This is Costa Rica

What's been happening for the country is huge.

For a while, I had been extra critical of Costa Rica being displayed in the happy planet index because, let's be honest, we all know this is not the Scandinavian utopia they want us to believe it is. The previous government sold the idea we were an exceptional country to mask the fact that we were a boat sinking- so accurately portrayed as such in the objective media. Then we managed to kick Liberación Nacional out, the underdog president won, and there was a wind of change. It started out pretty romantically.

This Sunday changed my idea of everything. I started the day by joining a Pride with a group of straight friends mostly and we had a fucking blast. I no longer have to dream of joining a Pride in London or San Francisco because I can have a similar experience in my city. I have this group of extra supportive people around, and they are willing to attend this event to make a stand for tolerance, understanding, and difference. As a gay man, this is already a victory in life, and it means a lot more than seeing all those super hot guys I am sure attended pride in the big metropolises of the world. This was only half of my Sunday though. Things were about to improve.

Costa Rica won against Greece, as the world is aware. These guys wearing the white t-shirt with the red stripe defied all odds and waited until the very last moment to give a victory that unleashed chaos in a country. It is hard to explain. You have to be here to understand what it is to see the red tide of people swarming.

We have never been good at soccer, or at anything to be honest. We, as a nation, have done decently and clinged too much to historical turning points that gave us something.
-1821, and the first time we assemblied an army to fight the expansionism of the south of United States.
-1949, the abolishment of the army and the birth of the second republic.
-1990, The world cup in Italy where the Costa Rican soccer team made it to the second round, the furthest we had even been.

And there are the things we just happened to have, like being ridiculously gifted by nature. We speak of the Caribbean and the Pacific as part of us, and we're extra cocky of hosting 5% of the world's total biodiversity-though we are not as involved in preservation as we should. Creationists really feast on the idea that there's a good up there, and that he likes us, as natural disasters usually treat us kindly and do not strike as hard as in other places. We've been spared a lot of pain, and for that we owe the university some degree of gratitude.

Awesome as we are, we mean very little to the world. We live under the long shadow of Europe and the more recently under the grace of the United States.We keep on fighting our way into Latin America because most of people in the region resent we try to fit in when we have not shared the struggles that have endured.  As we have seen in this World Cup, most people couldn't even find Costa Rica in a map. Is it South America? Is it Puerto Rico? We seem to have accepted that as a small country, we should not pretend to be too much and be content with the little protagonism we get.

The discourse is changing, though. The lesson La Sele has taugh us is that part of the Costa Rican spirit is giving it all. The words of the national anthem make a little more sense now: "Cuando alguno pretenda tu gloria manchar, verás a tu pueblo valiente y viril." Whenever someone intends to taint your glory, you'll see your people rising valiantly and with virility. At this moment, so much is expected from us that being mediocre - the most common criticism to Costa Ricans, no longer seems like a choice. We have one path and it is ahead. It is happening in soccer only at the time, but I believe the optimism can spread and become a new national value.

I have the feeling this is the start of something beatiful. I mean, a team of fellow Costa Ricans is giving it all for the world to watch and everybody is rooting for us! The team is standing there as pure virtue and a representation of all we cheer for: bravery, courage, PASSION. Passion is definitely a cultural value we should cling to. I could picture Costa Ricans giving their best just because so much is expected from them. I cannot wait to go to other countries and introduce myself as a Costa Rican because I like giving my best, and now this attitude is trending.

The lesson goes beyond soccer. I do not like soccer that much and may not see another game for a while after the world cup is over. I'm mostly elated because of the opportunity this is giving to Costa Ricans of becoming the happiest planet of earth on a solid basis. This is Costa Rica in 2014, and it rocks.