Culture Reconnects with Its Roots: RIDE Cultural Comes to Sixaola, Talamanca and Puerto Viejo

The Ministry of Culture and Youth will bring three days of artistic and cultural activities to Costa Rica’s Caribbean region, with a special focus on Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities and local talent.
From November 13 to 15, RIDE Cultural will visit Sixaola, Suretka, Shiroles and Puerto Viejo as part of the Ministry of Culture and Youth’s strategy to expand access to culture throughout the country.
Music, dance, theater, oral traditions, ancestral knowledge, exhibitions and cultural businesses will all be part of a program celebrating the Caribbean’s cultural richness.

San José, November 10, 2026. Costa Rica is home to countless voices, traditions and ways of expressing its identity. Some emerge on stage; others are passed down from generation to generation through local communities, the stories of elders and the knowledge that keeps their cultures alive.

Recognizing this diversity and creating opportunities to share it is the purpose of the latest edition of RIDE Cultural, which will take place from November 13 to 15 in the Huetar Caribbean Region, with activities in Sixaola, Suretka, Shiroles and Puerto Viejo.

This will be the eighth regional edition of RIDE Cultural in 2026. The initiative, led by the Ministry of Culture and Youth (MCJ), aims to bring public cultural programs beyond traditional venues, strengthen community participation and encourage encounters between artists, institutions and local communities.

For three days, the Caribbean region will become a meeting place for contemporary artistic expressions, Indigenous traditions, Afro-Caribbean heritage and the cultural practices that shape the identity of this part of the country.

A Cultural Policy That Reaches Local Communities

Cultural decentralization is one of the Ministry of Culture and Youth’s main commitments. Through RIDE Cultural, the institution promotes an approach that recognizes that culture is not concentrated in the capital or limited to major performance venues.

On the contrary, every region has a living cultural heritage, artists, creators, traditions and knowledge that deserve opportunities to grow, be shared and gain wider recognition.

“Costa Rican culture cannot be understood solely through San José. It is also shaped by the Indigenous communities of Talamanca, the Afro-Caribbean heritage of Limón and every town that keeps its traditions alive. Through RIDE Cultural, we want institutions to leave their offices, reach local communities and meet the people who bring culture to life. We are not simply bringing performances; we are also here to recognize, listen to and share the enormous cultural richness found in our communities. Because the right to culture must be accessible throughout the country, regardless of where people live,” said Jorge Rodríguez Vives, Minister of Culture and Youth.

Three Days Celebrating the Caribbean’s Diversity

The program will begin on Friday, November 13, in Sixaola, with activities bringing together music, dance, theater, exhibitions, events for young people and a local entrepreneurship fair.

Featured performances will include cultural groups from local educational institutions, Ngöbe dance expressions, SINEM Limón and the National Band of Limón. Workshops will also take place at Escuela Finca Costa Rica and Liceo de Sixaola.

On Saturday, November 14, RIDE Cultural will travel to Suretka and Shiroles, in Talamanca, where Indigenous communities will play a central role in the program.

Activities will include traditional ceremonies, Bribri women singers, stories preserving collective memory and opportunities to exchange ancestral knowledge. In Shiroles, the organization ACOMUITA will lead workshops on basket making, cacao, plant-based painting and traditional practices.

This day aims to recognize the value of the knowledge preserved and passed down through generations by local communities, as well as their essential contribution to Costa Rica’s cultural diversity.

Finally, on Sunday, November 15, the program will conclude in Puerto Viejo with a celebration of the Caribbean’s artistic and cultural richness.

The program will feature music, poetry, dance, theater and local businesses. Highlights include the performance Ser Caribe: Caribbean Music and Poetry, a concert by SINEM Limón, and a performance by the National Band of Limón alongside Glenda Halgarson and Grupo Azúcar.

Cultural Institutions Meeting Local Communities

RIDE Cultural will also bring together several institutions and programs from the Ministry of Culture and Youth, including the Costa Rican Art Museum, the National Museum of Costa Rica, the National Library System, the Cultural Heritage Directorate, the National Theater Workshop, the National Dance Workshop and the national artistic ensembles.

These will be joined by initiatives for young people, exhibitions, educational activities and spaces dedicated to community-based businesses.

Beyond a schedule of performances, this edition represents an opportunity to strengthen ties between cultural institutions and local communities, recognize their creative potential and encourage encounters between different generations and traditions.

Because decentralizing culture is not simply about moving activities from one place to another. It means recognizing that every community holds an essential part of Costa Rica’s identity.