A Story about the life in Nosara

Interview to Celia Avilés in May, 2003 - The Voice of Nosara

My family came to Nosara to work. We planted rice, corn, and beans. There were four families: Alberto Ruiz, Valentín López, Cruz López, and José Arrieta. The town of Nosara is named based on the name of the river.

The story goes that there was a young woman named Sara who wanted to drown herself in the river because of heartbreak. People would tell her: “Not in the river! No, Sara!” That’s how it became No-Sara. I don’t know if it’s true, but that’s what people say.

Nosara was very isolated. Every 8 or 15 days a boat would come from Puntarenas to Punta Pelada with coffee, sugar, and lard. We would send corn, rice, and beans on that boat. It would then continue north to La Cruz, Nicaragua. The doctor would come on horseback from Nicoya to give injections. If someone was sick, they had to go by boat or horseback. But traveling by horse is very hard if you’re ill.

There was no crime in those days. People were very decent. We would go dancing to marimba music at Valentín López’s cantina in Santa Marta. There was no school. I don’t know how to read or write. I worked all my life at home. Later there was a teacher in Santa Marta named Baldomar Contreras. That was the first school. In Nosara, there was still nothing. The first school in Nosara was right in the center of the plaza. It was built by a man from our López family. His name was Serapio.

As a child, I was afraid of tigers! There were tigers and lions in the mountains. People ate four times a day. They ate rice and beans with venison, which is forbidden nowadays. They also ate a lot of fish and tepezcuintle. We never ate tiger meat. But other people came in groups and founded the town of San Juanillo. They did eat tiger meat. That’s why there are no more now. The lions and the pava birds also disappeared. What’s missing now is the leaf we used to make tortillas and claveillina.

When I was 17 years old, I married Pedro López, the love of my life. The wedding was in Nicoya, with a marimba party. I had 11 children. I lost five of them—they died. Two were very small babies. Another died because he was sick and the doctor arrived too late. Now six children are alive; three women and three men. One lives in San José, one in Limón. Four children live in Nosara: Luis, Teresa, Carmen, and Idaluz. I don’t know how many grandchildren and great-grandchildren I have; I think it’s around 25 grandchildren.

I don’t remember when I saw a car for the first time. I think it was around 1960 when they made the road to Nicoya with a tractor. The first car to enter Nosara belonged to Carlos Fonseca. You could only come here in summer; in winter it was impossible.

I’ve flown in a plane several times. I’m not afraid. There used to be a small plane between Nosara and Nicoya. Two years ago, I went to Mexico for a trip.

It was beautiful; I really enjoyed visiting another country and another town. Mexicans are very different from Ticos, and so is the food. If I could go somewhere, I’d like to go to the United States. I have two grandchildren who live there. If they take me, I’ll go. I love getting to know different places. But it’s hard to get a visa.

Is it true they’re going to the Moon? What are they going to do in the sky? I think many people have died in those trips, but that’s their business.

Now everything has changed. There’s television, telephone, cars, radio. But there’s also a lot of stealing, which I don’t like. Now everything is expensive, unlike before. We used to grow everything we ate. Before, there was more peace and better health.

I still do everything I can, I cook my own food. I don’t leave the house. I don’t go anywhere; I have nothing to do, I just have to wait to die. I went with my granddaughter to the doctor. I had a full-body check-up. I’m very healthy—healthier than she is.

Recuperado de: Ríos Castillo, A., & Verwest, J. (2003, mayo). Una entrevista con Doña Celia Avilés Barrantes. La Voz de Nosara, 1–2.