On Saturday, the people of Costa Rica’s northwestern province of Guanacaste will dust off their cowboy boots and head out for a traditional Tico celebration at the annual Annexation of the Partido de Nicoya Festival.
Like a bibliophilic scavenger hunt, the so-called World Book Liberation Day invites participants to scatter used books around the complex, and all of these editions are up for grabs.
Portraitist Lucas Iturriza has spent the past half-decade capturing faces on film and talking with his subjects about their lives. The purpose of the project has been to celebrate the diversity of Costa Rica – not just as faces and skin colors, but as backgrounds and lifestyles.
There are taxistas and there are taxistas. But on the whole, I love the river of amiable, chatty, and well-informed men who have carried me around the city day after day and week after week.
“We want to provide a home for artists, actors, poets, writers and book buffs. It’s for newcomers who need experience, but it’s also a place for everyone,” co-founder Rebeca Bolaños told The Tico Times.
Is a stop sign an indication that you should slow down (1 point)? A meaningless roadside decoration (5 points)? Or an indication to come to a full stop while looking both ways (subtract 20 points)?
“Espejismo” premiered at the International Costa Rican Film Festival last November, and enthusiastic reviews led to a limited release across the country.
On the whole, Ticos could benefit from attributing less to chance and more to human behavior. But I hope we never lose awareness of the myriad things outside our power.
