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EveryParampara

Traditions of San José

The capital of Costa Rica, the home of the painted oxcart, the Pura Vida greeting and gallo pinto at breakfast.

San José lies in the Central Valley of Costa Rica, a country with a strong sense of peace and a long tradition of farming coffee. The painted oxcart, carreta, from the village of Sarchí, is a national symbol and recognised by UNESCO. The greeting and philosophy of Pura Vida, pure life, is part of daily speech.

Oxcarts and the Boyero

Craftspeople paint wheels in bold patterns of star and flower. On the second Sunday of March, the Day of the Oxcart Driver sees a parade of decorated oxcarts and a blessing in San Antonio de Escazú. The Virgin of Los Ángeles, La Negrita, is celebrated on 2 August with a huge pilgrimage to Cartago.

At the table

Gallo pinto, with eggs and fried plantain, is the breakfast, and casado, a plate of rice, beans, salad, plantain and meat, is the lunch. Tamales are made at Christmas, and olla de carne is a beef and vegetable stew. Coffee, filtered through a cloth chorreador, is a daily ritual.

Signature traditions of San José

Costa Rican oxcartsThe painted cart.

Also part of it, and being written: Gallo pinto (The breakfast.), Casado (The meal.).

A trail idea for San José

  1. Mercado Central Eat casados.
  2. National Theatre See the foyer.
  3. Sarchí Visit workshops.
About this page

Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Opening hours, markets and festival dates change; check locally before travelling. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

KindSpiritualFestivalRite of passageTable customSeasonalDressPerformanceEtiquetteCraftGameFolkloreHomeCeremony
MealBreakfastLunchDinnerSupperTea-time and snacking customsTea, coffee and drinking ceremoniesSweets given and sharedFeasts and festival mealsFasting and breaking the fast
🇨🇷 San Antonio de Escazú, Costa RicaCosta Rican oxcartscarretas Oxen-drawn carts, hand-painted in bright patterns, kept as a national symbol of Costa RicaCraft

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

The weekly EveryParampara

Every week: one tradition from somewhere new, what is being celebrated around the world this week, and one idea explained.