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There are many ways to put a company out of business when you’re a big gun and can hold out longer, but you’re absolutely right about the consumer deciding whether or not to loose their mom & pop pulperias for 24-hour type marts in most towns. If what happened to the local bakers and the availability of delicious & original Costa Rican pastries in most CR towns is any indication, then hello coffee from God knows where (in a country with amazing coffee!) & KKs–nothing against the KKs being available, but I do have a problem with the typical CR foods (among other things) being lost forever. Who knows, maybe CR will make better choices this time now that so many people are talking about this….It will be interesting to see what happens in different areas of CR. Even though the SI vote won in Limon, I have a feeling that just as the Conquistadors had trouble getting hold of Limon, they’re not going to have an easy time of trying to homogenize this area…………Por dicha!!
A Christopher Columbus – another ‘hero’?
Maybe, but if you start reading the story behind these glossy, patriotic ‘Columbus Day’ celebrations, you quickly find that it was the actions of Christopher Columbus, in the name of the “Holy Trinity” that resulted in the eventual slaughter of millions of Indians.
We took a look at ‘Christopher Columbus in Costa Rica – Hero or murderer?’ which you can see at
Happy Columbus Day!
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comWe have massive Columbus Day protests in Denver. At least 100 people are arrested every year — what do you mean he was responsible for killing all those Indians? is most peoples’ attitudes. What do we care? I always thought it was a travesty to engage in this stupid hero worship when all that was wrought in his path was death and destruction. I have a friend who is a descendent of Hernando Cortez. He’s still trying to live down what that ancestor did to the natives of Mexico! Now we have concentration camps for the Native Americans, oops, I mean “reservations” — the gory history of this country (and many others) is a blight on the white man’s soul.
As in all of the Americas, Costa Rican indigenous people don’t celebrate Columbus Day either, except to protest–he means death, devastation,the loss of their way of life and their very dignity (among many other things). Although we shouldn’t bear the guilt of what others have done before us, we do have the responsibility today of trying to correct those mistakes by our everyday actions. We certainly have to be willing to accept the cost to others of what we do today…(and please don’t make this comment about the SI or NO group–everyone knows in their hearts and as history unfolds the toll of these mistakes)….
It sounds like someone just woke up and smelled the coffee! hahaaha
If you think this is the only country in South or Central America that has all of the western style foods than you were sold a bill of goods before you came.Do you think that Ticos want the option to decide for themselfs if they like Walmart?
CAFTA didnt bring Coke or Pepsi to Costa Rica it was here along time before the gringos came!
Coke is EVERYWHERE, even in the remotest parts of Africa. The Coca-Cola machine is well tuned and has been distributing its wares all over the world for 40+ years. It’s like Bimbo bread — one of the worst food products ever foisted on a population.
Maravilla, I needed a good laugh, thanks!I laughed so hard remembering all of those horrible products and how I had to find a million ways to keep my daughter from buying the cute little bear pastries during recess and inevitably getting a stomach ache! I always thought they were Mexican, but surprise, surprise, they also have a US corp that is associated with Entemann’s, Boboli, Thomas (among others)–Gee, now I’ll never have my whole wheat English muffins without thinking of that nasty bear! (LOL)
Rebeca, I agree with what you have said. I did not want to imply a simple solution of “just getting on with it.” For me to say that would be easy to say. I do not live there. As things in the US are different from CR, they will have to work out their own solutions.
I have seen what politicians and the media have done to divide most of us here. This is why presidential races are won by a hair. We can even see how we are sometimes divided on this forum. In the end, all of us here have a common glue that binds us. We all keep Costa Rica close in our thoughts and prayers.
Maravilla, Here is one of the few points where we absolutely have the same opinion. Fortunately I live in a semi-rural area. I have started to see the same loss of small business on a smaller scale, but it becoming noticeable. Home Depot moved in with all the tax abatements they could get and promised to hire full time workers. The did this for a year or so and then downsized. The staff was fired and rehired as part-time without health benefits. The community took a hit, but the tax abatements still exist.
Someone else said the reason for the loss of small business was the responsibility of the consumer. A lot of that makes sense. I know I tried to limit shopping there until only one hardware store was left. It was far enough away to make it inconvenient.
I don’t want to see Costa Rica turn into one big box store or mall either. I have no control whether it does or doesn’t. Consumerism is a gift, and curse at the same time. I guess we’ll just have to live with it. Somehow I think you will fight it tooth and nail.
Glad you all got a good laugh about Bimbo Bread, which will last a year or more, it’s so loaded with chemicals and preservatives. What were they thinking when they made that stuff? I just went to the big food show in Denver for all the purveyors that sell products for restaurants. I knew it was a mistake to start eating samples, and I was right. within an hour I had that rabid thirst that comes from MSG, and the headache that comes from preservatives, and yet this is what almost all restaurant food has in it. The food products that are in Costa Rica are nearly as bad. There was one nougat bar that I occasionally indulged in, until I read the label and it’s made with margarina, plus all the chemicals. I did hear that Mus Manni was no longer going to use bromelated flours, but I would bet that most other bakery products in Latin America are made with tons of transfats and all kinds of stuff that no human should eat. Your daughter is lucky she only got a stomach ache and not stomach cancer, which is very high in Costa Rica. In fact, it’s second inthe world for stomach cancer (Japan is number one). It’s got to be the combo of all those pesticides, Omega 6 oils, and the chemicals they put in the food.
Bimbo bread is being sold here in the US. I saw my first Bimbo truck in our village, which has a high immigrant population, last week. They must love it!
Lotus, We are indeed blessed to live in a country with such natural beauty. California alone has, I believe, ten climate zones. We live in very diverse natural surroundings. It is a shame most of us, including myself, never get to see most of it.
Home Depot and Wal-Mart did the exact same thing in my area. It was a disgrace and caused a lot of resentment among the locals who were forced to work there because driving to Denver to work was way too expensive. I want to live a simple life in Costa Rica, and not patronize the big conglomerates unless it’s absolutely necessary. Besides, it’s the little shops and their owners that give a country its flavor. I don’t mind paying a little more if I can go into a shop and converse with the owner or other workers, and get to know who has what in my community. It’s the thing I’ve always loved about living in foreign countries. I especially like to know where my food comes from, who grows it, who harvests it, etc. Except for buying things like olive oil and mustard or vinegar (and T.P. of course), I buy almost everything I consume at the feria. It’s really a social occasion to hit the market on Fridays when it’s packed. You just can’t have that interaction at Home Depot, Maxi Bodega, or EPA!
Scott, I know about the revelations in the past ten years or so of Columbus’ atrocities. I’m not sure if some of it may be revisionist or not. I was thinking back to my youth, when Columbus was that hero that was acknowledged in parade and holiday. There are many conflicting stories, and it always seems our heroes and icons are tarnished in some way. If it is not for their human failings and frailty, then it will be for their motivation in their accomplishments.
I am not insensitive to other peoples feelings on this topic. I knew this would strike some nerves, and there will always be controversy regarding Columbus. He may have been a hero, or he may have been a murderer, but he is part of our history.
Many people have been slaughtered in the name of religion. It still is happening today. The human race seems bent on trying to impose its beliefs upon other people. Maybe we will never learn, maybe we will. Only time will tell.
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