What Is a Sabanero? Meaning and Costa Rica’s Cowboy Culture

Drive through Guanacaste and you’ll see them on horseback along the road: wide-brimmed hats, boots, a coiled rope on the saddle. They’re sabaneros, and they’re as close to a national folk hero as Costa Rica has.

Sabanero means “person of the savanna.” The word comes from sabana, Spanish for savanna or open grassland, and in Costa Rica it refers to the cowboys of Guanacaste, the dry northwestern province where cattle ranching shaped local life for centuries. A woman who does the same work is a sabanera. Sabaneros herd, rope and doctor cattle, break and train horses, and keep alive the riding traditions you still see at Guanacaste’s fiestas.

Here’s where the sabanero tradition came from, what sabaneros wear and do, how their way of life has changed, and where travelers can see sabanero culture today.

Sabanero	At a glance
Meaning	“Person of the savanna,” from sabana (savanna); a Costa Rican cowboy
Where	Mainly Guanacaste, in Costa Rica’s dry northwest
Work	Herding, roping and caring for cattle; training horses
Classic gear	Wide-brimmed hat, long sleeves, boots, spurs, lasso, leather gaiters
Where to see the culture	Topes and fiestas in Liberia, Santa Cruz and Nicoya; working ranches; the Museo del Sabanero in Liberia
National day	Día del Sabanero, celebrated in November

The word

Sabanero Meaning: Where the Word Comes From

The Spanish sabana means savanna, a wide, mostly open grassland. Add the suffix -ero, used for people tied to a place or trade, and you get sabanero: someone who lives and works on the savanna. In Costa Rica, the word belongs to Guanacaste, where long dry seasons leave the plains between the mountains and the Pacific open and grassy, good country for cattle.

Ticos use the word with pride. Calling someone a real sabanero suggests toughness, skill on a horse and deep roots in Guanacaste. For more local vocabulary, see our list of Costa Rican expressions.

History

The History of the Costa Rican Sabanero

The Spanish brought cattle and horses to the region during the colonial era, and by the 1700s ranching was Guanacaste’s main industry. Large cattle estates called haciendas spread across the plains, and sabanero culture took its classic form inside them in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

The work was hard and often solitary. Sabaneros rounded up cattle that roamed freely across the plains and hills, roped animals, treated injuries, helped with calving and moved herds over long distances. Owners were often absent, so sabaneros worked with a lot of independence. Many also made their own horsehair and leather goods, from bridles to girths.

Guanacaste itself joined Costa Rica in 1824, after breaking from Nicaragua, which is why the province’s identity, sabanero culture included, still feels distinct from the Central Valley. Our guide to Guanacaste’s history and culture covers that story.

Gear

What Sabaneros Wear and Carry

Sabanero clothing is practical first. Guanacaste is hot, dry and dusty for half the year, and the gear reflects long days in the sun on horseback:

• Sombrero: a wide-brimmed hat for shade. A sabanero is rarely seen without one.
• Long-sleeved shirt: lightweight cotton to protect the arms from sun and brush.
• Boots and spurs: riding boots, often with spurs for working cattle.
• Lasso: a rope for catching cattle, carried coiled on the saddle.
• Leather gaiters and cape: leg protection against thorny scrub, plus a leather cape once used to distract bulls.
• Saddle and tack: the horse is the sabanero’s most important tool, and saddles, bridles and girths are often handmade.

You’ll see a dressed-up version of this outfit at fiestas and in folk dances. Our guide to Costa Rica’s traditional dances shows how sabanero dress shows up on stage.

Today

Sabaneros Today

The old haciendas have mostly broken up. Land shifted to sugarcane, rice and smaller farms, and along the coast, ranches gave way to hotels and restaurants. Many traditional sabaneros lost steady work.

Researchers who study Guanacaste now describe several kinds of sabaneros: traditional cowboys still working cattle, sabaneros who combine ranch work with small farming, sabaneros who work in tourism, and people who adopt the sabanero lifestyle without working cattle full time. Some historians also point out that the romantic image of the sabanero can hide the hard conditions and unequal land ownership of the hacienda system.

Costa Rica honors the tradition with a national Día del Sabanero each November, and the figure of the sabanero remains a symbol of Guanacaste identity.

See it

Where to See Sabanero Culture in Costa Rica

Topes and fiestas

A tope is a horse parade, and it’s the easiest way to see sabaneros and their horses up close. Guanacaste’s town fiestas, including those in Liberia, Santa Cruz and Nicoya, combine topes, music, food and corridas de toros a la tica, Costa Rican-style bull riding in which the bull isn’t killed. The big national holidays, including Guanacaste Day on July 25 and Independence Day on Sept. 15, bring parades to every canton. Read our guides to the tope parade and bullfighting in Costa Rica.

Museo del Sabanero in Liberia

Liberia, Guanacaste’s capital, has a museum devoted to sabanero culture in its historic Casa de la Cultura, with saddles, lassos, spurs and other ranch gear. The building reopened in early 2026 after a restoration, with new permanent exhibits on sabanero life and the old haciendas planned, so check current hours before you go.

Ranch tours

Several Guanacaste ranches and resorts offer “sabanero for a day” experiences, where you ride with working cowboys, help move cattle and learn basic roping. They’re a good option for confident riders. Beginners should ask about horse temperament and pace before booking.

For more on the region, see our guides to Tamarindo, the Nicoya Blue Zone and the Guanacaste tree, which gave the province its name. Our Costa Rica holidays and celebrations calendar helps you time a trip around a fiesta.

Good to know

Sabanero FAQ