Artesanos Naturales, (the natural artists) are a group of mask carvers and fiber artists

of the indigenous tribe Boruca, one of 8 indigenous groups, they live on their own

territory in Southern Costa Rica.

Boruca's history has not been an easy one. Farming alone was not enough to sustain

their tribe and people were experiencing extreme poverty. They were losing their pride

quickly in their decaying culture. With the completion of the Inter-American

highway from San Jose (the capital of Costa Rica) to the border with Panama in the late

60's, tourism began to trickle in with renewed interest in the annual

'Fiesta de los Diablitos' or 'Festival of the Devils'. Also the Peace Corps workers helped as they brought the Borucans some new designs and marketable ideas. This is when their

local economy shifted from agriculture to tourism.

Daily life in Boruca now has changed to a focus on cultural preservation. Today eighty

percent of the Borucans are artisans and nearly all either are carvers or weavers. During the months of less tourism, it is a struggle to provide the things they need and that they cannot grow, such as the necessary school uniforms, books, fees,

and medicines.

 Life for these indigenous artists is extremely challenging as they live on a reserve high in the Talamanca Mountains, in the Southern Pacific area.

This is a very remote region, difficult to reach, especially in the rainy season (September to December). In addition, not many of the Borucans have cars. Therefore, it is a hardship for them to get out and sell their goods. Several of the artists got together to figure out how they could reach a larger market. As a result, they formed as a group and called themselves 'Artesanos Naturales de Boruca' naming Marina Lazaro as their leader. Marina gathers the goods of several of the artists and carpools with the school director or a few others and travels around to the various souvenir stores, hotel gift shops and art galleries in order to market their exquisitely crafted products.