 Cultural Evolution
Costa Rica was primarily an agricultural country before the
European invasion. With the overtaking of the European
colonialists, the culture of original inhabitants was exploited to
the frill. However, the current cultural evolution of Costa Rica
has also got the shades of European arts and architecture ingrained
in it.
Cultural distribution
The cultural distribution manifests that more than 75 percent of
Costa Ricans are Roman Catholics and 14 percent are evangelical
Christians. Further, the Blacks inhabitants on the Caribbean coast
are strictly Protestant. You can also find tint of other
denominations in San José, besides a small Jewish
community.
Languages spoken
Predominantly Spanish speaking, Costa Rica is also filled with
English speaking regions. Spanish is the official language. Many
Caribbean blacks converse in a unique dialect of English, known as
Creole. Bribri - a Native language - is spoken in some of the
scattered isolated areas, and is understood by limited number of
people.
Staple food
Costa Rica's traditional cuisines engross South American staples of
beef, chicken and fish dishes infused with rice, corn or beans.
Many tourists can also enjoy fresh fruit supplements stuffed in
pizza and burgers. Besides, Costa Ricans also have a taste for
European dishes that are too salty to be enjoyed by an average
person. They also have a good variety of coffee shakes, which is of
the best quality in the whole of Central America.
Arts and Painting
Santa Ana and the neighboring Escazú has been the haven for
many contemporary artists, who were acclaimed with the nation's top
cultural prizes. Further, in late 1920s, Teodorico Quiros and a
group of contemporaries improvised an art style known as the Costa
Rican "Landscape" movement, showcasing the diversified locales such
as mountain towns with their cobblestone streets and adobe houses
backed by volcanoes.
The tourists can also visit the Museum of Costa Rican Art to see a
lovely sight of European impressionist movement and enjoy seeing
sculptured masterpieces like the chiseled stone image of a child
suckling his mother's breast, outside the Maternidad Carit
maternity clinic in southern San José.
Crafts
Costa Rica offers a rich storehouse for wooden carretas (ox-carts)
which have become Costa Rica's tourist symbol. Some of the natives
stick to mostly single craft. Further, the art and crafts also
finds a blend of mediocre and junk furniture items. You can also
find the traits of Chorotega Indian tradition of pottery in
Guaitil, in Nicoya. Santa Ana is also famous for its ceramics such
as green ware bowls, urns, vases, coffee mugs, and small sized
adobe houses fired in brick kilns.
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