Category: Youth

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Juan Santamaria Day

Juan Santamaria was a young man from Alajuela who became one of the few ever “war heroes” in the only significant battle Costa Rica fought in the 1800s when a renegade army of southern Americans came down to claim Central America as slave states and a part of the confederacy. Well, they had temporary control of Nicaragua above us and so the Costa Rica army marched in to keep them out of Costa Rica. Young Juan sneaked behind the enemy line with a torch and set fire to all of the American tents and barracks that had been set up. They all ran and that was the end of making Central America a slave state!

Juan Santamaria Day is actually April 11 (once de abril) but like the U.S., government workers and bankers have moved most of such holidays to the nearest Monday, thus this year is today, Monday, 15 April 2024.

The hometown of Juan still celebrates it on the real day, once de abril, and I happened to be in Alajuela on April 11 getting a letter from Aeropost and on my way to my favorite Mexican Restaurant, Jalapenos, I had to cross the parade street and phone-snapped these two shots of the band from private Catholic High School, Colegio Gregorio Jose Ramirez Castro. Work that name into a ball game cheer! 🙂

High School Band in Alajuela Parade on Juan Santamaria Day, April 11, 2024.
High School Band in Alajuela Parade on Juan Santamaria Day, April 11, 2024.

The Mexican food was better than the parade, so glad I kept walking! 🙂

¡Pura Vida!

More . . .

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Christmas Parade Atenas 2023

See all the good photos in the GALLERY: 2023 Christmas Parade Atenas. And to introduce the gallery, here’s 5 shots from the 4 sub-galleries . . .

Saint Nicholas mingles with the audience from sub-gallery “audience shots”  https://charliedoggett.smugmug.com/PEOPLE/2023-Christmas-Parade-Atenas/Parade-Audience-Shots/
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Today is “Underdog Day!”

Underdog Day (December 15): If you watched this past year’s World Cup, you know the power of an underdog story. Unknowns Morocco and Croatia gained millions of fans as they upset top-ranked soccer teams. But underdogs are everywhere. The shy classmate running for student government. The teammate who is usually on the bench. Cheer for them today. Your support may be what helps them achieve their goals. And feel better about themselves.  I know. As one of the shy, unknown kids in my 1958 H.S. graduating class of a thousand other kids, I received a citizenship award that the local newspaper called “The Typical Jane and Joe Award,” with a photo of me and an equally shy and unknown girl. It made us both feel better about ourselves!   🙂  Try to make someone you know feel better about themselves today!

“Underdog” receives Citizenship Award” in 1958.

¡Pura Vida!

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Cloudy Morning Hills & Gallery Opening

The Hills of Atenas the other day (October 2). I tried to do a panorama that didn’t “catch” or all match, so this is just one section that depicts the clouds or fog in the hills surrounding Atenas many early mornings, as seen from my terrace. There seems to be something “magical” or “mysterious” happening when the morning air is like this. 🙂

Cloudy Morning in the Hills of Atenas, Costa Rica.

¡Pura Vida!

Report on Galería ARTenas Opening

Gallería ARTenas Opening

We had a great opening to our little art gallery yesterday with hundreds of people coming to see (and some buy) hundreds of pieces of art. I think it was a big success and that many people in Atenas will become regular visitors and customers. We have a VIP Opening November 5 (government officials, etc.) and the JIT or “Just in Time for Christmas” arts and crafts fair the second week of December, so lots of things planned to motivate return visits. I plan to work with the gallery until sometime in January and then I am going to phase out this old man who is finding it a little too much now at age 83, but after that I may have an item or two in the gallery on consignment but will go back to photography just for fun and sharing it on the blog. So keep reading this blog for my usual flow of nature photography. 🙂 ~Charlie

And a few shots from the Gallery Opening . . .

