Photo Gallery

Two Cuna women preparing their food. Here bananas are being pounded to a pulp in a wooden mortar. - 1977

Packing banana bunches in Palmas Sur, Costa Rica. Banana plantations are spread along the Atlantic coastline where the climate is tropical and humidity high. These plantations, mainly operated by North American companies, cover tens of thousands of square kilometres. The bunches are sent to the United States and various European countries. Domestic consumption represents only a small percentage of production. In recent years, bananas have become less important due to the instability of prices on the markets. - 1977

Packing banana bunches in Palmas Sur, Costa Rica. Banana plantations are spread along the Atlantic coastline where the climate is tropical and humidity high. These plantations, mainly operated by North American companies, cover tens of thousands of square kilometres. The bunches are sent to the United States and various European countries. Domestic consumption represents only a small percentage of production. In recent years, bananas have become less important due to the instability of prices on the markets. - 1977

A tempting display in Alajuela, Costa Rica. It shows bananas and small juicy fruits called pejiballes. This picture gives us a fairly accurate idea of the wealth and diversity of tropical fruits in the Central American republics. The consumption of these products of the earth, on the internal markets, is notable. It is an indispensable complement to a mainly vegetarian diet. This fact is the result of a long tradition. But it is also explained by the high cost of meat for the country's poorest populations. Nevertheless, the production of tropical fruits by the large landowners is primarily geared towards export. The production of bananas - to give just one example - has allowed North American companies to develop and even acquire considerable economic and political importance, becoming a veritable state within the state and keeping a close eye on everything that happens in the republic. - 1977

A tempting display in Alajuela, Costa Rica. It shows bananas and small juicy fruits called pejiballes. This picture gives us a fairly accurate idea of the wealth and diversity of tropical fruits in the Central American republics. The consumption of these products of the earth, on the internal markets, is notable. It is an indispensable complement to a mainly vegetarian diet. This fact is the result of a long tradition. But it is also explained by the high cost of meat for the country's poorest populations. Nevertheless, the production of tropical fruits by the large landowners is primarily geared towards export. The production of bananas - to give just one example - has allowed North American companies to develop and even acquire considerable economic and political importance, becoming a veritable state within the state and keeping a close eye on everything that happens in the republic. - 1977