What is the annual Lagarteada?

Well, it is certainly something you won’t see in the United States. Perhaps the closest thing is one of he rattle snake round-ups held in the southwest of the United States.

In the Ortega de Santa Cruz village in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, the people stick to their own Easter tradition of chasing after crocodiles. During this annual event, brave lagarteros (crocodile men) confront enormous reptiles along the Palma river, sometimes ending up in deep caves, where the prey is cornered. It can take up to two hours to finally tie down one of these large reptiles The day’s catch is taken on the shoulders of the lagarteros to the village for everyone to see up the close. The reptiles are on show until Easter Sunday. Afterwards the crocodiles are always 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.The annual lagarteada is supervised by members of the Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía (MINAET), the environmental government agency.

On my monthly relocation/retirement tours I always talk about local customs. When we stop at the Río Tarcoles on my beach tour to observe the crocodiles, I always tell my guests about the annual La Lagarteada.