Culture of Costa Rica

While studying Spanish in Costa Rica, you’ll come in contact with an extraordinary Latin American culture. Here’s a little insight into the background of Costa Ricans.

The locals refer to themselves as Tico or Tica (female). “Tico” comes from the locally popular usage of “tico” diminutive suffixes (e.g., ‘momentico’ instead of ‘momentito’). The tico ideal is that of a very friendly, helpful, laid back, unhurried, educated and environmentally aware people. Visitors from the United States are often referred to as gringos, which is virtually always congenial in nature. The phrase “Pura Vida” (literally pure life) is a motto ubiquitous in Costa Rica. It encapsulates the pervading ideology of living in peace in a calm, unflustered manner, appreciating a life surrounded by nature and family and friends. Register at our Spanish Language school and experience it yourself!

Some folk might use maje or mae (actually maje means “dumb”) to refer to each other although this might be slightly insulting to older folk.

When you take our intensive or immersion Spanish courses, you’ll meet Costa Rican traditions and culture, which tend to retain a strong degree of Spanish influence. Their spoken accent is rather different than its Central American counterparts. Normally “–ito” or “–ita” is added to many words to sound more polite and courteous. Costa Rica boasts a varied history. Costa Rica was the point where the Mesoamerican and South American native cultures met. The northwest of the country, Nicoya, was the southernmost point of Nahuatl cultural influence when the Spanish conquerors came in the 16th century. The center and southern portions of the country had Chibcha influences. However, the indigenous people have influenced modern Costa Rican culture to a relatively small degree, as most of the Indians died from disease and mistreatment by the Spaniards. The Atlantic coast, meanwhile, was populated with African slaves in the 17th and 18th centuries, although most Caribbean Costa Ricans of African descent come from Jamaican workers brought in during the 19th century to work in the construction of railways connecting the urban populations of the Central Plateau to the port of Limón on the Caribbean coast. During the 19th century many Chinese and Italian immigrants came to the country to work on the construction of the railroad system as well.