Easter Is Lagarteada (Croc
Chase) Time In Costa Rica
Vigils, masses and parades are fine for
Easter, but in the Ortega de Santa Cruz
village in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, the
people stick to its own Easter tradition of
chasing after crocodiles.
Archive foto:
La Lagarteada en Ortega de Santa Cruz,
Guanacaste Néstor Baltodano
The activity took place on Friday but not
without controversy.
Residents of the remote community in the
huge Guanacaste province blame the Comision
Nacional de Emergencias (CNE) for destroying
the natural habitat of the crocs, as well as
giant clam shells, fish, herons, parrots and
parakeets, resulting from canalization work
on the rivers Palmas and Charco.
During the event, brave "lagarteros" faced
enormous reptiles along the Palma river,
ending up in a deep cave, where the prey was
cornered: a snarling, five-metre female
crocodile. It took two hours of struggle to
finally tie down the reptile
The lagarteada was supervised by members of
the ministerio de Ambiente y Energía (MINAET),
the environmental government agency.
The day's catch was taken on the shoulders
of the lagarteros to the village for all to
see up the close. The reptile will be on
show until today, Easter Sunday, when it
will be released back into the wild,
unharmed.
The "lagarteada" has been observed in
Ortega since the 19th century without
interruption, despite attempts by animal
rights groups to have it outlawed by the
constitutional court. |
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