HomeNewsThrowback: The Festival de la Luz in San José

Throwback: The Festival de la Luz in San José

If it doesn’t quite feel like Christmas Eve in Costa Rica, you’re not alone. The pandemic has  canceled many of the year-end festivities that make the season so special.

In mid-December, San José typically illuminates with the Festival de la Luz. Thousands of Ticos pack the streets to watch lively performers, synchronized marching bands and decorative floats parade down the city’s main avenue.

There is no Festival of Lights in 2020, so we hold onto memories of years past with the hope that we may celebrate again in 2021.

(Photo by Ezequiel BECERRA / AFP)
Lindsay Fendt/The Tico Times
AFP Photo/Ezequiel Becerra
A child watches performers at the Festival de la Luz
Nate Doughty / The Tico Times
The floats keep coming!
Nate Doughty / The Tico Times
A performer on stilts in the parade
Nate Doughty / The Tico Times
One of the many floats in the parade
Nate Doughty / The Tico Times
Lindsay Fendt/The Tico Times

Trending Now

Costa Rica Hands Four Suspects to US in Three Days as US Embassy Praises New Prison

Costa Rica extradited four suspects to the US in three days as the US Embassy praised its new maximum-security prison.

Costa Rica’s First Cold Push of the Season Brings Stronger Winds and Rain

Costa Rica is beginning to feel the effects of the first cold push of the season, bringing stronger winds to Guanacaste and the Central...

Will Costa Rica’s New Megaprison Make Life Safer?

Leave it to the Frente Amplio (Broad Front) political party to spoil the fiesta. Our sparkling new 34 million dollar megaprison was all ready...

Costa Rica Office Vacancy Could Hit 27% by 2030 as Multinationals Cut Jobs

Costa Rica office vacancy could reach 27.1% by 2030 as multinationals cut 2,205 free-zone jobs, an analyst warns.

Atenas launches Gallery Nights: a different artist every month, with the Central Valley as a backdrop

The series opens in November with Terry Eldridge, followed by John Taylor in December and Joanna Woskowicz in January Starting in November, Atenas will have...

Flash Floods Trap People in Heredia and Escazú as Storms Dump Up to 80 mm

Heavy afternoon storms flooded streets across Heredia and western San José on Sunday, trapping people behind fast-rising water and forcing rescues in at least...

Saturated Soils Put All of Costa Rica on Rain Alert Through Wednesday

All of Costa Rica is on rain alert. Soils are near saturation, so even short storms can flood streets through Wednesday.

Study Finds Costa Rica’s Pesticide Use More Than 10 Times Global Average

Costa Rica uses pesticides on its farmland at a rate more than ten times the global average, according to a scientific study that raises...

Costa Rica Through A Canadian’s Eyes: More Than Just Pura Vida

It has been nine years since I made the move from Canada to Costa Rica, and I often find myself asking a simple question:...
Loading…

Latest News from Costa Rica

Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Car Rentals
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Travel