Carnival Limon: One of the Best Dancing Traditions in Costa Rica´s Afro-Caribbean Culture

Carnival Limon is an important event in Limon which has some relevant characteristics such as dance that define the culture of Limon people; in addiction, it has a history that shows relevant aspects of Limon.   

  

Carnival in Limon is known for catch the attention of everyone, it is a traditions event in Limon where the important aspect is local dance. This carnival was established in 1949; in addiction, it is a famous party in Costa Rica´s culture because it commemorates Christopher Columbus historic arrival in Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast in 1502. The people from Limon said that idea of this special carnival was created by Alfred Smith and his friends; moreover, this idea was developed by them while they were having a conversation at Smith’s barber shop in the downtown of Limon. Likewise, Alfred Smith and his friend had an objective with this carnival and it was to join Costa Rica’s culture with the Afro Caribbean’s which in the past had a difficult relation between them; nowadays, this carnival is considered as one of the most popular in the country and it means a lot for Costa Rica´s culture. Also, this carnival is celebrated nowadays to remember that merged between Costa Rica´s culture and Afro- Caribbean’s culture.

In this event, Costa Rica women, especially African descent, wear traditional dress and those women move their hips according to the Caribbean rhythm during the all parades. In this carnival, spectators can see different types of floats which were made by local people.

In those carnivals the people can enjoy of different activities that promote the culture of Limon such as to see group of dance, to hear the magnificent music of troupes which play tropical rhythms as Brazilian samba and to see people with coloring costumes dancing.

To sum up, this carnival is very special for the local people because it fosters local culture and it makes emphasis on dance which is an important element on Limon´s culture.

Interview

Name: Adrían Zumbado Avilés

Date: 29^th March 2016

Age: 18 years old

He is from Limon and he studies International Relations in Universidad Nacional

Questions

• How do Limon people enjoy dance? Explain and give examples

The main activity where the people dance is in carnivals and in those carnivals you can find variety of dances. There are a lot of place where you can go and dance for example there are a lot of people who dance contemporary dance, Calypso or dances with tropical rhythms such as salsa. In every institution or school from Limon you always will find a Calypso dance group.

• Which aspects do you consider important in activities such as Carnival Limon that promote the local dance?

Some important aspects are that in Carnival Limon you can see different types of local dances, a variety of coloring costumes and also flashy floats. Also, there is a lot of artist that use this carnival to get known and move on.  Carnival Limon promote local culture such as calypso music and local dances.

Resources

Outward Bound. History of Carnival Limon. Outward Bound Costa Rica. 29 March. Web. n.d.

Isenberg, Robert. Week-long Carnavales de Limón liven up Caribbean. The Tico Times. 29 March. Web. 14 Oct 2014. 

Calypso: The Music That Move You to Limon

The music from Limon which is Calypso has been very important in the construction of Limon´s culture due to it is relevant to know about the history of Calypso music and how it has become a popular music characteristic from Limon.

The Calypso Music began in Trinidad and Tobago, it was develop between the slaves; this kind of music was the only mean of communication that those slaves had because they were not allow to talk each other. In Limón emerged a type of music that is call Mento Music which is very similar to Kaiso or Kariso from Trinidad, the differences between Mento Music and Kaiso are that Mento Music is very acoustic and it was not very known; in the other hand, Kaiso was very popular at the beginning of 20th century; in addiction, it was not so acoustic. Kaiso was called Calypso by the United States media due to a mistake in the transcription. This music came to Costa Rica because in 1870 a lot of slaves from Jamaica, Barbados and Saint Kitts arrived to Limon with the objective of build a railroad there; in addiction, when the United Fruit Company was established in Limon many people from Antillas were hired.

The Mento Music and Calypso was combined by a Limon musician who thought that those two music together would sound better, and that is when Limon Calypso born.  

The Limon Calypso was considered a music from the working class because it was listened by people who were in a beach, snack bar, bars and street parties.

