Truth is stranger than fiction

Posted on by stanleyobando

Three days left and I’m thinking about the many strange facts I learned this year.

The iconic Isla del Coco as a penal colony? A renowned poet who learned his Communist underpinnings at a Turrialba shoe shop? A refuge where Cuban exiles could seek protection and grow sugar cane?

Costa Rican history’s got it all. And we’re just barely scratching the surface here, the lightest of Wikipedia browsing. Imagine the vast sea of surprising stories that is out there.

What about today? Horse serum developed at a snake-bite facility that could change the way COVID-19 is treated? Talamancan leaders feeding women’s soccer players through the crisis? Curioser and curioser. Better and better.

The poet in Costa Rica

Posted on by stanleyobando

On this day in 1893, José Martí visited Costa Rica for the first time.

I went down the rabbit hole a bit on this one and discovered that his visit took place in the context of a very close Costa Rica-Cuba relationship. Costa Rica was actively providing support for the revolutionary movement in Cuba at the time, and even set aside government land in Nicoya to establish a colony, led by Antonio Maceo, where Cuban revolutionaries could refuge and raise tobacco and sugar cane. It was to bring news of the revolution to Maceo that Martí first came to Costa Rica, and he later expressed deep gratitude to Costa Rica for its support.

In honor of this anniversary, here’s a phrase of Martí’s that seems particularly fitting for our own revolutionary (we hope?) times: “Mientras más honda la herida, / Es mi canto más hermoso.” (“The deeper the wound, the more beautiful my song.”)

Feliz martes-para-las-artes.

I’m a writer in San José, Costa Rica, on a year-long quest to share daily posts on inspiring people, places and ideas from my adopted home as a kind of tonic during a rough time in the world. Sign up (top right of this page) to receive a little dose of inspiration every weekday in your mailbox; tell a friend; check out past posts; and please connect with me on Instagram or Facebook! If you want to learn more about how to support Costa Rica during the crisis, visit my COVID-19 section – or for ways to enjoy Costa Rica from afar, visit Virtual Costa Rica.

Day 72: All I want for Christmas is coffee

Posted on by stanleyobando

Today is a special day for many people and countries around the world. That’s right: it’s the anniversary of the first Costa Rican coffee export to England. Captain William Le Lacheur took the precious cargo from the Pacific port of Puntarenas in the clipper Monarch.

That was in 1843. You know what happened in 1844 in England? The birth of the modern cooperative movement, the abolition of debtor’s prison and the creation of workday limits (ok, 12 hours for women and six for kids – not exactly knocking it out of the park, but progress). An awfully efficient, high-performing year for the country’s leaders, wouldn’t you say? Coincidence? I think not.

Well, maybe. But life started getting better across the pond when, that foggy Christmas Eve, a ship full of the world’s best coffee set off on an adventure that would transform Costa Rica forever.

To all those celebrating today, happy wrapping, churchgoing, cookie baking or whatever else the day holds – and may the coffee that fuels you through it all be worthy of a Monarch.

I’m a writer in San José, Costa Rica, on a year-long quest to share daily posts on inspiring people, places and ideas from my adopted home as a kind of tonic during a rough time in the world. Sign up (top right of this page) to receive a little dose of inspiration every weekday in your mailbox; tell a friend; check out past posts; and please connect with me on Instagram or Facebook! You can also find me churning out small, square poems on any topic under the sun (here on the site, on Instagram or Twitter). 

Day 60: Anthems, snakes and parks. Oh my.

Posted on by stanleyobando

One thing I planned to do with the Costa Rica Daily Boost, but have neglected a bit, was to celebrate great dates in Costa Rican history. So to make up for lost time, here are three at once.

Today, in 1949, the author of the words to Costa Rica’s national anthem died. I don’t know about you, but I am very partial to the words of Costa Rica’s national anthem. I learned them as a college intern living with a beautiful family in Tibás; the dad made me learn the words and sing the anthem for visiting family members, who listened gleefully. (This was very good preparation for working for the president, as it turned out, since I attended approximately 1,007 events where the anthem was sung.) The lyrics are a gorgeous celebration of peace, hard work and humilty. They also remind us that tranquil farmers are always ready to tear shit up if anyone gets in their way. Thank you, José María Zeledón.

Tomorrow, Dec. 7, in 1976, the Clodomiro Picado Prize was created for excellence in science. Clodomiro Picado was a Nicaraguan-born badass Costa Rican scientist whose name also endows the Clodomiro Picado Institute, a world leader in snakebite research whose scientists save lives all around the world. It’s seriously amazing. You can read about it here.

And Sunday, Dec. 8, is the anniversary of the day that the Parque Nacional was created. This is one of my favorite spots in all of San José, for the following reasons. 1. It’s gorgeous. 2. It was the start of my morning walk to work when I first became a reporter here. 3. It’s home to the National Monument, which an evangelical legislator climbed and then refused to come down, at great public expense (emergency workers had to surround the statue for hours, as well as a very annoyed gringa reporter who had a hard time not heckling him), because he was protesting the government’s punishments of noise pollution by evangelical churches.  And 4. It has a little pool with a tiny bridge across it and mermaids painted on the bottom. What else could you want from a park? If you’re in San José, pay it a visit and chill out for a while.

Here’s a recap of this week’s posts:

Monday Motivation: Environmental alarm bells are going off in Costa Rica.

Tuesday Beauty: A poem about December in warm places.

Wellness Wednesday: A champion for mental health in Costa Rica.

Travel Thursday: What are the best Costa Rican spots to visit when the rain stops?

Have a great weekend!

I’m a writer in San José, Costa Rica, on a year-long quest to share daily posts on inspiring people, places and ideas from my adopted home as a kind of tonic during a rough time in the world. Sign up (top right of this page) to receive a little dose of inspiration every weekday in your mailbox; tell a friend; check out past posts; and please connect with me on Instagram or Facebook! You can also find me churning out small, square poems on any topic under the sun (here on the site, on Instagram or Twitter).