Submitted by Kat Severson on the 2024 Winter SPAN program in Costa Rica …
Sarchí – The Artisan Capitol of Costa Rica
Art is a big component of showing one’s culture. In our final week in Costa Rica, we visited Sarchí, which is known as Costa Rica’s artisan capitol. Though the town itself is colorfully painted, the main attraction here in Sarchí is the elaborately painted ox carts. These “carretas” as they’re called, symbolize hard work throughout Costa Rica, thus being decreed as the country’s National Symbol in 1988. Ox carts were used throughout Costa Rican history, and still today to aid farmers and other laborers in transporting and hauling their products throughout the rough terrain.
Each carreta is carefully made and painted by these artisans, each unique. As you can see in the picture below, as the years progressed, so did the artistry of the wheels. During our excursion we had a great opportunity to put our artistic skills to work, we took an ox cart wheel painting class! We were guided by Guillermo, who has been painting since he was 12, over 50 years of experience! Though my wheel does not rival the wheels of the professionals, it was fun to learn and to try!
After our painting class, we explored around town. We saw more amazing artwork painted on pavilions, parks, walls, pots, pretty much everything! In the central park we stopped to look at the world’s largest oxcart, named in the Guinness Book of World Records in 2006. Across from the oxcart, there is the famous “wedding cake” church, named for its pastel color and decorative ornaments. It was amazing to be in a town with this much art. As someone who is a Global Studies: World Cultures major, seeing a place with this much expression and culture is incredibly wonderful. (Submitted February 3, 2024)
