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WARNING: The following post discusses labels based on Racism, a fact of life but is not intended to belittle anyone.
To truly be a “Tico” or “Tica”:
1) You need to born in Costa Rica and have Costa Rican parents.
2) You need to have grown up in Costa Rica and be part of Costa Rican society.
3) You need to have a Costa Rican accent suitable to to your social status. The tern “tico” has to do with their accent and use of language.If you are from anywhere that Central Americans define you as Gringo you will always be a (rich) Gringo and your children will probably always be Gringos (unless you married a Tico and have “gone native” so that your children never knew the Gringo life. . .
Exiles from Nicaragua are labeled Nicas and looked down upon by many Ticos. While Tico society ranges racially from European Spaniards to Indio (natives) and every possible mix between the Ticos DO discriminate themselves from the Caribbean black population.
Racial and social stereotypes abound world wide and it is virtually impossible to change your stripes. In the US if you are black you are almost always defined as African-American.
If you are a Southern Red-Neck and fly the stars and bars you are a Cracker and always will be. Most of the US is defined as WASP even if they don’t align themselves with any church.
In the South if a person has a New England accent they are a Yankee (a damn Yankee at that). All are gringos including African Americans but I think they confuse the Ticos. . .
Like we North Americans are confused by many British blacks with perfectly British English. . . they never “ax” a question as do even some of the highest ranking African Americans.
It would not bother me to be called a Tico but I doubt that I could live long enough to pass for a native Costa Rican.
[quote=”guru”]It would not bother me to be called a Tico but I doubt that I could live long enough to pass for a native Costa Rican.[/quote]
Could not haver been said better.
I am a WASP. But I speak fluent Spanish with a Cuban accent. I am married for 32 years to a Puerto Rican woman and I have lived within and among the Hispanic culture here in Miami for over three decades.
Depite a concerted effort and natural tendency to try to blend in to the Latin culture, I will always be seen as a gringo. I will stand out physically as a gringo and so I will be treated initially, always as a gringo.
No matter how I behave or how familiar I am with Costa Rica and its people, no matter how successfully I assimilate the accent, I will always be seen as a non native. It is always a bit unsettling standing out in a crowd. I never quite get used to it.
[quote=”sprite”]I am a WASP. But I speak fluent Spanish with a Cuban accent. I am married for 32 years to a Puerto Rican woman and I have lived within and among the Hispanic culture here in Miami for over three decades. Depite a concerted effort and natural tendency to try to blend in to the Latin culture, I will always be seen as a gringo. I will stand out physically as a gringo and so I will be treated initially, always as a gringo.
No matter how I behave or how familiar I am with Costa Rica and its people, no matter how successfully I assimilate the accent, I will always be seen as a non native. It is always a bit unsettling standing out in a crowd. I never quite get used to it.[/quote]Sprite
you will never change peoples mentality… but you can leverage this to your advantage if you look hard enough
for example I run a internet business here in costa rica
and I use the gringo thing and I find it helps me because Tico clients think Americans are better at technology than ticos
just as an example
The people I think of as true Ticos – though there are surely many other types as well – are those who live in the countryside and know a lot of stuff.
They know the names of trees and weeds and snakes and lizards and birds and all kinds of things about those.
They know about the weather and planting and insects and basically – everything in their natural world.
I really admire their knowledge of all these things in their natural world and they are a treasure trove of info on these things.
However when it comes to plumbing, electrical and other such things – I’m not impressed.
Different strokes for different folks.
I don’t think a knowledge of nature defines a Tico. Not when a third or more live in San Jose metro area. I’ve met Tico city dwellers that have the same willingness to share, the same friendly spirit and pura vida as the country folk.
The “honorary” Tico I know best is a Venezuelan but he has lived in Costa Rica many years and has adopted the culture. He has a business in San Jose and was an excellent guide when I was there. He took us on a tour of the city’s ironwork (the good stuff) and he introduced us to a number of Ticos in the same business. All were friendly as well as knowledgeable about their urban part of the world.
As to their driving I do not think it is much different than many third world countries. The less police and the laxer the enforcement of the traffic laws the more chaotic the traffic. What amazes me is the ability of the truck drivers to drive full sized and over-sized rigs on the narrow mountain roads. However, the Tico habit of stopping side by side on a narrow road blocking the traffic to have a leisurely chat is a bit maddening to my Gringo sensibilities. But it is the Tico way. . .
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