Guanacaste Culture and History: A Visitor’s Guide

Guanacaste, Costa Rica’s dry northwest province, has a culture of its own: Chorotega pottery, sabanero (cowboy) traditions, marimba music, corn-based cooking and some of the country’s biggest folk festivals. Its history is unusual too. The area was governed from Nicaragua in late colonial times, until July 25, 1824, when the Partido de Nicoya voted to join Costa Rica, a date the whole country still marks as a national holiday. If you’re heading to Guanacaste’s beaches, a little of this background makes the towns, food and fiestas you’ll see make more sense.

This guide is for travelers and expats who want to understand Guanacaste beyond the beach resorts. It covers the region’s history, its music, dance, food and crafts, and where and when to experience Guanacaste culture in person.

Roots

The Chorotega: Guanacaste’s Indigenous Roots

Long before the Spanish arrived, the Nicoya Peninsula was home to the Chorotega, a people whose ancestors came from Mesoamerica to the north. They farmed corn, beans and squash, traded across the region and made polychrome pottery that still appears in museum collections around the country.

Their legacy is easy to see today. In Guaitil, near Santa Cruz, and San Vicente de Nicoya, families still make pottery using Chorotega techniques, from bowls and vases to ocarinas, and the craft is taught in Guaitil’s elementary school. Corn, the Chorotega staple, is still at the center of Guanacaste cooking.

History

Spanish Colonization and the Cattle Ranches

Spanish expeditions reached the Nicoya area in the early 1520s, and the town of Nicoya became one of the oldest Spanish settlements in what is now Costa Rica. Its San Blas church marks the site of the country’s first parish, established in 1544.

Guanacaste’s open, dry plains suited cattle, and large haciendas spread across the region. That ranching economy produced the sabanero, the Guanacaste cowboy, whose horsemanship, rodeos and topes (horse parades) are still part of local life. See our guides to the sabanero and topes.

1824

How Guanacaste Became Part of Costa Rica

After Central America’s independence from Spain in 1821, the Partido de Nicoya had to choose between Nicaragua and Costa Rica. On July 25, 1824, the town meeting in Nicoya voted to join Costa Rica, and Santa Cruz followed. The town of Guanacaste, today’s Liberia, held back at first; a law of the Central American federal congress confirmed the region’s place in Costa Rica in 1825. Nicaragua disputed the border for decades, until the Cañas–Jerez Treaty of 1858.

July 25 is now a national holiday, often called Guanacaste Day, with parades, dances, topes and civic events, especially in Liberia and Nicoya. The province’s motto, “De la patria por nuestra voluntad,” means “part of the homeland by our own will.” See our guide to Costa Rica’s holidays.

Guanacaste also played a role in the 1856 war against William Walker: the Battle of Santa Rosa was fought at a hacienda here. See our guides to Santa Rosa National Park and the Filibuster War.

Music and dance

Guanacaste Music and Dance

• Marimba: the wooden xylophone heard at fiestas across Guanacaste, with roots in African instruments brought to Central America. Costa Rica declared it a national symbol of culture and tradition in 1996.
• Quijongo: a one-string musical bow with a gourd resonator, a traditional Guanacaste instrument.
• Punto guanacasteco: the best-known folk dance in Costa Rica, often called the national dance, along with other Guanacaste dances such as La Cajeta and El Torito.
• Bombas: short, often funny rhymed verses shouted out during dances, usually after a cry of “¡Bomba!” Longer recited verses are called retahílas.

See our guides to Costa Rican musical instruments and traditional dances and folklore.

Food

Guanacaste Food: Corn at the Center

Guanacaste cooking leans on corn far more than the rest of the country. Look for:

• Rosquillas and tanelas: baked corn and cheese rings and small cakes, sold at bakeries and roadside stands.
• Arroz de maíz: “corn rice,” a stew of cracked corn, usually with chicken.
• Tamales, tortillas and chorreadas: corn staples found across the province. See our chorreadas recipe.
• Corn drinks: chicheme, pinol, pozol and chicha de maíz, often served at fiestas and church celebrations.

The ranching tradition shows up too, in grilled beef and big lunch plates. Markets in Liberia and Nicoya are good places to try local food. The Nicoya Peninsula is also one of the five “Blue Zones,” regions known for long-lived residents; see our Nicoya Blue Zone guide.

Festivals

Guanacaste Festivals Worth Planning Around

• Fiestas de Santa Cruz (mid-January): Santa Cruz, often called Costa Rica’s folklore city, celebrates the Santo Cristo de Esquipulas with a procession on Jan. 15, traditional dances, marimba music, topes and Costa Rican-style bullfights. See our guide to bullfighting in Costa Rica.
• July 25: Guanacaste Day parades, dances and topes, biggest in Liberia and Nicoya.
• La Yeguita (Nicoya): a celebration of the Virgin of Guadalupe that ends on Dec. 12 with a procession and the traditional La Yeguita dance.

Experience it

How to Experience Guanacaste Culture

• Visit Guaitil: watch potters at work and buy directly from the families who make the pieces. It’s a short drive from Santa Cruz and an easy half-day from Tamarindo or Playa Conchal. See our guides to Tamarindo and Playa Conchal.
• Spend a morning in Nicoya: see the colonial San Blas church and eat at the market.
• Time your trip: mid-January for Santa Cruz, or July 25 for Guanacaste Day.
• Look for the guanacaste tree: the wide-crowned national tree that gave the province its name. See our guanacaste tree guide.

FAQ

Guanacaste Culture and History: FAQ