FERIA (fe-ɾja)  So many things have changed along this pandemic. I mean, needless to say, the freedom and some of those things and habits we had -and took for granted- are just barely getting back to a somewhat similar -yet still distant- scenario. But, of course, having

CHINCHIVI (tʃin-tʃi-bi) GUARO (wahr-oh) VINO DE COYOL (been-noh / day / coh-yohl) The geographical origin of Chicha, the fermented (alcoholic) or non-fermented beverage, is well-known and can be traced back to the Andes, in South America. Now, while it is still a matter of debate whether the

MEJENGA (me-xeŋ-ga) With soccer (or football, if you will) being the most popular sport in the world, and Costa Rica being a country which goes with the soccer flow, it is no wonder that this is one of the favorite outdoor and, more recently, indoor sports

PRESA (pɾe-sa) Have you ever tried learning a foreign language? If yes, what would you say is (are) the most challenging aspect (s) of the learning process? Granted, it all depends on the complexity of the language per se, e.g., a Romance language, such as Spanish, which

MACHO/MACHA (ma-tʃo / ma-tʃa) Macho has several connotations in the Spanish language but, most of us, would agree that it, primarily, refers to a male animal. That is, pretty much, the first thing that comes to a Spanish speaker’s mind as it refers to a distinctive

MAE (mai) In Costa Rica, unlike the U.S., Canada, for instance, “Mae” is certainly not a woman’s name. Now, granted, there may be some women living in, or visiting Costa Rica, whose birthname is Mae. Yet, that would be a rare case in the usage of this

OCUPAR (o-ku-paɾ) From the Latin occupāre. So, you may be thinking this Spanish word slightly resembles the English word “occupy,” right? Like in “to occupy a territory” (as an infinitive) or “the restroom is occupied” (as an adjective). And, as a matter of fact, “occupy” is an accurate translation

CHIQUITO/CHIQUITA (tʃi-ki-to/tʃi-ki-ta) “Chiquito” and “chiquita” are, respectively, the male and female diminutive forms of “chico/chica”. If you look up these two words in a Spanish dictionary, you will notice that “chiquito/chiquita” are adjectives used to describe one object/person or compare two or more objects or persons