To rescue and value the “Coffee” tradition and its contributions to Costa Rican history, are the objectives for which the Juan Santamaría Historical Cultural Museum (MHCJS) invites the public to access its educational file (Educational cards) programs, during this August, dedicated to coffee and its role in shaping the economy and the society.
The initiative to create these thematic files arises as a resource offered by the Museum, as part of the work of the educational services that the institution promotes, and that due to the COVID-19 situation, became a creative and practical way to maintain the process of disseminating cultural and educational content, available to the different audiences of the institution, through its social media platforms on Facebook and Instagram.
On the occasion of the recent signing of Law No. 9815 that declares coffee as the fifteenth National Symbol of Costa Rica, the museum will dedicate the files (Educational cards) for the month of August 2020; in order to address the evolution, relevance and social, economic and cultural meaning that coffee generated, between the decades from 1820 to 1860.
“For the Museum it is important to provide an alternative that allows people to identify with their history, with their past. In this case, the educational files for the month of August seek to demonstrate the direct relationship of the coffee expansion that the country had, even more so with the recent declaration of coffee as a national symbol.
Furthermore, it is important to note that we are direct descendants of the majority of the people who forged their lives around the country’s coffee tradition”, highlighted María Elena Masis, director of the MHCJS.
The contents are shared weekly, starting this August 7th, with an “introduction to the beginnings of the Costa Rican coffee industry”, its “relationship with capitalism in the country and the centrality of the so-called National Road”, which communicated with the “Central Valley”.
For the second installment, the approach to means of transport, daily life, and their relationship with coffee innovation, will be developed; and highlights the role that coffee played in the innovation of transportation through means such as the typical Costa Rican cart.
In the week of August 21st, the theme of the link between the town of Puntarenas, as the main commercial port, business and diplomatic representation, during the first half of the 19th century will be developed.
Finally, for the last installment, the following theme will be developed: “Coffee and urbanism“, whose focus is to demonstrate the relationship between the evolution and modernity of cities, since the period of independence and the construction of national institutions and identities.
You can access these contents through the Facebook page of the Juan Santamaría Cultural Historical Museum or on their Instagram platform: Museo_Juan_Santamaria.
