Costa Rica lives up to its reputation as a gay destination with its variety of vacation hot spots, long beaches and rugged mountains. But it surpasses that simplistic label by being Central America’s most determined human rights advocate with many rights organizations pushing against the daunting forces of machismo and homophobia.
While homosexuality has been technically legal (since the 1870’s), but police harassment and raids of LGBT people and private establishments was commonplace in the past. The government did not want to grant legal recognition to political organizations seeking to advance LGBT rights. These policies started to change in the 1990s, when the Costa Rica Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution gave LGBT people the right to peacefully assembly, associate, create their own private establishments, as well as their own LGBT rights associations. Such rulings have led Costa Rica to develop the reputation of being the most democratic and liberal of the Central American countries. Costa Ricans to be proud of the uniqueness of their country.
It has recently become welcoming to LGBT people with its friendly, “live-and-let-live” attitude toward sexual matters. On March 27, 2008 the president of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias Sanchez, signed an executive order designating May 17 as the National Day Against Homophobia, committing Costa Rica to join others around the world in working to eradicate bias against gays and lesbians. There is a vibrant nightlife scattered in San Jose consisting of discos, saunas, night clubs, cafes and bars for gay or gay friendly.
Name: Costa Rica
Population: 4134000
Capital: San Jose - Pop. 348000
Area: 51100 sq. km/ sq. miles
Language: Spanish
Religion: Roman Catholic
Status of Homosexuality: legal
Telephone Country Code: 506
Vida y Derechos Gay en Costa Rica 2010 (en Espanol)
Intro: Costa Rica hace honor a su reputación como un destino gay con su variedad de vacaciones nocturnas, playas extensas y montañas accidentadas. Pero lo supera con solo poner una etiqueta por ser la defensora mas determinada de los derechos humanos en Centro América con muchas organizaciones de derechos rechazando las fuerzas desalentadoras de machismo
Gay Costa Rica: Gay Life and Democratic Process in Costa Rica 2007
A former psychologist and resident of Costa Rica looks back over ten years of legal and cultural progress for the lesbigay community in Costa Rica. Also See: Gay Costa Rica News & Reports 2008 to present By Richard Stern Reprinted from Gay and Lesbian Review July-August 2001 Updated July 2007 Costa Rican lesbians and gay