Costa Rica People & Culture

Costa Ricans has a population of over 4 million people, largely of European rather than mestizo descent, and most are of Spanish origin. However, about 10% to 15% of the population is Nicaraguans, who arrived fairly recently and are primarily mestizos.

Descendants of 19th-century Jamaican immigrant workers constitute an English-speaking minority, at 3% of the population.  Few of the native Indians survived European contact; the indigenous population today numbers about 29,000 or less than 1% of the population.

The signature dish of Costa Rica is called "gallo pinto."  This translates literally as "colorful rooster;" but there is no chicken in it.  The name refers to the visual apperance of the dish, which reminds people of the colorful plumage of a rooster.  Gallo pinto is rice, either red or black beans, and cilantro, cooked with lard.  It is usually eaten at breakfast, but varants on the rice-and-beans theme may appear at any meal.

Another distinctively Costa Rican food item is "pancito," literally, "small bread."  It is essentially a small tortilla, but very greasy, and can be used as a wrap or utensil for eating other foods.

Most Costa Rican homes have a banana or plantain tree somewhere in the garden.  Plantains -- cooking bananas -- are another staple food.  They are a starchy vegetable, not a fruit; some varieties taste just like potato.  Others are somewhat sweeter.  Other starchy carbohydrate foods occasionally seen are yuca (pronounced with a long "u"), which is the root of the tapioca plant; and taro, which comes from an elephant ear plant.

In the hot, humid climate, lettuce does not keep well; so Costa Ricans will often use cabbage in its place, e.g., garnishing a sandwich or as the basis of salad.  Cilantro is an oft-used seasoning.

Drink is a whole category in itself.  There is "agua dulce," which, as the name indicates, is water sweetened with caramelized sugar.  Costa Rica has something rather like horchata, essentially tasting like a drinkable form of oatmeal.  And there is an ever-changing selection of fruit juices as different fruits come in  and out of season.  Costa Rica is a major coffee exporting nation, so you can find sacks of whole beans for sale, especially in areas frequented by foreigners.

The official language is Spanish. The second language for a large portion of the population is English.