Nostalgia, Tico Style, #1 – Doka Estate, San Luis de Sabanilla, Alajuela Province, Costa Rica

Today’s colourful and richly decorated carretas bear little resemblance to the original rough-hewn, rectangular, cane-framed vehicles covered by rawhide tarps. In most regions of Costa Rica, trucks and trains replaced oxcarts as the main means of transport, but they remain strong symbols of Costa Rican former country life, and the carretas still feature prominently in parades and in religious and secular celebrations.

As most oxcarts became obsolete as means of transport, they have been reduced to decorative craft objects. Due to the decreasing demand for oxcarts, the number of artisans who possess the training to manufacture and decorate oxcarts has rapidly declined over the past decades. Therefore, only a few of the younger artisans are interested to learn and practice this craft tradition today.