  • My 6 Wall Art Photos
  • Gallería ARTenas Opening
  • Gallería ARTenas Opening
  • Gallería ARTenas Opening
  • Gallería ARTenas Opening
  • Gallería ARTenas Opening
  • Gallería ARTenas Opening
  • Gallería ARTenas Opening
  • Young Tico Singer

¡Pura Vida!

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2023 Independence Day Parade, Atenas

This past Friday was the 15th of September, Independence Day for Costa Rica, when in 1821 it shed the colonial rule of Spain. In this small but very significant little developing country, patriotism is big and almost everyone wears red, white & blue and many decorate their houses with banners and flags. I wore my national futbol (soccer) shirt, red, white & blue! 🙂

And almost every town of any size has a parade, usually featuring their local schools, and Atenas is no exception! 🙂 I have for several years now been photographing it most years (when not traveling) with galleries for those years included in my super-gallery: PEOPLE, FIESTAS & ARTS Costa Rica. Which of course now includes a gallery for this year’s 2023 Desfile del Día de la Independencia, Atenas. And here is a sample photo from each of the 7 sub-galleries in this year’s parade gallery . . .

Flags

Flags are a big part of this parade. Click image to see more flags.
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Today is National Cousins Day

Today, July 24 is National Cousins Day in the United States and for those interested in family history or just family memories, it could be very important, for almost everyone has at least one cousin who keeps up with family memories and history or genealogy and then there are the many times we played together as children, almost always outdoors as most of my old photos show. And there’s a brief article on the National Days Archives site.  And the feature photo at top is at a 1948 Hardgrave family reunion with me in the very center.

That’s me on the left with HL “Bubba,” Barbara Ann, and Don Hardgrave in 1944 wartime.

You may not see cousins much, but you have a lot in common. Spending Thanksgiving at “the kids table.” Avoiding the great aunt who wears too much perfume. Helping Grandpa learn to text. Because cousins don’t live with you, they probably also know a family story you haven’t heard. It’s a good day to find out. HAPPY COUSINS DAY!  See my “Cousins Gallery” below, mostly from the 1940″s!  🙂

And though I have no specific cousins pages or stories, they are generally included in my Family History Pages on this website and photos in the Family History Photos Gallery. So “Hello!” out there to all my Hardgrave and Doggett cousins who actually read my blog!  🙂  I have lots of memories of us as children together and should have already written those down! Maybe I will before it is too late! 🙂

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Today is “National Get Outdoors Day!”

And this would be my favorite “holiday” though I see every day as a “Get Outdoors Day!”  🙂  Again from the Washington Post article on strange and silly holidays that in this case I don’t see as either strange or silly!  🙂  June 10 – National Get Outdoors Day!

U.S. National Get Outdoors Day, June 10

This day is part of a month-long U.S. celebration of the outdoors and the benefit of spending more time there. Picnic with your family at a local park. Go kayaking or paddle boarding. Ride on a bike trail you have never explored. Whatever you do, do it outdoors.

¡Pura Vida!

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Today is “Put a Pillow on Your Fridge Day”

According to the fun and silly holidays article in the Washington Post, Today is Put a Pillow on Your Fridge Day (May 29)! And it would be interesting to see how many people actually do this!  🙂

Put a pillow on your fridge day.

This weird holiday may be related to an old custom. In the early 1900s, putting a piece of bedsheet or nightshirt in the larder (food-storage cupboard) was supposed to bring plentiful food. After refrigerators replaced larders, the tradition shifted to pillows. Give it a try, and perhaps the fridge will be stocked with your favorite foods.

¡Pura Vida!

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Today is National Grilled Cheese Day!

Another fun and silly holiday from an article in the Washington Post  —  April 12 – National Grilled Cheese Day!  And  maybe I will make my favorite combination of Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwich (just like Mom used to make)!  🙂

Half the fun of eating a grilled cheese is slowly pulling apart the halves to watch strings of the gooey cheese stretch and finally break. You may appreciate that cheesy reveal even more if you make it yourself. Ask an adult to help you master this lunchtime classic.

April 12 – Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day!

¡Pura Vida!