Touring San Jose today

A Ngobe mask (Guaymi) from Osa, Costa Rica. The Ngobe tribe is a semi-nomadic tribe originating from northwest Panama. A large contingent of this tribe's members moved to then Zona Sur" of Costa Rica about 60 years ago. The Ngobe gained government recognition as an officially registered national tribe.

The area around the National Square housing the legislative branch of the Costa Rican government as well as other civil agencies. As an art teacher I find it interesting that Costa Ricas equivelent of the National Endowment for the Humanities (or for the arts) is the Ministry of culture and sports-an atypical pairing in my opinion.

The national character of Costa Rica is bolstered by several things: (1) the counties amazing biodiversity and and its efforts to to conserve these natural treasures, (2) the fact that CR has no army, (3) and the ideas that CR's middle and upper classes have evolved from the noble but humble agrarian pesant--an archatipical  national hero of sorts. In fact the Costa Rican national Antheam speaks to the concept. Above is a sculptureal group depicting the farmers (or pesants) infront of the national band (and facing the first McDonald built in Latin America in 1970).