The Spirit of the Caribbean will Come Alive in Costa Rica in October.

It is now official, the Limon Carnavales will take place as usual in October, and 75% of the party planning is already complete. There are still some details to settle, but the party planning is now well on its way, with an extra surprise this year. Thousands of tourists are expected to arrive to celebrate with the bands, the Carnival Queen, music, costumes, dancing and food; but this year there will be the addition a Tico-style bull ring.

Negotiations are underway for the space where the bullring can be built, as this promises to bring in a good crowd. A Tope is also planned for the Oct. 12 at 1pm. The tope is a horse parade that takes place in the streets, typical of this country, and participants, dressed up in genuine cowboy attire down to the boots and hat, take this event very seriously.

The carnival’s goal this year, apart from attracting visitors and bringing a spirit of celebration to the area, is to bring Limon together with the rest of the country. “Limon is not an island, it is part of the national territory, and we want to save our old traditions,” said Junior Allen, president of the Caribbean Carnaval Commission 2008. Indeed, the theme of this carnival is “For the Revival of Our Traditions”, and the commission hopes to bring in much more emotion than years past, and they even have a couple of surprises up their sleeves.

The fairground square will be installed on Costa Rica Land owned by Incofer (the Costa Rican Railway Institute), however this year there will be no alcoholic drinks for sale. The activities will begin early on Sept. 5 with the election of candidates for Carnaval Queen, in the traditional Black Star Line building that was recently renovated in Limon. Following this, the election of the Queen of Limon will take place in the Parque Vargas, on the Oct. 10, during the inauguration of the festivities.

There will be national and international music, although the lineup has yet to be announced. “Other details are not yet in place, but we are in July, we are contemplating various ideas that will improve the quality of the event. The Embassy of Honduras is giving us a hand, and we will have the presence of the group Las Garifonos,” Allen added.

One of these missing details happens to be the permits given by the Ministry of Health. Meetings and discussions have taken place, but still they have not given their permission as the collection of the garbage and the elimination of the risks of dengue are two major issues that still have to be attended to. These two issues delay the issuing of permits for carnival every year.

Meetings are taking place every two weeks in order to come to a final decision. There are other issues that need some planning, such as the coordination of the authorities of the Ministry of Public Safety, the fire brigade and the road patrol.

The Limon Carnival is an important part of Costa Ric’s cultural offerings, rich in Caribbean flavor, and it should not be forgotten that this represents a large slice of the Costa Rica culture too. This is what makes this little country so interesting; it has so many facets and secrets to offer. And, a carnival is a carnival, who’d want to miss it!

So far a tentative schedule is as follows:

Oct. 10 – 19:
Mascaradas at noon in Parque Vargas
Culinary Corner around the Black Star Line building
Calipso Concerts in the Cacique Stand

Friday, Oct. 10:
Crowning of the Queen, 8 p.m., Parque Vargas

Saturday, Oct. 11:
Youth Queen Crowning, 2 p.m., Parque Vargas

Sunday, Oct. 12:
Tope (horse parade), 1 p.m.
Memory Dance, 3 p.m., Parque Vargas
National Concert, 2 p.m., Playa Bonita

Friday, Oct. 17:
Children’s Parade, 2 p.m., Parque Vargas

Saturday, Oct. 18:
Biggest Rice and Beans in the World, 10 a.m., Baseball Stadium
International Concert (to be announced)

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Filed under: Tico on July 17th, 2008