Starting this weekend through March 9th, the capital of Guanacaste will play host to its own series of “fiestas civicas” or civic parties. The parties are put on by the Comite de Fiestas Civicas de Liberia the final week of February each year on fair grounds just West of the city center, and feature Guanacaste culture at its best.
This year, the parties will kick off tonight at 5pm with a large parade. At 9pm “bombetas”, which sound like noisy fireworks, will be set off and bands will play typical music in the central park. The majority of the town, including most government offices, has Friday off, thus increasing Thursday night’s party atmosphere. A tope, or horse parade will be held daily, the most important of which generally takes place on Sundays.
Parades also include mascarades, bands on the back of trucks, high school marching bands and other displays of typical Guanacaste culture, including typical dancers. There is also a special children’s parade.
Every morning at 5am throughout the week a street procession called La Diana, which consists of a car and loud speakers, goes around blasting noise to remind people that its time to party. The car is often followed by a small parade of drunken partiers on the weekends who have yet to go home from the night before.
Once people have re-grouped for the following day, most find their way to the largest bull ring in Guanacaste where the traditional Tico-style bullfight takes place. This consists of a worked-up bull being set free on a ring of hundreds of male Costa Ricans, who have usually liquored up in preparation for the adrenaline rush. Injuries are not uncommon, and deaths have been known to occur. The Health Ministry has been working to turn younger children away from the tradition, and the Red Cross ends up attending thousands of victims at each venue at the end of a long week of parties.
The bull ring or “redondel” has plenty of seating room, with entrance fees around $5 a person to view the bull fights, which take place on the weekends at 3pm and then again at 9pm. However, if you just want to catch a glimpse, the Liberia bull ring is open beneath the bleachers allowing anyone to pop in for free viewing between the wooden planks. If you choose to do so, beware that this is also where the improvised bullfighters jump up to save their behinds from sharp bull horns, so beware of getting your fingers stomped on through the fence.
The festival grounds are filled with rows of food and alcohol vendors and a few stages where national and international acts are scheduled to perform. This Sunday evening (March 2nd), the Puerto Rican bachata group Aventura is scheduled to play, with tickets starting around $20 that can be purchased at specialticket.net. There is also an 11am soccer match between Saprissa and Liberia, so hotel rooms are sure to be scarce. The last weekend, Puerto Rican meringue group Hermanos Rosarios will hold a free concert.
Some budget accommodations refuse to accept reservations throughout the week, and wait for the best deal or sure business to come along. Anywhere that does accept reservations are probably booked for the weekend by now, but the second weekend is just as popular if not more.
The dress for the parties is anything cowboy. Hats, boots, jeans and collared shirts are all the rage in Guanacaste, and those from Chepe (San Jose) like to get into the mood of the occasion as well. At night, the town filters into several “megabars” that are built just for the occasion. Dancers, DJs and performers fill the stages after 11pm and the crowd dances on through the night.
If you can’t make it out to the celebrations, you don’t have to wait until next year. Liberia goes all out again the week of July 25th to celebrate the annexation of Guanacaste from Nicaragua.
