels vary in price, as well as in size, but all offer excellent service and hospitality. Some are perched on seaside cliffs and provide excellent views. Visit the town's central market found downtown. The neatly organized stalls offer everything from fruits and vegetables to clothing and shoes. If you're low on supplies or want to purchase a few handcrafted items, you'll find it all here. Sodas are plentiful and make excellent blended fruit drinks of papaya, mango, blackberry and pineapple. You can accompany it with an "empanada", a cheese or meat filled pastry that is fried and served hot. Ensure that you make Limón a stop on your itinerary when you visit the Caribbean coast. |
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Limón has been the cradle of important personalities: poets, musicians, cooks, storytellers and painters. They have all, through their work, popularized the Limón culture and projected it beyond the limits of its province, both inside and outside of Costa Rica. Thus, it should come as no surprise that this land is the stage of one of the most renowned carnivals in Central America. Today, thanks to the influence of Alfred King - an Afro-Caribbean who 50 years ago began to share with the region's populace his people's beliefs and traditions - Black and White, young and old, city dwellers and Limonenses enjoy the celebration of this Caribbean party upon the arrival of October. The Carnival is a door that beckons us to cross the threshold and discover the richness of Limón culture. This festival is merely a sampling of what the Afro-Costa Rican community offers, a gathering by which many people have glimpsed the richness of Afro-Costa Rican culture, some perhaps without seeing it in context. |
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People swarm to Limón each October captivated by the music, a clear expression of the thoughts and feelings of the Black community. Beyond the reverberating sounds of the Carnival drums lay the music's ancestral roots. These rhythms were born in various regions of Africa, whose people, upon immigratin, adapted them to the characteristics of American lands. From an early age, Afro-Caribbeans internalize their rhythms as part of a lifestyle in which their environment, their daily life and their artistic expressions are closely related. Two principal rhythms exist on the Caribbean: Calypso and Reggae. Both inspire the youth and breathe life into dances and gatherings with friends and neighbors. The first and more traditional rhythm is the Calypso, vvhich has fairly old roots. Its interpreter, called 'CaIypsonian,' and its foundation are based on the singing of the plantation slaves throughout the Caribbean, which transmitted, through the song, news and messages of the Black community without being heard or noticed by the masters. Quince Duncan and Carlos Meléndez, researchers investigating this theme, comment in one of their studies that "The Calypso is native to the Caribbean, the expression of excellence among the English-speaking Antillean community. Its contents are the true chapters of the history of Black people, of their daily lives." Limón has produced some important interpreters. Some are no longer alive, but their melodies remain a living force that passes on their people's ancestral roots to the younger generations. Among them we must mention Walter Ferguson, Joseph Darking ("Tun"), Edgar Hutchinson ("Pitdn") and Roberto Kirlew ('Buda'), for whom a guitar and a group of friends vvas enough inspiration to 'start the party' on the porches of their homes. The second rhythm, which perhaps has more relevance to the newer generations, is Reggae. This musical genre began in the 1960s as part of a movement to revitatize Black ethnicity. Its philosophy is based on the ideas of Marcus Garvey, who said Blacks should physically return to Africa to recuperate their ancestral roots. The movement's main proponent was the popular Bob Marley, who sang about these philosophies in his lyrics and gained many foltowers. The first Reggae heard in Costa Rica was imported, as its development occurred much later than the Antillean music. Reggae began in Costa Rica in the 1970s and took on increased popularity after Marley's death in 1981. Younger musicians have recently emerged in Costa Rica and popularized the Reggae rhythm, but their themes have varied somewhat. Among them are Ragga by Roots, Baby Rasta, Marfil, the duo Banton and Ghetto and the soloist Tapón. Many of them reside in the capital and interpret their music with adaptations to please the public and obtain the sponsorship of international recording companies. |
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Afro-Caribbeans are known for their preparation of flavorful dishes, rich with condiments, spices and characteristic ingredients of African descent. The recipes have been handed down from generation to generation, and even the younger generation knows the traditional and authentic taste of their foods. These recipes have traveled with them, from the lands of Africa to the present black inhabitants of Limón. Sonic of the ingredients have remained the same, as they brought them along and planted them in the New World; other ingredients were substituted by the offerings of the new continent. Visiting Limón without tasting the delicious cooking of the Afro-Caribbean community is like staying home. To truly know Limón you must taste the "rondón," "patí" "rice n' beans," and drink "agua de sapo" (toad water), a refreshment prepared with lemon juice, molasses, ginger and "something more," as the Afro-Caribbean cooks tend to say when you ask them the secrets of their recipes. An Afro-Costa Rican restaurant highly recommended by the inhabitants of the Atlantic province is the "Black Star Line", located in the heart of the central county. But there's no lack of small "sodas" or people that sell homemade goodies right from their houses. The locals are your best guide and can recommend the best places. All throughout the day, the aroma of these Caribbean delights fills the neighborhood streets of the Atlantic province in an invitation to follow your appetite. Soups, vegetable plates, rice: all seasoned with the experienced hands of the cooks who welcome you to their tables to seduce you with a particular food. |
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Many have used words to reflect the spirit and cultural richness of Limón. Although not abundant, literature about Afro-Costa Rican culture is filled with images, peculiarities of expression and themes affecting the relations between the Black community and other groups. The main relationship dealt with is that of the "cartagos" (as they call the people from Limón who inhabit the Central Valley). The theme is presented not only within Black narrations and literary characters, but also among the literature of White people who have explored themes of Black ethnicity and written their own views of life in Limón. Quince Duncan stands out among the distinguished authors of Afro-Caribbean literature. He has written important essays on this social group, including "The Black in Costa Rica," with Carlos Mel6ndez. Additionally, he has produced works of fiction such as 'Una Cancibn en Ia Madrugada" (A Song at Dawn), "Los Cuatro Espejos" (The Four Mirrors) and "El Vigfa" (The Watchtower). Joaquin Guitirez, renowned novelist and storyteller, is another distinguished author who has brought Afro-Costa Rican themes to the forefront of national literature. Born in Lim6n in 1918, he became a journalist and novelist. Among his best works on the subject are "Puerto Limbo," "MurAmonos Federico" and the most beautiful of all, "Cocorf>' a children's book that describes the adventures of a mischievous little Black boy and his friends (a titf monkey and an enormous green turtle). Recently, Chilean author Tatiana Loho, who resides in Costa Rica, has begun focusing on Limbo themes within her investigations and literature. She has written stories based on real occurrences, in some cases, and on happenings that appear to be real, in others. Her main novel on this theme, titled "Calypso," is a rich narrative about the life of three Black women and their relationship with a White man. She has also published a valuable study with Mauricio Melbndez, called "Negros y Blancos, Todo Mezclado" (Blacks and Whites, All Mixed), which looks at the longtime presence of African descendants in Costa Rica and their contribution to the rich idiosyncrasy of the "tico" (Costa Rican). The poetic verses of author Shirley Campbell also stand out among Afro-Caribbean literature. Her essay "Rotundamente Negra" (Rotundly Black) is perhaps her best-known piece, describing the life and implications of assuming her role as a woman and member of the Black ethnicity. Limbns Afro-Costa Rican culture is quite complex. Its expressions, often reduced to simplistic interpretation, flirt with our curiosity to knox.v more about this world, presenting a temptation to open our hearts and our minds and let ourselves succumb to the mystery, rhythm and flavor hidden amongst the Caribbean. |
Caribbean
