Costa Rica: Cultural Research

Cultural Research
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Cultural Research
The Republic of Costa Rica is a Central American country bordered on the north by Nicaragua, Southeast by Panama, west by Pacific Ocean, east by Caribbean Sea and south by Cocos Island. Since its independence, it has been identified as the most progressive, prosperous and stable Latin American nation. It boasts of a rich culture that was predominantly influenced by the Spanish Culture. Regardless of this, its culture has also been influenced by the Jamaican, Caribbean and other indigenous cultures (West, 2009). Though history dictates that the name Costa Rica was initially coined by Christopher Columbus during one of his voyages, archaeological evidence indicates that civilization was evident in Coat Rica even before the arrival of Columbus. This civilization is attributed to the four indigenous tribes that inhabited Cost Rica prior to Columbus’ visit and hence, the civilization constitutes one of the major factors that have shaped its culture.
Its state as a Spanish colony encompasses another major factor that has shaped its current culture. For this reason, Cost Rica’s official language is Spanish. However, such native languages as Ngabere, Bibri, Cabecar and Maleku are still spoken by some inhabitants. Along the Caribbean Coast, the most popular languages spoken include Jamaican Patois and Creole-English. The first major foreign language used in Costa Rica is English followed by German, French, Chinese and Italian (Daling, 2002). As per the demographic figures, 0.3% of the population speaks German or Portuguese, 0.7% French and 10.7% English. Religion-wise, the most predominant religion is Roman Catholicism that originated from Spain’s colonial influence. Approximately 70.5% of the Costa Rican population practices Roman Catholicism. This, however, does not obliterate the other religions being practiced in the country.
The rise of evangelical Protestantism marks the major challenge facing Roman Catholicism with a following of 13.8%. While 4.3% of the population belongs to other religions, 11.3% are not affiliated to any religion. 2% of the 4.3% is marked by Buddhism due to immigrants from Middle East and Asia. The remaining percentage is occupied by Judaism, Hinduism, Islam, Baha’i, Taoism, Rastafari, Scientology, Neopaganism, Jehovah’s Witness and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mitchell, & Pentzer, 2008). One of the must-see religious landmarks in San Jose encompasses the Sinagoga Shaarei Zion. In addition, a variety of homes do display Jewish symbols and the Star of David. In august 2nd the whole country celebrates the National patron saint holiday of Our Lady of the Angels. This attracts pilgrims to the Cartago’s Basilica. While smaller local saints’ celebrations are sponsored by local churches, their magnitude cannot be compared with that of the national holiday.
Religious-wise, catholic burials...