Costa Rican Craftsmen – There’s ironwork and there’s ironwork…

Ironwork is a common feature of traditional residential architecture throughout Latin America. Not only does it contribute to the traditional Spanish colonial style of a home, (some call it the “lace”), but it also adds security.

And because it isn’t inexpensive, it makes a statement to the community about the owners’ affluence.

Some ironwork barriers are simple and inelegant; others are very fancy indeed. And some homes feature as many as three levels of iron barriers at the street, surrounding the front porch, and on the windows and doors. In rural areas, the entrance to the property is commonly gated as well.

Our taste in architecture is contemporary and much simpler than most Spanish-style homes, and we choose not to live behind bars. Where we are located, there appears to be little need for all that physical security, so we have chosen to forgo the metalwork — until recently.

For a couple of years, we have admired the iron gates created by the Castro brothers, Carlos and Esteban, at the waterfalls at Catarata del Toro in Baja del Toro. Baja del Toro is about an hour’s drive northeast of Sarchi and a trip well worth taking both for the waterfalls themselves and to see the Castros’ creations.

There you will find eleven gates of various sizes and designs. There is everything from simple leaf motifs to magnificent renditions of a volcano, a toucan, a parrot and a jaguar. Flowers, birds and butterflies abound.

The problem for us has been to find a place where we could put the Castros’ artistry to work. We didn’t want to bar the doors and we didn’t want a gate across the road. As you approach our two houses, however, and as you walk out the front door of the main house, your first view is of the out swinging garage doors on the guest house. What a perfect place for something unique!

We called the Castro brothers, who are from Alajuela, and had them come out to look at the proposed project and give us a price. On that first visit, they took some measurements and drew up a plan to replace the existing garage doors with new ones with a junglelike motif. Inasmuch as they are the artists, we gave them the freedom to design what they thought would look good. And in that first meeting, we committed to the work.

A month later, they called and made an appointment to come and install the new doors. They also made a new metal barrier door for the front door of the guest house. The three new doors were all installed in a single day.

While we were waiting for the door to be fabricated, we decided to extend their design to the solid concrete walls on either side of the garage door opening. So on the day when they installed the doors, we convinced them in our limited Spanish (they speak no English) that they should come back and extend the “picture” they’d begun to the sidewalls and around the corners. A few days later, they returned and, working in a steady rain, created the final product you see here.

This was their first mural project. They offered to either continue with the line drawing motif which they used in the iron doors or to do a fully painted-in design. We opted to have they continue the line drawings and have since added some potted plants to give the wall a third dimension and add some organicity.

The Castros were great to deal with and open to any suggestion or special request. If you would like to contact them about your own project, you can reach Carlos at 8353-9847, Esteban at 8848-8937, their home/office 2275-5886, or e-mail them (in Spanish) at ferroxido@yahoo.com.

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Written by VIP Member Dave Murray – originally from the USA – who lives in Grecia with his wife Marcia.

Dave & Marcia have a beautiful, fully furnished guest house for rent in Grecia which you can see here.

Andrew Makarik

to@welovecostarica.com

Andrew 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.