Oxcart – Doka Estate, San Luis de Sabanilla, Alajuela Province, Costa Rica

The traditional oxcart, or carreta, is Costa Rica’s most famous type of craft. From the mid-nineteenth century, oxcarts were used to transport coffee beans from Costa Rica’s central valley over the mountains to Puntarenas on the Pacific coast, a journey requiring ten to fifteen days. The oxcarts used spokeless wheels, a hybrid between the disc used by the Aztec and the spoked wheel introduced by the Spanish, to cut through the mud without becoming bogged down. In many cases, oxcarts were a family’s only means of transport and often served as a symbol of social status.

The tradition of painting and decorating oxcarts started in the early twentieth century. Originally, each region of Costa Rica had its own particular design, enabling the identification of the driver’s origin by the painted patterns on the wheels. By the beginning of the twentieth century, flowers, faces and even miniature landscapes appeared beside patterns of pointed stars. Annual contests were arranged to reward the most creative artists and are still held today.

Each oxcart is designed to make its own "song," a unique chime produced by a metal ring striking the hubnut of the wheel as the cart bumped along. Once the oxcart had become a source of individual pride, greater care was taken in their construction, and the best-quality woods were selected to make the best sounds.