(en Español)
By Carol Vlassoff

Don Gilberto Gomez Barquero, dressed in a wide brimmed hat, cowboy boots and blue jeans, a knife and cell phone tucked into his leather belt, is a familiar personality around Quepos.  He can also be seen riding along the beach on Damas Island at sunset or in the hills around Londres guiding a group of sunburned tourists.  He usually appears animated as he points out highlights of the area.  But as we settle into his office at Iguana Tours he strikes me as a shy man, perhaps more comfortable with groups than in one to one conversations.

It’s easy to see that Gilberto is a multi-tasker. He doesn’t waste a minute.  He speaks on his cell phone while leafing through the newspaper, all the time keeping up a steady conversation and motioning to me to be patient.

Don Gilberto, born in Purescal, completed his Bachelor of Education degree from La Escuela Normal de Costa Rica in 1973.  He says the school gave him a profound education “in the sense that all the professors there were very strict – from teaching us how to dress – to how to look after a child. We had to wear grey pants and a grey tie. If your tie wasn’t properly knotted you would be reminded about it. The second time you would be sent home.” Read More…

Filed under: Carol Vlassoff, Personalities in Our Midst on February 20th, 2010
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By Carol Vlassoff

Barry Biesanz pulls into my driveway, hops out of his car and wastes no time settling onto a patio chair for our interview. He does not need any prompting: he clearly has a message to share.

“People ask me,” he says, “I bet you’ve seen a lot of changes here over the last 40 years. They assume they have all been for the worse – but they haven’t. Sure, there are some ill-conceived projects, drugs, prostitution and corruption. But there are far more monkeys than there were in 1971, and much more prosperity.” Most of Manuel Antonio, he continues, was being converted to pasture and crops, even much of what is now the park, and all the mangroves near town were cut to make charcoal.

“The United Fruit Company was the only employer aside from two huge and many small cattle farms. With the switch to tourism, forest cover increased and species that were been gone for decades have returned. Living standards are very much better for Quepeños.”

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Filed under: Carol Vlassoff, Personalities in Our Midst on January 31st, 2010
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(in English)
Traducido por Rosa Arechederra

Carlos López Alvarado, quizas màs conocido, al menos entre los expatriados, como el hombre que posee una gran propiedad en un terreno excelente y  en el área de Manuel Antonio. Sus propiedades en Manuel Antonio incluyen 70 hectáreas de tierra escarpada que tiene vista a las playas serenas, siete casas, la Escuela de español Cosi, un edificio  cerca de la estación de autobús donde se encuentra su oficina y algunas más. Pero López no fue siempre un hombre rico y aun ahora, es humilde y sin pretensiones.

Nacido en Limon el 10 de julio de 1922, Don Carlos se trasladó a Quepos cuando tenía 18 años. Recuerda la fecha exacta: 19 de marzo de 1940. Me dice que su padre fue Capataz de la Compañía Bananera de Costa Rica, una filial de la United Fruit Company .A mediados de los años treinta la compañia, con sede en Limon, empezó a acumular grandes propiedades en el Pacífico central y para 1940, su producción superaba a la de la región Atlántica.

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Filed under: Carol Vlassoff, Personalidades en Medio Nuestro on December 28th, 2009
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(en Español)
Carlos López Alvarado is perhaps best known by expatriates as the man who owns a chunk of prime land in the Manuel Antonio area. His holdings include 70 hectares of hilly land overlooking serene beaches, seven houses in Manuel Antonio, the Costa Rica Spanish Institute, the building beside the bus station where he now has his office, and more. But López was not always a rich man and even now, is humble and unpretentious.

Born in Limon on July 10, 1922, Don Carlos moved to Quepos when he was 18. He remembers the date exactly – it was March 19, 1940.  He says that his father was a foreman of the Compañía Bananera de Costa Rica, a subsidiary of the United Fruit Company.  In the mid-1930′s the company, based in Limon, began amassing large landholdings in the Central Pacific and by 1940, its production exceeded that of the Atlantic region.

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Filed under: Carol Vlassoff, Personalities in Our Midst on December 28th, 2009
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by Carol Vlassoff
Traducido por Rosa Arechederra
(in English)

Con esos ojos azul gris, piel blanca y el pelo blanco muy corto, Luis Bolaños no parece un tico típico pero es un verdadero tico. Tiene una profunda conciencia social, está orgulloso de su país y está bien informado acerca de la historia, la política y los retos que Costa Rica está enfrentando. Nos reunimos en su oficina en el Best Western Hotel Kamuk, un hito en Quepos, da al Malecón y al Pacífico, más allá. Su restaurante Mira Olas, en el tercer piso, ofrece un panorama de toda la costa de Quepos.

Le pregunto acerca del nombre del hotel y Luis responde que Kamuk es una palabra Bribri que significa “piedras blancas”. “Deseábamos algo costarricense, un nombre identificado con nuestra cultura,” explica. “La mayoría de los hoteles cerca de la costa usan nombres extranjeros, refiriendo al mar, playas o puesta del sol.“ Agrega que el Cerro Kamuk es una montaña, la segunda más alta de Costa Rica.

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Filed under: Carol Vlassoff, Personalidades en Medio Nuestro on November 23rd, 2009
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by Carol Vlassoff
(en Español)

With his grey blue eyes, fair skin and closely cropped silvery hair, Luis Bolaños may not look like a typical Tico. But he’s a Tico through and through. He has a deep social conscience, is proud of his country and is well informed about its history, politics and the challenges it faces.

We meet in his office in the Best Western Hotel Kamuk, a landmark in Quepos because it overlooks the levy and the Pacific beyond. Its restaurant on the third floor, Mira Olas, provides a panorama of the entire waterfront.

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Filed under: Carol Vlassoff, Personalities in Our Midst on November 23rd, 2009
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por Carol Vlassoff
(in English)

Milo Bekins Faries y su agradable esposa Tey se reunieron conmigo en su hogar en el bosque, a cuatro kilómetros de Londres en el camino a Cerro Nara. Nos sentamos en la galería que rodea la casa por los cuatro lados. Fiel al modo de vida de los Bekins, la casa está construida con cedro amargo y teca. Milo plantó esos árboles en su propia propiedad años atrás, con la idea de sembrar su “futura casa”. Está rodeada por jardines forestales y un canal de agua corriente que mantiene su casa sorprendentemente libre de insectos. Read More…

Filed under: Carol Vlassoff, Personalidades en Medio Nuestro on September 29th, 2009
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