page_title: Culture of Costa Rica
section_title: Pura vida
hierarchical_section_title: Culture of Costa Rica / Language / Pura vida
caption_attribution_description: Español: El "Pura Vida" en la piel, otros dicen que lo llevan tatuado en los genes
context_page_description: Costa Rican culture has been heavily influenced by Spanish culture ever since the Spanish colonization of the Americas including the territory which today forms Costa Rica. Parts of the country have other strong cultural influences, including the Caribbean province of Limón and the Cordillera de Talamanca which are influenced by Jamaican immigrants and indigenous native people, respectively.
context_section_description: Pura vida, a characteristic Costa Rican phrase, literally means pure life, with connotations that suggest translations such as "full of life", "this is living!", "going great", or "real living". The phrase can be used both as a greeting or a farewell, as an answer expressing that things are going well, as a way of giving thanks, or showing appreciation. In modern-day usage, the saying goes beyond its simple translation: it's a way of life. It is a perspective to life that evokes a spirit that is carefree, laid back and optimistic.
  According to Víctor Manuel Sánchez Corrales of the University of Costa Rica, the origin of the phrase is Mexican. It is thought to have come from a Mexican film called ¡Pura vida! (1956). The protagonist, played by Antonio Espino, used the expression "pura vida" extensively in situations where it would not normally be used. Costa Ricans adopted the phrase, using it in a similar way. It was formally recognised and incorporated into dictionaries in the mid-1990s  and has since become Costa Rica's unofficial but ubiquitous motto.
caption: The phrase "Pura Vida" on a woman's shoulder
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