Teatro Nacional (National Theater)

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  • Address
    Plaza de la Cultura, btw Avs Central & 2, Calles 3 & 5, city center
  • Phone
    221 1329
  • Website
  • Mon-Fri 09:00 - 17:00 , Sat 09:00 - 12:30 & 13:30 - 17:30

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Lonely Planet review

The national theater is regarded as San José's most impressive public building. Built in 1897, it features a columned neoclassical façade and is flanked by statues of Beethoven and Calderón de la Barca, a 17th-century Spanish dramatist. The lavish lobby and auditorium are lined with paintings depicting various facets of 19th-century life, the most famous being Alegoría al café y el banano , an idyllic canvas showing coffee and banana harvests.

The painting was produced in Italy and shipped to Costa Rica for installation in the theater and the image was reproduced on the five-colón note (now out of circulation), which you can find in some souvenir shops. However, it is clear that the painter never witnessed a banana harvest because of the way he portrayed a central man awkwardly grasping a bunch. In case you're wondering, actual banana workers hoist the stem onto their shoulders.