Costa Rica’s Independence Day is Tuesday, September 15 so some holidays here get moved to the nearest Monday to make a long weekend, but this one does not. The Labor Ministry has confirmed it stays on the 15th. That means Monday the 14th is a regular workday, and the celebrations run across both evenings.
This year marks 205 years of independence so expect a torch relay over the weekend, lantern parades Monday night, school parades Tuesday and rain on and off the whole time. The Independence Torch crosses from Nicaragua at Peñas Blancas around 11 a.m. Sunday, according to the Ministry of Public Works and Transport. About 22,000 students will carry it roughly 378 kilometers (235 miles) to Cartago, the Ministry of Public Education says.
The relay passes through Liberia, Cañas, Esparza, Palmares, Naranjo, Alajuela and Heredia before reaching San José on Monday evening. The national anthem will be sung at 6 p.m. at Plaza de la Democracia. The flame is due at the ruins in Cartago around 8 p.m. You can track it live at antorcha.mep.go.cr.
If you drive in San José or Cartago on Monday evening, plan around the relay. From about 5 p.m., traffic police will stop cars on Paseo Colón and Avenida Segunda so the runners can cross. Police will do the same at the Fuente de la Hispanidad, the Montes de Oca church, Curridabat and La Galera, and they will control traffic around Cartago’s central park.
The runners are on foot, so each stop lasts only as long as it takes them to pass. At rush hour, though, even short stops back up quickly. Leave early or stay off those roads between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. On Tuesday morning, expect closures near Parque Nacional and the Legislative Assembly. President Laura Fernández will attend the main civic ceremony there. Traffic police will also be working civic events across the country.
Monday night is the desfile de faroles or the lantern parade. Children carry handmade lanterns through town centers, and Cartago holds its traditional parade that evening. Most towns hold school parades with marching bands on Tuesday. Check with your municipality for start times.
Bring an umbrella to all of it sinceThe National Meteorological Institute (IMN) says tropical wave No. 42 reaches Costa Rica this afternoon, and wave No. 43 follows on Saturday. Both are moving through a humid, unstable atmosphere, and IMN expects that pattern to last through at least Wednesday, September 16.
On the Pacific side, most of the rain falls in the afternoon, with scattered downpours and thunderstorms in the South and Central Pacific. The Caribbean and the Northern Zone are more likely to get rain overnight and in the morning. In the Central Valley, IMN expects occasional showers that become more frequent early next week. That is right when the lantern parades and school parades take place.
Wind is part of the picture too and IMN recorded gusts of 30 to 50 km/h (19 to 31 mph) in mountain areas on Friday, and up to 75 km/h (47 mph) in the North Pacific. IMN also warned earlier this week about saturated soils. Ground soaked by weeks of rain gives way more easily, so landslides and falling branches become more likely after a heavy afternoon storm.
If you are driving to Guanacaste or Puntarenas, Route 1 at Cambronero, near San Ramón, is still closed. A truck damaged the temporary bridge there earlier this week, and MOPT says repairs could take up to two months. Take Route 27 instead. Cars and other smaller vehicles can also use Monte del Aguacate or the local road between RÃo Jesús and Piedra Blanca.
If someone works for you, the 15th is a paid day off. That includes a housekeeper, a nanny or a gardener. The Ministry of Labor and Social Security (MTSS) says no worker can be required to work that day, and no one can be penalized for refusing. What you owe depends on how you pay. If you pay monthly or every two weeks, the holiday is already built into the wage. You pay the usual amount even if the person takes the day off. If you pay weekly for work outside a commercial business, add one day’s wage for the holiday on top of the days worked.
If the worker agrees to work on the 15th, the day is paid double. In practice, that means one extra day’s wage on top of what you would normally pay. Any overtime that day is paid at triple the regular hourly rate. The rule has a simple purpose. The law treats Independence Day as a day everyone is entitled to take off without losing income and is why working it costs double.
Hotels, restaurants, bakeries, theaters and gas stations are among the businesses the law allows to open on the holiday. Many other shops and most government offices will be closed, so call ahead before you plan errands for Tuesday. The celebrations run from the torch’s arrival on Sunday through Tuesday’s parades. Leave extra time on the road, carry rain gear, and check the latest IMN and MOPT updates before you set out.
