People on my popular relocation retirement tours ask me about the local customs. While we are touring by bus I am giving a continuous seminar about all aspects of living here and the Costa Rican culture. One of the local traditions I talk about is the comilona. Literally a comelón or comelona (female) is a person who eats a lot. In English we use the word glutton to express the same idea.

However, in Costa Rica comelona also can mean a sort of “get together” or ‘cook off” where a huge batch of some type of local dish is prepared and shared with a large number of people. There is no charge for this activity so it usually draws a lot of people and most likely there will be a story in the newspaper or on TV about it.

A few months ago one local company sponsored a comelona where gallo pinto was served to hundreds of people. In case you don’t know gallo pinto is a rice a bean dish that almost every Costa Rican eats for breakfast.

Sardimar is a local company that sells canned fish, mostly tuna. Recently they held a comelona at a local park in San José. The event drew scores of people and was reported on the evening news.

In Costa Rica you have no reason to be bored. There are events like the comelona almost every weekend. They offer an opportunity to get out and experience the Costa Rican culture and meet new people. An important part of living in a foreign country is experiencing the customs and culture.