Santa Cruz Fiestas in the Guanacaste region
(January 14 to 21, 2024) For over 100 years, in the province of Guanacaste to Santa CruzChrist is celebrated in the month of February, the Santo Cristo de Esquipulas. We invite you to immerse yourself in this traditional festival.
The arrival is at night. In the distance, you can already see large floodlights illuminating the sky. As we enter the city center, we come across ticos dressed like real cowboys: leather hats and style boots ankle boots, you're immediately immersed in the atmosphere. Food stalls with kebabs and pupusas of Nicaragua are very tempting.
We then head for the redundant, is the arena in which the cowboys will ride the bulls over the next few days. Visit fiesta has officially begun; a local band provides the entertainment, the frenzied audience lets out high-pitched shouts "aiiiiiiii aiiiiiiiii". The musicians play marimbausing a xylophone made from palm and bamboo wood, as well as maracas and drums. Guayo, a native of Guanacaste, explains the meaning of these calls:
"This cry is typical of the region and its farmers. In those days, when men had had a little too much to drink and wanted to fight, they would utter this cry to warn their adversary that the battle was about to begin. Now it's a cry for celebration and unity. Finally, I wouldn't recommend doing it in very remote rural areas if you don't want any nasty surprises haha."
The next day, things get serious! We're back in the arena, but this time in the stands, as we're looking forward to the arrival of the bulls. Admission is charged, but those who wish can stand in the ring with the bulls or along the fences... Not for me!
The next two hours are packed with excitement! The region's beef farms present their animals, and one bull per farm is ridden. Riders stay on the bull's back for no more than a few minutes. Then the cowboys arrive on horseback to grab the bull by the horns with a lasso and lead him back to his pen. The arm movement with the lasso is very impressive! Unlike Spanish bullfights, the bull is not killed. Here, it's more a question of publicity, to show the locals the beauty of the horse and therefore the quality of the breeding product. During the ride, the public aiiiiii aiiiiii and around 11 p.m. the show stops.
Guayo explains that out of 100 bulls, only one is fit to be ridden; they can weigh up to 700 kg, and the biggest in the country is in Nicoya, called Quintana and weighing 900 kg! He tells us that as a boy on the family farm, his father used to make him ride cows. But as soon as he started to grow up, he stopped doing so, as he was too afraid of this majestic and imposing animal.
Sometimes we can be afraid that the Guanacaste region is too Americanized by tourism, but this kind of event reminds us that the importance of local practices in these rural areas.
So keep your eyes peeled, because one saint can hide another... Here you'll never be safe from a celebration, to discover a new facet of Costa Rican culture.