In addition, Limon Calypso has been considered a unique music from Limon because it is a mix of different types of music such as cumbia, salsa and Cuban son; because of the influence of popular bands as El Gran Combo or the Final Stars the calypsonians (people who play and sing Limon Calypso) stared developing a new kind of Calypso with those rhythms. The Calypso´s songs talk about the economic and cultural situations of Limon´s people. This kind of music is very used in Limon´s Carnivals.

Finally, Calypso is a type of music that represent Limon´s culture on account of it has a big history and characteristics which show who are Limon people.

Interview 

Name: Adrían Zumbado Avilés                          

Date: 29^th March 2016

Age: 18 years old

Questions

1. 1.    Does Calypso music have a high impact and importance in the construction of Costa Rica culture? Why?

Yes, it has a big impact because Calypso music represent Limon´s culture because it is a part or a branch of Costa Rica culture. Also, for Costa Rica is very important to keep its different cultures intact because of that I think that Calypso music is very important for our country.

1. 2.    Which characteristics do you consider that make Calypso a unique and relevant music inside Limon´s Culture?

Instruments are very unique from Calypso music and the song to because the intonation in every song has a different accent mark.

Resources

Si cultura. La música Calypso. Sistema de Información Cultural Costa Rica. 28 March 2016. Web. n.d. 

Van Velzer, Ryan. Costa Rican Music. Costa Rica Culture. 28 March 2016. Web. 21 June 2015.

Zumdado, Adrían. Personal interview. 29 March 2016.

 Do we know the Contribution of the Afro Costa- Rican subculture?


Afro Costa Rican through the years have contributed enormously to Costa Rica´s idiosyncrasy. Costa Rica is a small country that without all the diversity that offers each zone of the country it could not be as touristic as it is. I believe that visitor love to see all this colorful and friendly subcultures.
Afro descents are in all the country, but the biggest population is located in Limón, that is why we can find most of the Afro Costa Rican culture´s representation in Limón. This representation includes all kind of art that they have.


These are some of the biggest contribution of Afro Costa Ricans.

Literature
They are a lot books with literature focus on this subculture and we are not talking about "Cocorí" a book writer by Joaquín Gutiérrez that describe a 6 years-old boy as an ignorant. As Duncan said in a interview with UNA Mirada "every one can write everything they want, the problem is to use that kind of books to teach young students."
Vanessa McRae said, " As a Afro Costa Rican, I feel offended because of the way the writer described Cocorí. How we can say that we live in a society with equal human rights if we thought our students with this kind of books. "

Afro Costa Ricans are well-represented in literature. We can find some important writers that care about human rights and equality; some of them are Quince Duncan, Eulalia Bernard, and Shirley Campbell.

Quince Duncan is the first writer that criticized the racism in Costa Rica. He has written books, stories, tales, theater works, and assays. He is one of the most important writer in Costa Rica because his talent to express his ideas.

“Sueño con un mundo sin racismo, sin discriminaciones. 

No es un mundo de iguales, porque no creo en la igualdad;

tenemos 300 años de ser iguales e igual seguimos sufriendo.

 Creo, en cambio, en la equidad, donde todos tengamos 

los mismos derechos y las mismas oportunidades”.

by Quince Duncan

Eulalia Bernard is the first African descents woman that wrote books in Costa Rica and the most important poetry writer from our Afro Costa Rican descents. She has fought for women and minorities´rights and is well-known for all her input in Costa Rican´s Literature. She is very passion about her roots. All her knowledge has helped her to develop her abilities to write in English, Spanish, and limonense creole.





Other two important writers are Epsy and Shirley Campbell, two Afro descents siblings that have dedicated part of their work to fight for afro Costa Rican, women, and all minorities´ rights. Shirley Campbell has written poetry and her idea is to educate in a nice way through poetry. Epsy Campbell looks for equality for all human, all of her speeches emphasize the need to live in a better society.

Painting

About the art in the caribbean zone of Costa Rica we found the art of Riish and Toosh where Rishane Isaac and Jorge Mena create amazing paintings to keep alive the Afro Costa Rican art. These painting are colorful and original creations that represent very well the talent from Afro descents. These paintings also have a value added because the founders use many of their paintings to help people in bad economic situation. Also some of their paintings have been sold in order to help social projects.


