San José City

Jane had allowed a couple of days for sightseeing before the serious birding got started; and she set one day aside for a trip into San José.

San José is the capital of Costa Rica, head of the province of San José, and the nation’s largest city. Located in the Central Valley, San José is the seat of national government, the focal point of political and economic activity, and the major transportation hub of this Central American nation. The population of San José Canton is 288,054, though the metropolitan area stretches beyond the canton limits and comprises a third of the country’s population.

Though few people live in the city center, it is the most important working area of the country, which brings in more than a million people daily. Despite its problems, according to studies in Latin America, San José is still one of the safest and least violent cities in the region. In 2006, the city was appointed Ibero-American Capital of Culture, and ranked 15th in the world’s fastest growing destination cities by visitor cross-border spending.

The central district of San Jose focuses on a large open space, the Plaza de la Cultura, located in the district of Catedral.

Under the square is the Pre-Columbian Gold Museum , Numismatic Museum and the largest collection of national plastic art. It joins the Plaza Juan Mora Fernandez to form the city hall of the National Theater and the Gran Hotel Costa Rica. They chose to visit the gold museum and the National Theater.

The Pre-Columbian Gold Museum (Museo del Oro Precolombino) is located in a subterranean building underneath the Plaza de la cultura and is managed by the Banco Central de Costa Rica.

The museum has a substantial collection of over 1600 artifacts of Pre-Columbian gold dating back to AD 500. The collection includes Costa Rica’s first coin, the Media Escudo which was minted in 1825, animal (notably frog) figurines, amulets, earrings, erotic statuettes and El Guerrero, a life sized gold warrior figure adorned with gold ornaments in a glass case. In Costa Rican history, gold was considered a symbol of authority and the items are testament to the craftmanship of the Pre-Columbian period.

The one on the right reminds me of the Prince from Katamari Damacy

There is also a replica of a pre-Columbian grave containing 88 gold objects which was unearthed on a banana plantation in southeastern Costa Rica in the 1950s.

The National Theatre of Costa Rica is the main theater of Costa Rica. It is located to the east side of the square Juan Mora Fernandez (first head of state of Costa Rica). No expenses for the construction of this theater were spared. Precious wood is used, mostly from the province of Alajuela, plus iron, marble, gold and imported French glass. Construction lasted about six years. The official opening was on October 19, 1897, with the opera “Faust” by Charles Gounod, performed by the French company Aubry.

Inside the National Theatre it is as impressive as the exterior, with the famous sculptures of Pietro Bulgarelli, who created the three statues that crown the facade, which represent dance and music fame. The originals are in the theater located in different places because they were hurting and decided that it would be best to replace them. Inside the architectural work is present a delicate neo-Renaissance style with impressive pure crystal lamps and Carrara marble columns.

One of the most popular of paintings Theatre is an oil on canvas created by Aleardo Villa in 1897 popularly known as the “Allegory of coffee and bananas “, whose official name is “Allegory of Trade and Agriculture of Costa Rica,” which describes the economic life of the country in the second half of the nineteenth century and early twentieth century.

The general character of the museum interior definitely resembles its European inspirations – no coffee and bananas here.

And best of all, the cafe served an excellent lunch.

Royal Albert Hall

One day we spent a good part of the day with “the Royals”. On our walk across Hyde Park we encountered the Albert Memorial. This was constructed in his honor by Queen Victoria when Prince Albert passed away in his early 40’s. It’s totally over the top but expressive of Britain in most expansionist global empire moment.

So I guess if you’re loved madly by the queen of a global empire, you get to sit on your throne forever, in gold leaf.

And displayed around you will be important people (at your feet, above) and signs of your empire (below) such as Europe.

But then, to show that there was also concern for citizens of London, a great entertainment venue, The Royal Albert Hall, was commissioned across the street.

The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941. It has a capacity (depending on configuration of the event) of up to 5,272 seats; standing areas and stage specifications can change this. The Hall is a registered charity held in trust for the nation and receives no public or central and local government funding.

Since its opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world’s leading artists from several performance genres have appeared on its stage and it has become one of the UK’s most  treasured and distinctive buildings. Each year it hosts more than 350 events including classical concerts, rock and pop, ballet and opera, sports, award ceremonies, school and community events, charity performances and banquets.

The Hall was originally supposed to have been called The Central Hall of Arts and Sciences, but the name was changed by Queen Victoria to Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences when laying the foundation stone, as a dedication to her deceased husband and consort Prince Albert. It forms the practical part of a national memorial to the Prince Consort – the decorative part is the Albert Memorial directly to the north in Kensington Gardens, now separated from the Hall by the road. Since its opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world’s leading artists from several performance genres have appeared on its stage and it has become one of the UK’s most treasured and distinctive buildings. Each year it hosts more than 350 events including classical concerts, rock and pop, ballet and opera, sports, award ceremonies, school and community events, charity performances and banquets.
The Hall was originally supposed to have been called The Central Hall of Arts and Sciences, but the name was changed by Queen Victoria to Royal Albert Hall of Arts and Sciences when laying the foundation stone, as a dedication to her deceased husband and consort Prince Albert. It forms the practical part of a national memorial to the Prince Consort – the decorative part is the Albert Memorial directly to the north in Kensington Gardens, now separated from the Hall by the road Kensington Gore.

The Hall, a Grade Iisted building, is an ellipse in plan, with major and minor axes of 272 ft and 236 ft. We quickly realized that we would need a tour here to really see anything.

The galleries were quietly elegant. The great glass and wrought-iron dome roofing the Hall is 135 ft high. It was originally designed with a capacity for 8,000 people and has accommodated as many as 9,000 (although modern safety restrictions mean that the maximum permitted capacity is now 5,544 including standing in the Gallery).

The Hall has been affectionately titled “The Nation’s Village Hall”.  The first concert was Arthur Sullivan’s cantata,On Shore and Sea, performed on 1 May 1871. Many events are promoted by the Hall, while since the early 1970s Raymond Gubbay has brought a range of events to the Hall including opera, ballet and classical music. Some events include classical and rock concerts, conferences, ballroom dancing, poetry recitals, education, motor shows, marathons, ballet, opera and circus shows. It has hosted many sporting events, including boxing, squash, table tennis, basketball, wrestling, including the first Sumo wrestling tournament to be held in London, as well as tennis.

The BBC Promenade Concerts, known as “The Proms”, is a popular annual eight-week summer season of daily classical music concerts and other events at the Hall. The event was founded in 1895, and now each season consists of over 70 concerts, in addition to a series of events at other venues across the United Kingdom on the last night. In 2009, the total number of concerts reached 100 for the first time. We were also shown the Queen’s box and its waiting room across the gallery.

I was struck by how non-Royal it seemed in spirit – perhaps in character with the populist nature of the building.