Calle de Costa Rica

The name honors Costa Rica, the republic of the Central American isthmus lying between Nicaragua and Panama. The street belongs to the great American theme that orders this sector of Chamartín, developed through the twentieth century over the old grounds of Chamartín de la Rosa, which ended up being called Hispanoamérica because of that fondness in its street names. The country’s name holds an old dream of gold. When Christopher Columbus reached those Caribbean shores on his fourth voyage, in 1502, the natives who came out to greet him wore golden ornaments. From that sprang the fame of a rich coast in metals, a promise that pushed the later expeditions inland. The abundant gold never appeared, but the name stayed.