A New Life in Escazu. What’s in a name Gringo?
You do not have to be here long to understand that the natural born are not called Costa Ricans… they are ‘Ticos’ generally speaking and ‘ticos’ and ‘ticas’ specifically.
By default this makes me a ‘gringo’ and I ask myself what exactly is this all about?
Where did these names come from and what do they represent? So I decided to do a bit of research and educate myself. As far as the origin of the word ‘gringo’ one author put it this way. She wrote: “You may be wondering why I didn’t simply look “gringo” up in a Spanish-English dictionary, since I was so determined to find its definition.
Well, I did, and the word was defined as “one who speaks gibberish,” and “blonde,” neither of which made much sense in the common usage of the word unless you are writing a story about a gibberish-talking fair-haired woman, right?
Now don’t get mad at me, all you blondes out there who speak gibberish, I didn’t write the dictionary.” ….that’s a start, but lets dig deeper.
The first of two non-urban legends goes that American soldiers fighting in the Mexican-American War were singing, a la the 19th century version of American Idol, a popular ballad called ‘Green Grows the Rushes.’ Modern conspiracy theorists concocted the notion that the local Mexicans heard the singing and in a Holmesian leap of observation these theorists deduced the locals took a tag from the melody and there you have “green grows” ergo “gringos”.
Actually the truth seems to be that in the 17th century foreigners living in Spain were called ‘griegos’ or Greeks for their faulty language skills. The saying ‘It’s Greek to me’ was a saying in force, not only on Shakespeare but also as a phrase used in Spain. It came to represent someone speaking an unintelligible language.
Then after a few regime changes and some tequila shots it morphed into the current “gringos”. Now we can put that to rest or to bed depending on how many shots you had.
So now to investigate the beginnings of the word ‘tico’ and what it stood for. For this I decided to conduct a scientific survey. I would eliminate the 5% of the wealthiest and the 5% of the lowest income and focus on the middle 90%. I decided to conduct a random survey of individuals in my neighborhood and their photo’s are included here.
The second non-urban legend I was entertained with came from a mid-level executive who told me for sure that the word ‘tico’ came from Americans trying to speak Spanish and always adding ‘…ito’ to the end of words in the very best sense of the ‘ugly American’. Thus ‘…ito’ became ‘tico’ after a constant massacre of the language.
Kind of like what happens after you try to communicate like a baby with a baby on a regular basis or trying to speak very bad Italian on a drunken binge in Rome. I don’t think I’m buying that one either.
The truth seems to be this. Costa Ricans had a affectionate way of greeting each other in a familiar sense referring to each other, in the verbal diminutive as ‘hermaniticos’ or ‘little brother’.
It’s obvious to see the logical leap from there. I’ll buy that one!
OK! With that mystery purportedly solved, armed with my camera I began my ‘man in the street’ (they are not politically correct in Costa Rica yet!) interviews to understand what being a ‘tico’ means. I expected the answers to reflect a swelling sense of national pride, occasional chest thumping oratory and visceral moments of patriotism… kinda like being at a Yankees game.
What I got repeatedly from almost everyone I asked was shrugged shoulders and the somewhat obvious observation that a ‘tico’ is someone born in Costa Rica. How do you say ‘I dunno’ in Spanish?
I’m thinking to myself how am I going to get 500 words for this article? Time after time when I asked the question “What is a Tico and and what does it mean to you?”, I got mostly blank stares and embarrassed smiles. I could not find any connective cultural tissue no matter how many ways I asked the question.
I did encounter one very elderly Doña selling from her cart in the street. At first I was going to pass her by but I thought no, I’m going to widen the age bracket in my interview population. What she told me made me look over my shoulder for a Mayan Head Priest.
With something akin to being in a time warp she spoke in a voice from centuries before and said, ‘We are people of the Earth!’
She was the other-worldly exception that I took in stride as the ‘wild card’ of the group.
There were a few adjectives that were offered after much prompting by me. I was like, ‘C’mon guys give me something here!’ Almost to a person they would say Ticos are friendly,easy-going, accommodating people and that all is true but I did not get a distinctive sense of national identity from any of them.
It was frustrating and illuminating at the same time. How could they not have an idea of who they are as a people?
Then I think the real meaning of their answers struck me. Ticos are not self-conscious in the sense they have to define themselves for others to accept. They live acceptance. Their cultural mindset does not necessarily require an explanation.
It is not a matter of satisfying anyone’s curiosity. It is lived not explained. The Donia was right….they are people of the Earth. Where do I sign up?
Written by VIP Member Charlie Dennard. Charlie is a native of Georgia, born in Columbus, growing up in Savannah and working professionally in Atlanta. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia with a pre-law degree. Shortly after graduating he met the actor Burt Reynolds and later managed his restaurant at The Omni in Atlanta.
In 1984 he was offered an opportunity to live and work with local communities in Monterey, Mexico and Lima, Peru which he did for several years. Upon returning to Atlanta, Charlie worked a national sales rep and after being invited to address a local men’s group became a highly sought after motivational speaker. Charlie is the proud father of three beautiful girls Carson, Galilee and Emma.
In 2008 Charlie started his current business whose mission statement is to provide world class dentistry at affordable prices.
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Andrew Makarik
to@welovecostarica.comAndrew Makarik is the main editor of WeLoveCostaRica, a fan of this sunny country. He is also a loving husband and a has a lovely daughter. By being a devoted family man and the biggest Costa Rica fan, he wants to make more people feel at home there. WeLoveCostaRica unites people and helps them find new home or a new travel destination. This website is a friendly community where everyone can find not only information, but also new friends and travel pals. Andrew is also passionate about IT and programming, so he himself maintains a friendly atmosphere in this cozy environment of WeLoveCostaRica.com.
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