This couple does such a great job to represent Costa Rican culture through art, for more information about their products, prices, social work you can visit their web site: http://rishandtosh.wix.com/official

Architecture

The architecture from Afro descents is different that all that we can find in the country. Their traditional houses are made of wood and zinc. The Caribbean zone in Costa Rica suffers a lot of floods during the raining season. Because of that, they built their houses over wood pillars to protect their lives and their possession from the raining. It is important to mentioned that not all Afro Costa Rican build their house in that way, it is just a way of adaption according to the zone they live.

Another architecture that is important to mention because it is consideres the most representative example of the Afro descents architecture is the Black Star Line because it was the place where the fight for black people rights started. Also was one of Costa Rican national heritage, unfortunately, a fire destroyed it this year. People in Limón want to rebuild this building, but people are still waiting for a date to star the reconstruction.

Traditional Clothing

Afro Costa Ricans have colorful clothing, but they use it just for important events or parades. Even though there is one tradition that is still very common in Afro Costa Ricans. They use a beautiful braiding hair and it is one of the most traditional hairstyle. It does not mean that all of them use braiding hair, but it is another good representation of art in Limón.

Conclusion 
Costa Rica is rich because all of its diversity of people. Every subculture is a fundamental part of this nation. In this case, Afro Costa Rica contribution is amazed; this country would not be as developed as it is without all the contribution of Afro descents.

References

Enciclopedia de Historia y Cultura del Caribe. "Quince Duncan Moodie." En Caribe. Web 3 Jun. 2016

Riish and Toosh Afro Costa Rican Paintinf. "Artistas" Rishane Isaac & Jorge Mena. Web 3 Jun. 2016.

Si cultural. "Black Star line (Limón)." Sistema de Información Cultural Costa Rica.Web 3 Jun. 2016. Solano, Andrea and Soto, Michelle. "Pueblo de Limón quiere su Black Star Line" La Nación. Web 9 May. 2016. Web. 3 Jun. 2016.

Teletica Costa Rica. "Eulalia Bernard regala joya la poesía afrocostarricense" Online Video Clip. You Tube. You Tube 24 May. 2011. Web 4 Jun. 2016.

UNA multimedia."Una Mirada: La Población Afrodescendiente en C.R." Online video Clip. YouTube . YouTube 21 Ene. 2011. Web 4 Jun. 2016.

Gastronomy!

Rice & beans/ Google Images

 The Afro-Costa Rican´s food is characterized for the ingredients this community had found easy to get, not only because they are common to see and accessible in Limón but also because of versatility and good flavor.

→ Names they have used on their food are kept historically from Africa, as it is common of migrant people to add and contribute to the enrichment with their own food customs, not only with names but certainly usage. (Ross, 2003)

→ Native Jamaican dishes, and others from the variety of immigrants that have come to this country have repercussions in the all the Caribbean’s food, and that is what shows the real origin of their culture.

→ Exuberance and flavors are characterized by the mixtures of coconut, panamanian green pepper, beans, fish and green leaves(Tomillo, madero negro, zacate limón, some flowers...)

Soups and Stews 

Patty

Pan Bon and many desserts

→ What we can rescue of the taste and ways to cook is their imagination, for them is very normal to take one product and transform it into so many forms, all different ways to present a dish makes this culture exuberant and special.  

→ Eating habits and preferences are shaped by traditions, they classify certain dishes as more special than others, and some used to be kept for certain days only, like the rice&beans that was preserved for Sundays and big family reunions only. As the interviewee affirmed that older people in Limón used to have an established menu for every day of the week, which is very different from now. She gave us the following list of the main dishes and cooking methods: Rice&beans is their star dish, Rondón and other soups, "atoles", puddings, desserts like Pan bon, rice puddings with corn(chichemi), cookies and cakes and a huge variety of dishes. "Our food´s culture has a bit of everything" .Food is a very significant way to manifest culture; we can see that if it was passed on from generation to generation and helped the integration of families it can still do it now, but with a lot of efford. 

