|
SAN JOSE
San Jose is the capital and largest city of the nation
of Costa Rica. It is also the capital of the San Jose
Province. San Jose is located in the center of the
country at 9°56'N 84°5'W; it is on a mountain plateau at
an elevation of about 1,170 meters (3,839 feet) above
sea level.
According to the 2000 census, the city had a population
of 309,672 people in San Jose Canton: the latter half of
the 20th century was a period of rapid growth for the
city, considering that in 1950 its population was a mere
86,900. The metropolitan area of San Jose exceeds the
canton limits and surpasses one million inhabitants.
San Jose was a small village of little significance
until 1824. In that year, Costa Rica's first elected
head of state, liberal Juan Mora Fernández, decided to
move the government of Costa Rica from the old Spanish
colonial capital of Cartago and make a fresh start with
a new city. This was a time of much optimism in the
newly independent nation of Central America, of which
Costa Rica was at that time a state (see: History of
Central America). The new capital of San Jose grew
rapidly, extending into the Central Valley. Because of
its late 18th century origin, San Jose has little of the
Spanish colonial architecture common in most other Latin
American capitals.
The University of Costa Rica was established here in
1843, in that time with the name of "University of Santo
Tomás". San Jose also serves as the headquarters of the
Inter-American Court of Human Rights. The city is served
by Juan Santamaría International Airport, 23 km west of
downtown, near Alajuela.
Important places in the city include the Banco Central
de Costa Rica building, the Banco Nacional building (much
taller than other buildings nearby, giving the city its
particular skyline), La Sabana Metropolitan Park,
Avenida Central (a pedestrian thoroughfare and one of
the major commercial areas in the city). The Central
Park and the Plaza de la Cultura are visited by
thousands of workers and tourists every day. The Teatro
Nacional de Costa Rica (National Theatre of Costa Rica),
Melico Salazar Theater, and the Cathedral are other
landmarks in the central area. In the south, the Clínica
Bíblica (a private hospital) and the Pacific Train
Station are important buildings
Nightlife
Although prostitution is legal in Costa Rica, child
prostitution is punished to the most severe extent of
the law. This is regularly and endlessly reported by the
local press and television. It is also covered in the
annual reports of the U. S. State Department regarding
prostitution and the international trafficking of minors.
Government statistics prove that the problem is
prevalently domestic in origin, but regardless this has
been ignored by foreign governments that have
blacklisted Costa Rica as a haven for paedophiles.
However the government deals harshly with those
criminals they arrest. The legal system is slow in
acting thus someone arrested for any crime may spend
months if not years in jail before coming in front of
the court.
There are a large number of small establishments in San
Jose catering to locals seeking prostitutes. A small
number of hotels might be tolerant with guests bringing
in prostitutes but all are vigilant in protecting
themselves and guests from entering with minors through
verifying identification (such as checking of passports
or national identification cards). There is one hotel
that caters to the sex tourist, most others are just
tolerant and have greater success with eco-tourists
Attractions
The National Theater and the Melico Salazar offer hectic
calendars of cultural activities, featuring theater and
dance groups and orchestra music throughout the year.
Costa Ricans typically hate and despise the sex-tourists
from the US and Europe preferring to marketing their
country as eco-tourism. They have been very successful
in growing their eco-tourism, thus driving out the sex-tourists.
On the bright side, there are some cafés in the downtown
area, in the Central Mail building, The National Theater
and the Melico Salazar, where national coffee is
prepared and served in typical Costa Rican ways.
Besides the nightlife in San Jose, there are many
museums and other attractions offering alternative ways
of exploring the city. One of these is the Gold Museum,
which offers a rare look at various gold artefacts of
the ancient Latin American civilizations. An interesting
attraction for the less ad venturous is the Lankester
Botanical Gardens just outside of San Jose. |
|
|