Limon Province

Limón Province (population 400,000) is Costa Rica's Caribbean anomaly—a 3,550 square mile territory with its own language, cuisine, and cultural identity derived from Jamaican railroad workers rather than Spanish colonizers. Built in 1870 when Minor Keith constructed a railroad to export bananas, Limón became home to Afro-Caribbean laborers who stayed after the project completed and developed Mekatelyu, an English-based creole dialect of Jamaican Patois. Today, 16% of residents identify as Afro-Caribbean, with 75% claiming mixed heritage; rice and beans and Jamaican patties define local cuisine rather than gallo pinto. The economic importance is stark: nearly 90% of Costa Rica's imports and exports move through Moín's two harbors, making this the Atlantic exit point for coffee, pineapples, and bananas entering global markets. In January 2024, Ana Matarrita McCalla became Limón's first female mayor-elect after winning municipal elections following the previous mayor's resignation. The province's Caribbean character creates productive tension with the Central Valley's Spanish-derived mainstream—a reminder that Costa Rica contains multitudes beyond the Tico stereotype.