Source: Revista Paquidermo Creative Commons

The widespread development of high-rise condominium towers and gated communities in Costa Rica is creating new trends. We are seeing an influx of Mediterranean-style residential architecture and amenities such as playgrounds, picnic areas and car-washing spaces. We are also seeing kitschy and highfalutin naming schemes that evoke certain aspirations to separate the hoity-toity from the hoi polloi.

In an insightful and witty piece written for Revista Paquidermo by the talented Laura Flores, the modern naming convention utilized by developers in Costa Rica is deconstructed and explained in detail. Miss Flores offers the following examples in which the angle of pretentiousness and the desire to divide the well-to-do from the great unwashed is evident:

“This is the most important, luxurious, ambitious, and exclusive condominium in all of Central America.”

 

“This is the first planned community of a refined style that is truly European. It redefines luxury, elegance, beauty, and architectural design.”

 

“Situated in the main business district of Costa Rica (Downtown San Jose?) this condominium rests upon one of the most exclusives and expensive areas of the country.”

Miss Flores goes on to organize and explain the naming convention into eight hilarious, yet accurate, categories. The Costa Rica Star will only mention three of them herein, but reading the entire article (in Spanish) is highly recommended:

Lofty Aspirations

• To wit: Residencial Vistas del Valle, Quintana Towers, Residencial Altamonte, Altos del Horizonte, etc.
• What the names really mean: We live atop, you are bottom-dwellers. From my ivory tower, I worry about my growing debts, protected by strands of concertina (razor) wire that combat engineers would have a hard time getting through.

Colonial Dreams of Spanish Nobility

• To wit: Condominio Ana Bolena, Altos de Marbella, La Alhambra, Hacienda Real, Veredas del Conquistador, etc.
• What the names really mean: It does not matter that Spain is currently saddled with skyrocketing unemployment and a pesky deficit; I shall celebrate my ancestry. One can only wonder if reciprocal developers in Alicante would name residential projects Talamanca Estates or Altos de La Sabana.

New Age and Eco-Friendly

• To wit: Bosques de Lindora, Paso de las Garzas, Monteflores, Bello Verde, etc.
• What the names really mean: Nature conservation in Costa Rica extends to new construction. This eco-fantasy often consists of just a few palm trees planted amidst tons of concrete and construction materials imported from China, but the green intent lives in the name of the gated community.