Conclusion

As we can analyze from a cultural point of view, there are many dietary elements that changed for the migrations, and most of the exchanges, adaptations and poverty have shaped their likes and dislikes. We can see in one plate a bunch of cultural elements and identity. Let us have bites of Limón whenever possible, there are many restaurants and people willing to teach us their special flavors.

Based on current opinions of the interviewee we notice the devotion with which they cook, the importance of their huge food legacy faces challenges nowadays with young generations but there are many colorful traditions that should be kept. The way their ancestors used to cook and share with family is seen with nostalgia now that many eat fast food, so we have a big responsibility there; to appreciate, learn and respect.

Work Cited

Ross, Marjorie. (2003).La magia de la cocina limonense: rice and beans y calalú. Editorial UCR. Web.26may . 2016
Interview of a woman from Limón, Doña Ruth from the Afrocarribean Reastaurant: Grandma´s Food

History

 Brief View History

   Afro-Caribbean population, which arrived in the late nineteenth century, came in search of work and land. Most of these immigrants helped to build the railway to the Atlantic and work on banana plantations.

Another theory mentions that black people were brought to work as slaves in banana plantations, and the construction of Atlantic railroad. Then, in April 1824 the law that abolished slavery in Costa Rica, and about a hundred blacks were presented to legalize their situation was handled, this suggests that others were free men. Although the abolished slavery, black people lived difficult situations in banana plantations, where they worked. They suffered abuse from the United Fruit Company. Afrocaribbean did not have any kind of social security. Afrocaribbean humans rights was not respected in any way.
  On the other hand, during the first decades of living in the country, this population was someway separated from the Spanish-speaking population due to several factors such as adverse geography, poor roads, and prejudices arising from differences of origin, race, religion and language.

  In contrast, Costa Ricans exhibited and proclaimed the stereotype of their European ancestry and prided their selves on their social tolerance; the fact was that black people faced discrimination. Thus the late seventies, the Afro-Costa Rican population expressed by means other racial and cultural awareness. In 1978, due to the request of a group of black professors (Sindicato de Educadores Costarricenses) declared August 31 as Black Day.

   

   Stereotypes and Discimination

  As reported by the article "El Caribe Negro" in the digital web page “Hoy”, Costaricans used to describe to tourists the Caribbean cost as a paradise with exuberant beaches rainforest, with a variety black people that speak English, dance Calypso and reggae. But there is a silent discrimination in that province of the country. There is a lot of poverty and lack of jobs.  Most of the people in Limon live of the tourism and port activity.

 Caribbean zone has a big cultural wealth that is rarely appreciated by Costa Rica population. To illustrate this fact, the government is not really concern about Limon’s development. For instance, lack of interest to invest money in infrastructure, highways and other projects shows evidence of inequality by government and municipalities. Most of Costaricans have misconceptions about the Afrocostarricense culture. For example, Afrocostarricans are presented in poorer socioeconomic as lower achievement education, unemployment, and precarious conditions. According to the webpage Campus digital, violence in the province of Limón creates a stereotype against black population. Proof of this is that 27 percent of the population believes that black people of Afrocaribbean descent are more aggressive and socially dangerous.Those facts make the believe that most people in the Caribbean coast are violent and drugs addicts. Because their appearance, people judged Afrocaribbean that they listen to reggae music and everybody imitates Bob Marley, so they have dread Rasta and smoke marijuana. Besides, many people believe that Limonenses spend much time in the beach to drink alcohol. All this prejudices are not true, for that reason is important that media, which has influence in citizens, be aware about how they transmit news of people from Limón, and start to create interest for the problems and other difficult situations that our black people live in a country that see them as foreigners, had forgotten their roots and big cultural value. They have a different culture, different in terms of land tenure conditions, access to work, and study. Thus, the challenge of the black population is to be recognized, because they live as a separate world from Costa Rica.

References
María Elena Masís. "El aporte de la cultura Afro-Caribeña”. Museo Nacional de Costa Rica. 2016. Museo Nacional de Costa Rica. Web.03 Jun. 2016

Hoy. "El Caribe Negro, un mundo aparte en Costa Rica." HOY digital1 Setiembre, 2012.

Margie Villagra Ezquivel. "Costarricenses olvidan su raíces afrodescendientes."