If you go into a pulperķa, you'll feel like you're stepping back in time. Candles, candies, coffee, food, buttons, screws, whatever you might need, you'll find it in the pulperķa.
Around the country in these small, traditional general stores, people come together to chat or find out the latest gossip. Parents would send their children in the morning to pick up some milk and freshly baked bread for breakfast. In fact, it was in these places that the first public telephones were installed in Costa Rica.
Pulperķa (Local market)
The pulpero, the owner, is a trusted figure, known by the all the neighbors. The pulpero knows his neighbors too, as if they were part of the family.
Today, it's a bit more difficult to find a traditional pulperķa. Many have disappeared or become small supermarkets. However, the pulperķa is still an integral part o the country's social fabric.
Few are left in the city. But if you visit small country towns, you might be lucky enough to find one of these small businesses where you'll find what you're looking for, as well as get an idea of what the pulperķa represented in the Tico's daily life.
Art and Culture 
