No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeTopicsArts and CultureSend in the cavalry: Palmares tope draws thousands

Send in the cavalry: Palmares tope draws thousands

All along Palmares’ main street, officially known as La Recta, the crowd was like a parted sea of cowboy hats. They flanked the empty avenue in growing anticipation, swigging beer from Pilsen cans, eating skewers of barbequed chicken, and taking selfies in front of waiting horses. So began the Palmares “tope,” or horse parade, on that sunny Thursday.

While Palmares is a fairly humble coffee town in Alajuela province, the hamlet balloons with visitors every January, when the Fiestas de Palmares overrun its fairgrounds and fill every shop and bar with revelers. Organizers expected more than 60,000 people to attend over the course of the week, and if you attended the tope Jan. 16, you probably believed that prediction: The Palmares bus terminal in San José boasted lines around the block, and the highway into town was so gridlocked that hundreds of drivers resorted to urinating by the side of the road.

The parade began with special riding clubs, carriages, ponies, and several queues of mounted police. Beauty queens waved from horse-drawn wagons – like country-style floats – and as the procession moved along, the marchers became more informal: True vaqueros of all varieties trotted down the avenue, riding everything from elegant mares to shaggy oxen. The parade continued for hours, as festivalgoers cheered from the sidelines.

The tope included at least one celebrity: Presidential hopeful Johnny Araya, a Palmares native and former agronomy major, rode a patterned brown steed down La Recta amid a cadre of supporters wearing green bandanas.

The Fiestas de Palmares continue through Jan. 27.

 

Trending Now

Costa Rica’s Poás Volcano Park Reopening to Tourists With Safety Measures

The Poás Volcano National Park will reopen its doors to tourism starting July 30, after  scientific entities reported a decrease in volcanic activity. This was...

Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly Vacation in Costa Rica with Baby

Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly touched down in Costa Rica for a family getaway with their three-month-old daughter, Saga Blade Fox-Baker. Photographers caught...

Keylor Navas Joins Pumas UNAM in Major Liga MX Transfer

Keylor Navas has agreed to become the new goalkeeper for Pumas UNAM, marking one of the biggest signings in recent Liga MX history. The...

Costa Rica Tops Latin America in Attracting Foreign Millionaires

Costa Rica is a country that attracts millionaires. Projections indicate that by the end of 2025, a total of 350 foreign millionaires will have...

Chiquita Executives Convicted in Colombia for Financing Death Squads

Colombian justice on Wednesday sentenced seven former executives of the multinational banana company Chiquita Brands to more than 11 years in prison and a...

Can Costa Rica’s Blue Zone Preserve Its Longevity Legacy?

The Nicoya Peninsula in Costa Rica is recognized worldwide as one of the five blue zones, where people live beyond the age of 90...
spot_img
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