Diamante Eco Adventure Park: 196 Years of Pura Vida Lifestyle
Independence Day Traditions
If you had the pleasure to be in Costa Rica this past weekend, you might have notice the last few days have been full of activity. On September 15th 2017 Costa Rica celebrated 196 years of Independence. So to all our tourists and newly-residents in Costa Rica, we are proud to give you a quick break down of what you witnessed and the importance of it.
Torch Run
On September 13, at the border with Nicaragua, a cultural act is celebrated as the liberty flame torch is handed over to the Ministry of Education. The torch run is a relay style tradition in which the torch travels from Guatemala City and ends in Costa Rica. The run symbolizes the travel route in which our independence was announced. So if you were in Liberia on the 13th of September, you might have seen it go through. The torch arrived to Cartago on the 14th of September at 6:00PM in which a cultural act was held.
Our staff dress in typical costume celebrating Independence Day
Lantern Parade
On the 14th of September a lantern parade is held nationwide, conformed of students. Each school asks their students to create and decorate the lantern they will parade. So this act starts at 6:00PM, symbolizing the time on September 15th when the independence was announced. But most importantly, the parade symbolizes the wake that was held on September 14th 1821 by Maria Dolores Bedoya. She walked the streets of Antigua Guatemala to urge people to gather outside where the Independence meeting was taking place. Consequently, all the people that supported the Independence were reunited at the town square waiting for the verdict.
Independence Day
On September 15th 1821 Costa Rica, as well as Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, gained their independence from Spain. On this day, Costa Rica celebrates in the streets with parades conformed in a majority of students. It is very usual to see military presence in this sort of national acts, but because Costa Rica doesn’t have an army, our students represent our country. The parades start early in the morning and go on well through the afternoon. Then at 6:00PM sharp the National Anthem is played in every radio station, national TV channels and in several public places. Again, 6:00PM represents the time in which we learned we were a free country back in 1821.
So no matter if you were here visiting, living on a short or long-term or are a permanent resident or national, we all come together for the occasion. 196 years of being the happiest country on earth, of celebrating the “pura vida” lifestyle. 196 years of freedom. And here is to several more years in paradise!
