Earthquake in Costa Rica was ‘un despiche total,’ Tico says

Leave it to Costa Ricans to turn an unnerving nighttime earthquake into immediate fodder for a nationwide joke.

After a magnitude 6.7 earthquake rattled the country at 11:23 p.m. Tuesday, an unnamed Cartago resident called into Channel 7 TV News to describe how he had experienced the tremor.

“En Cartago fue un despiche total,” he said, using a (slightly) vulgar Tiquismo, or Costa Rican expression, to report things were a total mess.

As the caller spoke, the network showed video footage of a seemingly unaffected Costa Rican street.

The lighthearted moment was a hit on social media, with many Ticos adopting the Tiquismo as their saying of the day — or noting that “despiche total” was a disappointingly accurate description of their lives.

And as authorities confirmed the earthquake hadn’t caused major damages or injuries, the Cartago resident’s dramatic report gave us all the chance to share a laugh.

Read more in The Tico Times:

• Read: Actual reporting on the earthquake 
• Read: Learn Costa Rican slang