Spanish Expression: Pure Life (Costa Rican)
Pura vida literally means “pure life,” functioning as Costa Rica’s national motto, greeting, farewell, and life philosophy. The phrase embodies Costa Rican identity while becoming global wellness branding divorced from its actual cultural context.
Mexican Film Origins
Despite being Costa Rica’s defining phrase, pura vida originated in a 1956 Mexican film where a character repeatedly said it. Costa Ricans adopted it enthusiastically, making it their cultural identity marker by the 1970s-80s. This foreign origin gets erased in tourism branding.
Tourism Commodification
Costa Rica’s eco-tourism industry weaponized pura vida, slapping it on every t-shirt, coffee mug, and hotel wall. Tourists learned it as “how Costa Ricans say everything,” simplifying complex culture into digestible branding. Locals have complicated relationships with their own commodified identity.
Wellness Appropriation
American wellness culture adopted “pura vida lifestyle”—yoga studios, juice bars, influencer captions. This detached the phrase from Costa Rican context, turning it into generic tropical positivity vibes. Ticos (Costa Ricans) watched their expression become Pinterest aesthetics.
Actual Usage
For Ticos, pura vida means resignation (“how are you?” “Pura vida” = “surviving”), celebration, agreement, and philosophy of appreciating simplicity. The nuance disappears when gringos use it posting beach sunset photos captioned “living that pura vida life.”
Sources:
https://costarica.org/culture/pura-vida/
https://matadornetwork.com/