During a sunset on the Costa Rican beach of Santa Teresa, young people sell homemade alfajores, empanadas and happy brownies among the people gathered in front of the sea to enjoy some dream colors.
Those in the water rush the last waves of the day to surf. In the sand, you can see several thirty-somethings with blond hair and sunburned skin drinking mate.
So much Argentine identity is no coincidence: this paradisiacal corner in the peninsula Nicoya de Costa Rica has become a great attraction point for hundreds of citizens of the South American country.
“Santa Teresa is like a little Argentina, literal. Here you will find one Argentine every five or 10 meters ”, summarizes Daniel Sánchez, a Costa Rican masseur who works in the town.
The fastest way to get here is by ferry or plane from San José, less than 200 km.
A road is the backbone of the town where and dozens of ATVs travel. On one side, steep slopes connect with green mountains. On the other, a jungle area of large trees gives entrance to an endless beach of furious waves.
Combinations abound on both sides of the road. From “boutique” hotels to backpacker hostels. From Argentine grills with traditional inns where you can taste a Costa Rican pinto rooster.
Surf and nature
The authorities of Cóbano, district to which Santa belongs Teresa, they do not have an exact number of Argentines living here but they all agree that it has not stopped increasing in the last decade along with that of Israelis or Americans.
“It is the connection of sea, sand and jungle that attracts us. It’s not like in Argentina, where you go to the beach and have umbrellas and people crowded together. The truth is that you live here like nowhere ”, says Juan Aragona, a young man from Buenos Aires who arrived in Santa Teresa 10 years.
Matías Etchenique, who coordinates the volunteer lifeguards on the beach, arrived at the town in 2005 attracted by the waves. “In Argentina there are many surfers but we do not have a tropical climate or the Pacific Ocean. I came to surf, but later I realized that I didn’t want this just on vacation, but all the time ”, recalls.
Many young Argentines arrive only for the high season months to work in restaurants or selling artisan products, but others have settled here forever.
Alejandro Morales is one of the Veteran Argentines in Santa Teresa and that is why it is known as “el ché”. He says that as a child he was “Maradona’s ball catcher” and that the crisis of 2001 made him leave his country.
It was then when he left his job in a technology company with a “brand suit, briefcase, sunglasses and a back hairstyle” to dedicate himself in Santa Teresa to sell bread with his bicycle and to manufacture products with Recycled plastic at LECO Project, his true passion.
“Coming here made me change the way I see everything. I say that I am already ‘Argentinian’. If I go too far from the beach, I can’t find myself. I really adapted and he adopted me, ”says Morales, who claims to have partied with Matthew McConaughey during the American actor’s visit to the town.
The “word of mouth” was in charge of popularizing this destination among Argentines and those who live today in Santa Teresa receive through social networks dozens of messages from unknown compatriots asking for advice.
It was through a friend that Luciano Otabiano arrived here in 2012. A musician by profession, he runs a business of something as typical as the “choripanes” called Chori Not Dead.
“Here you don’t need more than pants and a T-shirt, and the feeling is of freedom and tranquility. The Costa Rican way of being, their times… is from ‘I arrive at 10 ‘, but they are the 11. 30 and don’t stress. In Argentina you would arrive at 10 o’clock, but here… pure life ”, he laughs.
Daniel, a Costa Rican masseur in town, thinks that the relationship with Argentines is very cordial. “The Argentine is friendly and the Tico too, there is no clash of cultures. Perhaps we think that they are not problematic, that if they smoke a joint, go to the beach, have a few beers … all good “, he says.
Juan Aragona believes that Ticos” have a very strong connection with nature. Here you eat better and meat consumption is reduced, the change in diet changed me for the better, ”he says despite being a partner who owns an Argentine grill.
However, on the internet you can find forums and pages that Argentines visit with questions about how to live in the town, and where some Costa Ricans are reluctant to arrive if they do not do so with all the permits in order.
“The Argentine is very go-getter and learn quickly to work on whatever. There may be a bit of jealousy or resistance that there are so many of us, but I don’t think the local workforce will be taken out of employment. There is still work for everyone ”, thinks lifeguard Matías.
Informal workers
For Favio López, mayor of Cobano, Argentines come to cover shortcomings on the part of the local population such as not mastering a second language to serve visitors, but they also see a negative point in their presence.
“Most Argentines who work in the area do not contribute anything to the State, they are hired informally and some work only for tips. They use the town’s system but do not have a work permit or social security charges, ”he tells BBC Mundo.
One of the most recurrent fears among those who live in Santa Teresa is that, somehow, the area can “die of success” and that the natural environment is harmed by the increasing arrival of tourists.
During the pandemic, for example, many people took advantage of teleworking to move to live here for a few months, which made rental prices significantly more expensive.
“It’s like that the town grew very suddenly and now it has to solve things, make roads, gutters. Some say that this may be the next Tulum . Hopefully it doesn’t happen ”, reflects Luciano from Chori Not Dead.
No return plans
The mayor acknowledges that this is a concern and reveals that, in the last year, “very powerful” foreign real estate developers invested in the purchase of land for more than US $
To balance development with conservation of the area, López ensures that all projects must meet requirements regarding their impact on the ground and not exceed a maximum height of two or three stories .
“We want to continue being exclusive. The tourist who arrives pays between US $ 200 and US $ 800 the night in a hotel. In order to maintain this type of medium-high (purchasing-level) clients, the important thing is to conserve the nature that makes us attractive ”, he explains.
AND do Argentines enter this visitor profile? “Not really. Personally, I see them as migrants from the labor force who do a service, but they do not come to spend on tours or medium-high accommodations ”, says the mayor.
The Argentines with whom BBC Mundo spoke during their visit to Santa Teresa recognize that they miss their family, the food, the football or the culture of a city as vibrant as Buenos Aires.
However, and despite the changes that the town is experiencing, no one considers their future far away of this paradisiacal enclave on the coast of Costa Rica.
“ I am well rooted because I even have a 4 year old Costa Rican son. On 2010 I returned to Argentina thinking it was time and after a few hours I realized that I was wrong ”, remembers lifeguard Matías.
“I wanted to go back to what I am now because I needed and need to live here.” 
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