“Reaffirming our Afro-Costa Rican identity” is the motto for a festival set today and tomorrow in the towns of Siquirres and Limón, on the Caribbean coast, giving center stage to the culture of residents whose ancestors migrated from the West Indies, mostly in the 19 th century.

Costa Rica pays precious little attention to its inhabitants of African dissent, say activist groups such as the Afro-Costa Rican Women's Center, based in San José.

The country's Afro-Costa Rican population is about 3% of the population.

But for Karla Samuels, a vocal member of the women's group, the community is virtually “invisible” in Costa Rican society's eyes.

The festival, organized by the Culture and Youth Ministry, is an initiative to raise public awareness of the community, as an additional program to the traditional Black and Afro-Costa Rican Culture Day on Aug. 31.

It kicks off at 2 p.m. at the vocational school gymnasium, in Siquirres, with a children's story, Tía Luísa (Aunt Luísa). Then at 6 p.m., revelers will get a taste of what spicy rhythms and melodies the local musicians can cook up.

The program repeats tomorrow in Limón, starting at 2 p.m., at the Black Star Line.

However, it is not merely Afro-Caribbean culture that needs a sharper focus, Afro-Costa Rican rights advocates say, but also the marginalization they've suffered here.

For a close-up look at how some Afro-Costa Rican women feel about being the “invisible” visible minority, see Suzanna Starcevic's special report in the Weekend section of today's print or electronic edition of The Tico Times.

-Tico Times