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Photograph from a Santa Cruz brothel in the 1960s
Most of the research conducted on the topic of prostitution in Costa Rica tends to be concentrated in the Greater San Jose Metropolitan Area (Spanish acronym: GAM) and on the phenomenon of sexual tourism, which has been on the increase over the last few years.
Almost invariably, academic researchers who study prostitution in Costa Rica focus their observations on the “Gringo Gulch” area of Downtown San Jose as well as Jaco Beach; a notable exception being Dr. Susan Frohlick of the University of Manitoba, whose research actually focuses on the rising trend of female North American and European sex tourists who pay for sex and romance in the Caribbean community of Puerto Viejo. The pioneering research of Dr. Frohlick now has a companion in the work of Rodolfo Nuñez Arias, Professor of Social Studies at the National University in Nicoya.
Dr. Nuñez, who earned a Ph.D. from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, is the author of the research paper “El que sigue,” which translates into “next, please!” This is a modern anthropological and sociological look at how prostitution has evolved in the canton of Santa Cruz in Guanacaste, and it describes a world that presents some very interesting differences when compared to sexual tourism patterns in the Del Rey Hotel and Casino in the Gringo Gulch and other known dens of prostitution in the GAM and Jaco Beach.
A little-known cultural fact about the community of Santa Cruz frames the research of Dr. Nuñez, who cites the previous work of anthropologist Walter Krickeber into the romantic and sexual relationships of the Chorotega indigenous people of Guanacaste. It so happens that young, attractive women in the Chorotega culture used to juggle would-be grooms freely, often demanding economic retribution from multiple men; in fact, a woman who had multiple men in pursuit of her romantic attentions was considered to have a certain prestige in the tribe.
According to Dr. Nuñez, prostitution in Santa Cruz was scant from about 1860 to 1949, at least in comparison to other burgeoning regions of Costa Rica such as the Central Valley and the Caribbean province of Limon. Things changed between 1970 and 1980, when many women in Guanacaste turned to prostitution due to employment discrimination and income inequality. The women who became providers of sexual services in Santa Cruz found that they could earn a lot more from prostitution than from agricultural or even professional employment.
The brothels that emerged in Santa Cruz from about 1950 to 1980 were mostly rural establishments located far from schools and residential neighborhoods. These establishments often doubled as motels, taverns and convenience stores. In the beginning, only local women sought employment at these brothels; later, however, things changed as social mobility prompted women to exit the former “forgotten province” of Guanacaste and move to more prosperous regions of the country. As a result, women from other parts of the country and even from abroad would arrive in Santa Cruz and stayed at the brothels for a few days or a few weeks. In the late 20th century, these work visits extended to new brothels located closer to the Gold Coast beaches, where North American and European tourists and expats could be found for greater profit potentials.
As Dr. Nuñez moves his research into the 21st century, it becomes evident that prostitution in Guanacaste has become less decentralized, more flexible, less marginalized, and more casual. More local women (and a few men) are venturing into prostitution, which is now fueled by sexual tourists, both foreign and domestic. Many Ticos who reside in the Central Valley travel to Guanacaste in search of the bars, discotheques and casinos of Guanacaste where prostitutes ply their sexual trade, and there is an observational consensus that both sexual providers and their clients are getting younger.
If anything, the phrase that serves as title of Dr. Nuñez’ paper (next, please!) is not likely to be heard in the brothels of Santa Cruz or elsewhere in the province. Something that can be gleaned from the work of Dr. Nuñez is that prostitution in Guanacaste has taken on a more opportunistic and leisurely undertone, whereby young women see it as supplemental or casual income that emanates from a more liberal society. Just like in the Chorotega culture of yore, a young woman who juggles romantic and sexual partners, while at the same time deriving financial remuneration from them, is seen with a certain prestige.
