"Chepe" Light Festival A Event
Hundreds of thousands  filled the streets of "chepe" (San José)came out last night for the 11th annual "Festival de la Luz", perhaps the most brilliant and entertaining of all holiday season parades.

At 6pm sharp the fireworks over downtown San José were set off in a spectacular light and sound show that was hard to miss from just about anywhere in the surrounding areas of San José.

Paseo Colón and Avenida Segunda were filled with spectators, some bringing their lawn chairs for comfort, as the festival made its way from the west end at the Parque La Sabana and made its way east to the Plaza de la Democracia.

The Festival de la Luz is a family event and police reported no "important" incidents to mar the festivities.

Parents with their children, entire families including grandparents and grandchildren, were on hand to watch the floats, listen to the music and accompany the dancers, as they made their way along the parade route.

Evelen floats and 12 bands took part in the parade. The Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT) got an 8.8 from the judges on their "biodiversity" float, a theme that was common throughout the presentations, including a group of young girls dresses as "barbies" and the mythological hero, Hercules.

On a sad note, Festival de la Luz is the last holiday event in San José since the traditional "carnaval" and "Zapote" fair have been cancelled.

The Tope (horse parade) is scheduled for December 26, however, it is not an activity planned or sponsored by the Municipalidad de San José.

"Chepe" is a nickname for  San José. We have yet to discover the origin of word used to describe San José.