Figure 1.-- The Méndez family were a peasant family photographed in front of their modest, but tidy adobe home (1933). They lived in Moravia, a canton in San José province, the province is near the Pacific Ocean but does not touch it. Moravia itself is further from the cost than most of Moravia. Much of the Canton is in the foothills of the Cordillera Central, but Moravia is located squarely in the middle of the country. We see Florentino Méndez and Elena Umaña Rodríguez with their seven children who look to be about 3-20 years old.

The Méndez family were a peasant family photographed in front of their modest, but tidy adobe home (1933). They lived in Moravia, a canton in San José province, the province is near the Pacific Ocean but does not touch it. Moravia itself is further from the coast than most of Moravia. Much of the Canton is in the foothills of the Cordillera Central, but Moravia is located squarely in the middle of the country. We see Florentino Méndez and Elena Umaña Rodríguez with their seven children who look to be about 3-20 years old. The photo was taken in San Rafael de Moravia. The names are (L to R): Placedes, Hermelinda, Zelmira, Elena (the mother), Valentin, Florentino (the father), Odilie, Evaudilio (aka Valo) and Cristino (aka Tino). Notice that the dather is brefoot. This is rather unuual. In pictures like this in other Latin American families, it is the father that was mst likelt to have shoes. What we do not know about the family is who owned the land. We suspect that father was a small land owner. Now the only matter we are certain about is the names, when the photography was taken, and when. Everything else we can only speculate about and the photo brings out several issues that are important to discuss.

Farm Family

It is clear that this is a peasant farming family. Which is one of the reasons the family is so large. Large families meant more working hands on the farm. Farm families tended to be larger than city families. This is one factor, bnut not the only fctor why urbanization tends to reduce family ize over time.

Income Level

While the bare feet, especially of the father suggest poverty. Note that, however, everyone is well dressed. The little boy even has a nice hat. We do not think that this is what might be described a poor family in Central American terms. A reader writes, "I agree that the family cannot be defined as poor based on their location or time period. They are all dressed nicely, not in their work clothes. Even the older girls' shoes are fashionable. In everyday life, they probably go barefoot. These are clothes for holidays and special occasions. This could explain why most of them are barefoot. In such a large family, buying garments that would be used very rarely might have seemed like an unnecessary expense, even if they were not especially poor."

Land Ownership

Given the nice home, we suspect that this the family actually owned the land. They are probably not landless peasants. This is part of the reason that Costa Rica is the most prosperous and stable country in Central America. Note their modest home. It is an adobe home that their father probably built himself. It has been white-washed and looks very well maintained.

Ethnicity

The family name is Méndez -- a Spanish name. Looking at the faces, this does not seem to be an Amer-Indian family. Although we are not sure about mother's ethnicity. Central American countries have large Amer-Indian populations. Costa Rica is an exception. The Mayan cultural imprint did not extend into Costa Rica. The Amer-Indian population was less advanced and more easily displaced. And very few captive Africans were imported into Costa Rica, except later Hamaican laboers into Limon Province (Caribbean coast).

Fashionable Clothing

The clothing the family is wearing is also interesting. Notice that it is fashionable. The family is not wearing campesino-style clothing common in rural Latin America. Except or the bare feet, the family would not stand out on a European or American city.

Bare Feet

The bare feet are also interesting. Elsewhere in Latin America is was common for children to go barefoot. But the adults most likely to wear shoes was the father, not the mother and older female children. For reasons we do not fully understnd, in Costa Rica women and older daugters often wore shoes when even the father, as in this case, went barefoot. We do not see this phenonenon elsewhere ib Central America or Latin America in generral. We think a factor here is that the women involved were mostly of European ancestry while in the rest of the region, the peasantry was commonly of Amer-Indian ancestry. Hopefully Costa Rican readers can help explain this anomally.

Religion

Notice that the mother apparently does not use her husbnd's last name. This may indicate that they were not legally married. This was often the case among low-income people. This also illustrates an imprtant factor about religion in Latin America. While all of Lain Americ (exceot much of the Caribbean and Communist countries) are Catholic countries, many people in the region are Catholic in name only. This is one reason that Protetantism has made such in roads in recent years. Other factors is the popularity of Socialist thought in the region and the fact that relatively few men aspire to become priests. Marx from the very beginnng recognized how eligion (especially Chistianity) wa antithetical to Socialism. Lenin called religion the 'opium of the masses'. Stalin unleased a virulent antheist campaign. Pope Francs with his well intenione interest in aiding the pooor tried to integrate Socialism in his ministry. But look at Atgentina today with the election of President Milei (2023), it is captalism that is reducing poverty, not a century of Socialist-influenced priests and politicians.

Created: 3:01 PM 8/26/2025
Last updated: 1:01 AM 5/3/2026