Costa Rica Celebrates 185 Years of Independence
Marking its 185th year of Independence, Costa Ricans took the opportunity to party - party Tico style, with parades, music and traditional costumes.

Downtown San José drew the biggest crowds for the Independence Day celebrations, followed by the "fiesta" at the "vieja metrópoli" in Cartago, the original site of government in Costa Rica when it became independent and the Padre Peralta school, the oldest school in the country, with its 161 year history.
The drums began in the early hours, as school children took to the streets after a month of practice, in traditional parades. From Limón, in the Caribbean coast to Puntarenas on the Pacific, and all over Guanacaste, Heredia, Alajuela, the beating of the drums came early.

Dressed in traditional costumes or white, red and blue, the "fiesta" was everywhere.

In San José, the Parque Nacional was the where president Oscar Arias, his ministers and Catholic church held the Independence Day activities, filled with speeches, music, dance and lots of children.

"If the children lift their head they will see that Costa Rica if not totally free, because it is still run aground with old sediment of political waste, however effective in its time, have left behind the best interests of the country", said president Oscar Arias in his Independence Day speech.

Attending the celebrations at the Parque Nacional were also members of the diplomatic core.

President Arias added that the country is not united as poverty continues to batter the nation, with one in five living in poverty, one in three youths cannot attend high school and unemployment in the 16 to 25 age group is 50%.

The president made a call that Costa Rica has to act now in passing the free trade agreement with the United States and reform its tax laws. "Costa Rica is not safe nor tranquil as we have converted ourselves into a country in hiding, because we are prisoners of our own homes", said Arias.

Standing at Arias' side was Johnny Araya, mayor of San José and Monseñor, , who support the president and his initiatives to get Costa Rica moving forward.