El Gallo Pinto Afro-Caribbean Rice and Beans conquer the Costa Rican National Cuisine
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Date
2012-06Author
Vega Jiménez, Patricia
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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.
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10.2752/175174412X13233545145228Collections
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