Music, Dance and Literary Production Are Part of the Icons of Guanacaste Culture

The specialist in customs and traditions of Guanacaste, Carlos Arauz Ramos, author of 18 books related to this subject, highlighted that music, dances and literary production are part of the main legacies the province has contributed to Costa Rica during the 199 years of the Annexation of the Nicoya Party.

For Arauz Ramos, an Agronomist by profession and a researcher of the Guanacaste culture since his days as a high school student at the Nicoya Lyceum, it is necessary that the programs of the educational centers in the province incorporate topics related to the history of the province to keep that cultural heritage alive. Arauz Ramos wrote his first work in relation to this field in 1992 with the title Cornizuelo y Güiscoyol; Later, other works followed, such as Dichos y RefranesGuanacastecos, Nostalgia Sabanera and La Cofradía de NuestraSeñoritaVirgen de Guadalupe, among others.

Great contributions The Agronomist, a native of La Mansión de Nicoya, in an interview with PeriódicoMensaje highlighted that in 2024, when the 200th anniversary of the Annexation of the Nicoya Party to the Free State of Costa Rica is celebrated, it will be necessary to develop a vigorous process of diffusion that highlights the contribution of the province to the country.

Based on his experience as a researcher on these issues, what can he say are the icons of Guanacaste culture?

Well we have several things, the province is strongly represented by music, especially what refers to dances. The music of Guanacaste is derived from the mixture of what the indigenous people left and their rhythms when they celebrated the Fiesta del Sol, that was projected in the dances of La Yegüita, that indigenous substrate reached the measured rhythms of the blacks, of the slaves, who had already crossed paths with the natives and then with the Spanish to give way to the zambos and mulattoes who incorporated them into their rhythms. Then the Spaniards arrived with their wind and percussion instruments to; finally, give rise to Guanacaste music.The dances also represent us faithfully because they were mixed with the dances of the Spanish, but tropicalized with much happier rhythms.

What would you say is the main legacy of Guanacaste culture to Costa Rica?

Well, two very strong legacies are in literature and in the production of handicrafts, especially ceramics and utensils such as guacales that were used before and are still used in many places.

Another very important element is speech, the ways of expressing oneself, in the sayings, proverbs and strings that are typical of the Guanacastecan. There is a little more than a year left to commemorate the two centuries of the Annexation

What message should be taken to Costa Rica on that date?

What you say is very important because Guanacaste has had a very long history in various aspects, but we must ensure that the legacy of the province is strengthened in its customs and traditions that are supported by the entire cultural sector, we are not right in that , there must be more strength in this field on the part of the authorities.