Racism in Costa Rica

Hi everyone,
Reading all the comments was very interesting and from all points of view, which is what i hoped to have debated.
I didn't go to CR looking for any sort of discrimination but i just happened to have noticed it and to me felt far more obvious than in other countries in Latin America i had visited apart from Argentina (which is anjother debate topic!), maybe i'm being over sensitive but that was my experience and thought it right to mention it. I Did have a great time especially on the Caribbean coast side and people friendly and polite most of the time.
I'm now in Mexico but havn't had long enough to ' observe´ the society and culture here, no doubt everyone will have different experiences wherever one goes.

Interesting though that nobody came forward with a first hand experience. Perhaps then not so common as you perceived?.

Been here 13 years and have yet to see racism, lived in Ohio 15 month and ohh boy what a disgrace.

In most of Latin America Racism is exists, depending on what your definition of racism is, as it varies from the north american definition. (I am latin american myself). Racism and social class go hand in hand which is why most of the Nicaraguans despite their skin color still get discreminated against. Lots of good books out there regarding this subject. EX. "Race and ethnicity in Latin America", "Class and Culture in Latin America", "race and nation in modern latin america"
"race in another america:The signifigance of skin color in Brazil". The list goes on and on it is definately a topic that has been written about and discussed a lot.

In most of Latin America Racism is exists, depending on what your definition of racism is, as it varies from the north american definition. Racism and social class go hand in hand which is why most of the Nicaraguans despite their skin color still get discreminated against. Lots of good books out there regarding this subject.
EX. "Race and ethnicity in Latin America",
"Class and Culture in Latin America",
"race and nation in modern latin america"
"race in another america:The signifigance of skin color in Brazil".
The list goes on and on it is definately a topic that has been written about and discussed a lot. It's good to know about it and be aware of these things whereever you go, it doesn't mean you can't love the country and enjoy your trip. It's just a really interesting topic.

im from costa rica...and the vast majority of Costa Ricans look predominantly European, if u go to san jose city and see a bunch of brown people walking they are probably from Nicaragua they are not ticos! there is lots of racism here against Nicaraguans..its like mexicans crossing the border to USA, its the same thing....

You know, Costa Rica has a lot of good points to it, but the discrimination against Americans or anyone who looks like they could be American is intense. It starts with everyone trying to get free English lessons from you on the street, in a cafe, in a bus, in a taxi, you name the location, they think that you OWE them free lessons even though Spanish is the official language. They don’t care if you speak it fluently either. They are all trying to use you for free English. If you only speak in Spanish and don't fall into that trap, you can clean a lot of the users that come at you. That’s first. Then they try to double or triple charge you for everything because you are American and all Americans are rich. They give you lots of sob stories about how hard their lives are, how much they have to fight to make a living, and how you should feel sorry for them and give them stuff. This, however, also happens in Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Colombia, and other Latin American countries. What’s worse is that the people who usually pull this stuff on you are the middle and upper class members that could actually pay for English lessons and that probably have better cars (if you even have a car), better clothes and a lot more disposable income than you do. Or those who have run into the retired rich white American man who is too lazy to learn another language and thinks that money solves all of the problems. What throwing free English and free money at people creates is dependency and resentment and the idea that all Americans owe them this. Vicious cycle. And the ones discriminating against you don’t want to hear anything about the actually reality of your life. They just don’t care.

#16- weird take of CR...but I guess you have to call it as you see it....but weird.

I think it could be quite fun to give English 'lessons' to the people you interact with, somewhere like Costa Rica (f they ask, of course).

Yes, I've come across it in Asia (and, as you said, usually as a prelude to something less fun).