Exploring San Jose

I would guess that most people, when they plan a vacation to Costa Rica, don’t want to spend much time in its capital city San José.  The draw of Costa Rica is really the nature, the unmatched biodiversity and wealth of ecosystems to explore.  Still, now that I’ve been here for four months I feel like I’ve gotten the chance to experience many of the natural wonders of this country, and I chose to spend my free time in my last weeks here exploring San José (plus, I’ve had a lot of work to do on my project).  

                My friends and I have spent the last couple Sundays working on our projects in a McDonald’s in downtown San José.  I know, I know, McDonald’s? Really?! But it’s in a central location, and is one of the few places with free wifi (though it hasn’t been working lately).  And McDonalds' here are actually really classy – they have a “McCafé” that is just like a regular café, serving fancy coffee drinks and desserts and offering comfy chairs to sit and work at.  We got into a Sunday habit of meeting at Mickey D’s, sipping our coffee as we worked for a few hours, and then wandering around downtown to get ice cream or buy souvenirs from the art market.  It’s been a nice way to spend my Sundays, and I now feel much more comfortable with the bus system after many trips downtown.

Dove statue outside of the Teatro Nacional.  There are dozens of these painted doves all over the city - San Jose's version of the Cow Parade

                We also went on a field trip last Wednesday with our Spanish professors to tour the Teatro Nacional (National Theater).  The building, supposedly built to replicate the Vienna Opera House, is ornate and a very impressive sight, especially when it’s lit up at night.  It was built in the late 1800’s, after exportation to Europe made Costa Rican coffee farmers rich.  These farmers, determined to boost Costa Rica’s appreciation of the fine arts, convinced the government to build this elaborate theater.  Somehow, the coffee farmers didn’t end up paying as much as they originally claimed they would for the construction of this building; instead, an export tax on rice and beans meant that the lower agricultural class, who weren’t even allowed to enter the theater and reap the benefits of this investment, paid for a large percentage.  

                Still, whatever its history, the Teatro Nacional is a gorgeous building.  Each room is ornately decorated, with marble statues and pillars brought from Italy, lavish candle holders and chandeliers, and paintings on nearly every inch of ceiling.   

Dancer statue in the Teatro Nacional. Plus a trash can.

 

Fancy room in the Teatro Nacional.  Connected to this room were the mens' and womens' smoking salons - separate, of course.

The theater. This picture was taken from the president's booth, where the presidente (or presidenta, as the current Costa Rican president is a woman) gets to sit to watch shows.

The most famous painting is Alegoría al café y el banana, which shows coffee and banana harvests.  Our guide explained that this painting was done by an Italian artist who had never actually been to Costa Rica, a fact that is evident by several mistakes.  The women depicted harvesting cacao have very light, European complexions, and are wearing shirts that expose their shoulders; at this time in Costa Rican history, women wore very modest clothing and would never show their shoulders.  Also, the man in the center of the painting is holding his bunch of bananas all wrong – actual banana workers hoist the bunch onto their shoulders upside down.

Alegoria al cafe y el banano painting.  It's hard to take pictures of things on the ceiling; sorry.  But you can see the women with their skimpy shirts on the right, and the man awkwardly holding his bananas in the middle.

                I had another San José adventure last Saturday night with Lauren and my host mom, Vicky.  We decided to get tickets to La Media Docena, which is like Costa Rica’s version of Saturday Night Live.  Lauren and I decided that seeing a comedy show would be the ultimate test of our Spanish fluency.  And we were proud to discover that we understood the majority of the Spanish, and even most of the jokes that were specifically making fun of Costa Rican culture!  We had a great time, and Vicky was especially excited when we got to take a picture with the most guapo comedian at the end of the show :).

                I’m still hoping to explore some of the museums in San José before I go, but I’ve had a good time getting to know the city better these last couple of weeks.