Patricia Vega Jiménez

Promotion of Breast-Feeding, Health, and Growth among Hospital-Born Neonates, and among Infants of a Rural Area of Costa Rica

A decline in the incidence of breast-feeding in many developing nations has been recorded in recent years, often in conjunction with (a) rapid changes in way of life, (b) migration from rural to urban centers, (c) incorporation of women into the labor force (especially in industry), and (d) increase in stress, anxiety, and violence in transitional and modern societies. The marked decline in incidence and duration of breast-feeding throughout the world is a matter of international concern. The importance of breast-feeding, particularly in developing societies, stems from its health-promoting effect, as it provides the best food known for infants, protects the child against a variety of debilitating infectious processes, and encourages attachment between mother and infant.1–6 Furthermore, successful breast-feeding indirectly reduces the ills of bottle-feeding, especially in developing nations, as epidemiological observation in many countries has revealed that early weaning is often associated with severe infant malnutrition, neglect, child abuse, abandonment, and premature death.7–9

El Gallo Pinto: Afro-Caribbean Rice and Beans Conquer the Costa Rican National Cuisine

Abstract This paper examines the historical origins of gallo pinto (spotted rooster) to show how a plebeian dish of black beans and rice came to be embraced as a symbol of Costa Rican national identity. Beans have been a basic staple in Central America since pre-Hispanic times, but although Spaniards planted rice in the sixteenth century, it became a significant part of the diet only in the nineteenth century as a result of the transition from subsistence agriculture to coffee exports. The combination of rice and beans was introduced in the nineteenth century by Afro-Caribbean migrant railroad workers. Notwithstanding elite self-perception of Costa Rica as a white, European nation, economic necessity during the Great Depression helped gallo pinto gain middle class acceptance. This case illustrates both the importance of social and economic history in shaping cultural symbols and also the ways that lower-class foods can become central to national identities.

Christmas Tamales in Costa Rica (1900–1930)

The eating habits of any social group are deeply dependent upon the environment (what it can produce), methods and manners of distribution, the availability of technology (necessary for production), cultural and symbolic factors, and the cultivation of existing resources. In other words, culinary cultures stem from such factors as the nature of ingredients as much as from beliefs and practices (Pilcher 2006, 2). The meaning of food can differ according to socioeconomic group, age, and even gender, and eating habits help to define such aspects of self as ethnic identity or religious devotion. Religions in particular affect eating customs and regulate consumption through ideals of asceticism and conviviality. Meals, in addition to their nutritional value, have a cultural value, which indicates how they are understood by consumers; each society assigns a code of meaning that is shared by the community (Gonzalbo 2006, 217–218). This code typically includes not only the time when meals are eaten but also what is consumed for each of them, the method in which they are prepared, the rituals at the table, and the company of guests.