You’ll know you’re in San Jose’s Central Park (close to the business heart of the city) when you see a giant bandstand situated in a sea of concrete. There are a few trees and a little grass, but it’s the least park-like park I’ve seen in sometime.
The area is a place to gather and the massive bandstand dates to the 1940s, a gift from then Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza. It’s the oldest public space in the city, dating to the 1880s. It was here that Central American independence was declared in 1821.
My eye was drawn to this man sweeping the concrete. For a microsecond I thought it was a real person, but it’s actually a rather nice piece of public art.
On the square’s northeastern corner is Teatro Melico Salazar, one of Costa Rica’s premier theatres. It was completed in 1928.
