Carmen Naranjo
Like Pastor in Carmen Lyra’s “Pastor’s Ten Little Old Men,” don Fulminante, also known as the Fulminating Fib, is a storyteller. Carmen Naranjo’s tale about this character, “Believe it or Not,” is the opening story in Costa Rica: A Traveler’s Literary Companion. Don Fulminante, who tells his stories in La Fortuna, begins each tale with, […]
Carmen Lyra
Carmen Lyra’s “Pastor’s Ten Little Old Men” is a story about the power of storytelling. When Soledad meets Pastor, he is talking to the “old men,” his ten toes. He tells Soledad the stories of these old men, from their days turtle fishing at Tortuguero to their days pearl diving in the Gulf of Papagayo […]
Max Jiménez
In his story “The Palmitero,” Max Jiménez personifies the palmetto, the fan palms that stand “with slender trunks, their feathery green tops waving like plumes,” those trees that are cut down by the palmitero to retrieve the delicious hearts of palm: You have to hear the screams as each palm splinters to earth, as it […]
Exploring Costa Rican Literature
Photo Credit: Abee5 / CC BY 2.0 In addition to travel guides, maps, history lessons, and exploration, you can learn much about a country by diving into its literature. When packing your bags, consider Costa Rica: A Traveler’s Literary Companion, edited by Barbara Ras, to enjoy the colorful and rich stories of Costa Rica’s authors. […]
Outer Seed Shadow #01
This past January I had the opportunity to speak with artist Juanli Carrión about his recent project, Outer Seed Shadow #01. (Check out our interview here.) He described to me that Outer Seed Shadow #01 was to be a Manhattan-shaped community garden, where native plants from various countries could represent the rich diversity of the New […]
Warhol, Basquiat, and Degas, as part of National Gallery Exhibition
To celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the Costa Rican Center of Science and Culture, the National Gallery in San José is hosting the exhibition “Herencia del Art ” (Art Heritage), bringing together some of the most exciting work to have every been shown in Costa Rica. The collection includes 158 pieces from renown artists including Edgar […]
The Many Projects of Stephanie Newcomb
Name: Stephanie Newcomb Where are you from? Where do you live? I am originally from Costa Rica, born and raised in San Jose. I escaped Costa Rica after I graduated high school and moved to Pittsburgh for college. I traveled a bit while in school and after. I have been living in Los Angeles since […]
8th Annual Costa Rica International Film Festival
Costa Rica’s 8th Annual International Film Festival will be held from June 5-8, 2014, in Montezuma. The Docufest follows, June 12-15, and the Shortsfest runs from June 19-22nd. Screenings, discussions, and other events encourage artists and audiences alike to participate in this celebration of creativity and craft. Filmmakers interested in submitting their work can do so until […]
Bound for Costa Rica With 40 Rolls of Film
Name: Matthias Winkel Where do you live? The beautiful city of Hamburg, Germany. What is your main artistic practice? Film photography. Tell us what brought you to Costa Rica. A friend of mine invited me to Costa Rica, so I made sure to buy myself a ticket. Two weeks before the trip he had to […]
Photography, Surfing, and Eco-Friendly Wetsuits. Meet Anna Ehrgott
After I came across Anna Ehrgott’s lovely Tumblr page I reached out to see if she’d be interested in sharing her photos of Costa Rica with the Harmony community. Turns out she is a surfer, a seamstress, and designs both board bags and wetsuits. She has also devoted time to volunteering at a turtle sanctuary. […]
Emily Kimelman, A Writer Abroad
Name: Emily Kimelman Where do you live? No set address. What is your main artistic practice? Fiction Writing. What brought you to Costa Rica? I came to Costa Rica to write the first draft of the 6th book in my Sydney Rye series. My series features a strong female protagonist and her rescue dog, Blue. Sydney […]
Harmony Hotel Video Contest is Underway
The Harmony Hotel is hosting its first ever Video Contest asking, “Where do you find harmony?” Share your original video showing us where you find harmony (anywhere in the world) for an opportunity to win a free stay at the award-winning Harmony Hotel. Submissions are open now through April 14th. Here’s what you need to […]
The Beautiful World of Cecilia Paredes
Name: Cecilia Paredes Where do you live? I live between Philadelphia PA in the US, San Jose, Costa Rica and Lima, Peru. What is your main artistic practice? My main artistic practice is performance, sculpture, photography, installation and drawing, not necessarily in that order. Tell us about a project that brought you to Costa Rica. […]
Central Creatives: Photographs from Kathryn Gaitens
This week we were able to catch up with Nosara photographer Kathryn Gaitens, whose thoughtful work explores a range of subjects and style. Name: Kathryn Gaitens Where do you live? I divide my time between Costa Rica and Toronto, Canada. What is your main artistic practice? Contemporary portraiture: expressions of beauty with layers of meaning. The […]
TEOR/éTica: a Space for Art and Thought
While trying to familiarize myself with the artist community in Costa Rica, research led me to discover TEOR/éTica, a sure stop on my next trip to San José. TEOR/éTica is a private, non-profit independent project in San Jose, dedicated to contemporary artistic and curatorial practices. What does that mean, exactly? Rather than describing themselves solely as […]
Envision Costa Rica, February 20-23
I first came across a flyer for Envision Costa Rica at a small coffee shop in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, where I live. When I saw the number of bands on the playbill I knew I had to check out this growing music/meditation/arts festival, a Burning Man of sorts in Central America, where creatives gather to party […]
Central Creatives: Lee Fritz and Jenna Morse on the Solar Women of Totogalpa
NOTE: Today we launch a new series: “Central Creatives”—Wednesday posts featuring artists who create projects in and around Costa Rica! We hope you find their work as exciting as we do. Kicking it off are Lee Fritz and Jenna Morse, whose incredible short documentary Adelante Con El Sol: The Solar Women of Totogalpa was an Official Selection […]
NOSARA: Top Place to Visit in 2014
Of course, I love Nosara. And I assume if you’re reading this, you love Nosara. But how do you feel about many, many, many people loving Nosara? Last week, CNN voted it one of the top places in the world to visit for the second year in a row.
MONKEY TRAILS
Lush landscaping provides a natural corridor for howler monkeys to travel from spot-to-spot, stopping for snacks along the way. Moving through the treetops, they avoid confrontations with dogs or traffic. Last month I visited the Harmony Hotel where we saw native animals almost every day. Howler monkeys, so named for their deep guttural calls that […]
Donavon Frankenreiter at the Tropicana
If you happen to be one of the lucky people in Nosara as the cooler weather descends in other parts of the world, tonight’s your night to experience the Tropicana, the legendary local disco. Singer-songwriter and pro-surfer Donavon Frankenreiter is returning to Nosara after a two year absence and will be performing at 9pm in […]
