No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeArchivePHOTO STORY: Costa Rica’s annual Oxcart Parade

PHOTO STORY: Costa Rica’s annual Oxcart Parade

On Sunday, some 300 boyeros and their oxen filled the capital’s streets during a colorful oxcart parade along San José’s Paseo Colón and Avenida Segunda. This year, farmer and boyera Aída Sandí led the parade with an image of San José’s patron saint on her oxcart.

Costa Rica’s oxcart drivers have developed a special language to direct their oxen. In addition to using a prod, boyeros use terms like “gui” (pronounced “wee”), which makes the oxen go forward, and “jesa” (HAY-sah), which makes them stop. 

Many popular Tico sayings involve the oxcart, such as: “Se montó en la carreta” (“He boarded the oxcart”). This saying originated from an inebriated oxcart driver, who after trying to numb the effects of a long journey with ample alcohol, would climb onto the back of an oxcart to sleep off the booze. The oxen knew the way home.

But the practice was penalized by the Oxcart Police with a ₡1 fine, for which the ticketing official would write: “Se montó en la carreta.”

Oxcart Parade 2

Oxcart Parade 3

Oxcart Parade 4

Oxcart Parade 5

Oxcart Parade 6

Oxcart Parade 7

Oxcart Parade 8

Oxcart Parade 9

Oxcart Parade 10

Oxcart Parade 11

Oxcart Parade 12

Oxcart Parade 13

Oxcart Parade 14

Oxcart Parade 15

Trending Now

Costa Rica’s Piangua Mollusk Threatened by Pineapple Farm Runoff

Costa Rica’s Térraba-Sierpe National Wetland, a 33,000-hectare haven of mangroves and rivers, is under siege from an unlikely source: pineapple farms. A study by...

A Costa Rica Love Story: From Rustic Cabina to Separate Dreams

My Tica wife and I have been together for over a quarter century. When we met, I was living a simple life here. Three...

Costa Rica Hunts for Nicaraguan Hit Squad After Exile’s Assassination

Costa Rica’s Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) is investigating whether a hit squad tied to Nicaragua’s Ortega-Murillo regime is targeting exiled critics on its soil....

U.S. – Guatemala Security Pact Targets Crime and Helps Returning Migrants

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem signed a border security cooperation agreement with Guatemala on Thursday, which includes the use of drones and...

Costa Rica’s Pride 2025 Closing Event Bans Minors, Sparks Outrage

Costa Rica’s Pride 2025 closing event, set for June 29 at San José’s Plaza de la Democracia, was thrown into controversy when the government...

An Expat’s Take: 5 Burning Questions About Life in Costa Rica Right Now

Have you been keeping up with the various events taking place in Costa Rica? There is always something interesting going down, and here are...
Avatar
spot_img
Costa Rica Tours
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica