Source: Wikimedia Commons

The upscale Guachipelín district in Escazú is home to the most exorbitant real estate markets in the Central Valley of Costa Rica. The rule of thumb in this neighborhood seems to be: The closer you are to the Multiplaza shopping mall, the more expensive the land will be. It is here that we find Calle Matapalo, a narrow neighborhood of just six homes and a pulpería (convenience store) that could fetch as much as $1,200 per square meter. Everyone wants to sell, but no one seems to be able to figure out how to do it.

Calle Matapalo is located in the southern shadow of Multiplaza, the most iconic symbol of Costa Rica’s meteoric transition from an agricultural society to a consumer-based economy. To give you an idea of how enticing of a real estate prospect this neighborhood could be , consider its location: Right in between the ritzy Metroplaza shopping center and the boutique-lined Boulevard.

In an incisive article penned by Dario Chinchilla for national newspaper La Nación, the situation is elegantly explained as follows:

The neighbors, far from being pioneers of Guachipelin, arrived here more than 40 years ago to find a dusty stretch of land without water or electricity but plenty of flies.

 

Now that the surrounding neighborhoods are a mix of commercial and luxury residential use, the original landowners want to sell, but not just at any price. [Calle Matapalo] has proudly survived the real estate boom [in Escazú] due to a lack of agreement among property owners. Luck has also played a part, but neighbors here cannot agree on whether it has been the good or bad kind of luck.

About 50 years ago, no one would give a penny for the land where recherché stores are now found, but there are several reasons why Calle Matapalo has driven away. It all started in the 20^th century, when owners realized that Costa Rica would one day inexplicably become one of the most expensive places to live in Latin America. They parceled out the land to be distributed among their numerous children, who in turn parceled out unevenly among their grandchildren.

The apportioning of the land where Calle Matapalo sits is a testament to the great Costa Rican tradition of trying to live off the land no matter what. This means that your family’s future is supposed to be guaranteed by the income you can derive from land, whether it be from farming, raising livestock, receiving rental income, running a pulpería or some sort of service shop, selling to the highest bidder, etc. In some cases, a single wooden home that was converted from a barn could be owned by as much as twelve people; not all of them can be found, and those who are actively looking to sell cannot agree on a price.

In the end, this traditional, working-class neighborhood remain; alas, not due to a desire of resisting gentrification. This a probate nightmare that everyone is trying to avoid. In the meantime, the tenants are mostly low-income Nicaraguan families who, in order to get to the bus stop so they can go to their low-paying jobs, must walk past sassy Ticas wearing Carolina Herrera dresses and carrying multiple shopping bags.