For many people in Costa Rica, celebrating Independence Day means enjoying parades, picnics and a few ice-cold bottles of Imperial with neighbors at the local bar. Notwithstanding, not all municipalities share the same patriotic standpoint, and some municipalities believe that there is no place for booze during Independence Day celebrations. As a result, some towns in Costa Rica will go dry on September 15^th, 2014.

 

UPDATE: Jason Torres of CRHoy.com has compiled a comprehensive list of all municipalities in Costa Rica and their declarations insofar as going dry for Independence Day. You can review the entire list here; the twelve cantons listed below have confirmed that they will not allow liquor sales this Monday, but there are nearly a dozen other municipalities that were still undecided as of Saturday afternoon.

 

1. Cartago (only applies to the sectors where parades will take place)
2. Liberia
3. Goicoechea
4. Santa Bárbara
5. Santo Domingo
6. Alajuelita
7. Moravia
8. Montes de Oca
9. Palmares
10. Turrialba
11. Esparza
12. Aserrí

 

Current legislation defers to municipal codes on the issue of whether they can apply a “dry law” and prohibit the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages during certain holidays. This legislation serves various purposes, including the preservation of a tradition that honors Costa Rica’s constitutional status as a Roman Catholic country. In the past, the Church would persuade community leaders to suspend liquor sales during Catholic Feasts so that everyone would concentrate on attending Mass and participating in community activities instead of getting hammered.

 

Not a Strong Deterrent

As reported by Karla Barquero of online news daily CRHoy.com, the upscale canton of Montes de Oca in the eastern suburbs of San Jose will be going dry this year during Independence Day, a status quo that has been taking place since 2009. Cantonal Mayor Fernando Trejos explained:

 

[The alcohol sales restriction] starts on September 15^th at midnight until 3:00 pm that day. Bars and liquor stores will be able to stay open until midnight on Sunday, September 14^th, but then they have to remain close until the parades and civic acts have stopped.

 

Mayor Trejos maintains that the community is proud to apply dry law during Independence Day since it lowers the incidence of public disorder, fights, and other instances of petty crime. Not all Mayors share this view. Sandra Garcia succeeded Johnny Araya as Mayor of the lovable city of San Jose last year. She believes that dry laws are enablers instead of detractors when it comes to people getting drunk:

 

We are not going dry in San Jose, not even during Holy Week, because we have come to the conclusion that this is not in our favor. In fact, dry laws could have repercussions on family life in Costa Rica and on our city. It has been confirmed that dry laws lead to stockpiling of liquor at homes where children live; this exacerbates the situation.

 

This year, the canton of Liberia in Guanacaste will enact the law. As with other municipalities that have a considerable presence of tourists and expats, the dry law measure is unpopular, unevenly heeded and rarely enforced. Last year, the cantons of Alajuela (Central), Cartago (also Central), Desamparados, Esparza, Grecia

, and Turrialba were among those going dry for Independence Day. They have not yet confirmed their status for this year.