When I was growing up, faroles – the handmade lanterns meant to symbolize the 19th-century journey that brought the message of Central American independence to Costa Rica – were simple constructions, made of paper.
Costa Rica's National Anthem is not a war song; rather, it tells the story of a democratic people, of farmers who have not experienced great conflicts.
Dozens of people waited for the independence torch in Peñas Blancas, the Costa Rican town on the border with Nicaragua. There, the two countries are divided by a diagonal line where Costa Rican asphalt meets Nicaraguan cement.
