Grasshoppers On Motorcycles: Chapulines en Motocicleta

The word chapuline means grasshopper in Spanish. In Mexico, the word is used to describe a politician jumping from one party to another. In Costa Rica, chapulines refers to thieves who rob people on the streets. Two guys will roar up to a pedestrian on a motorcycle. One will jump off with a knife and demand your money. And they’ll roar away. San José is a wonderful city in many ways, but it has its dark side. Its a crossroads of cultures: people from Nicaragua, Salvador, Guatemala, Columbia — come here because of desperate poverty at home. It’s a strange mix. The hospitality and warmth of just about everyone here, the good vibes and openness and positive attitude, with the backdrop of ripoff artists. Every door and window and courtyard within the urban area is barred. There’s concertina barbed wire on roofs. You can’t leave anything in a locked car on the streets for 5 minutes. When we go out at night, we take enough money for dinner and a few beers and leave passport, my silver bracelet, everything else in the hotel room. It’s just a fact of life in this city. Yesterday 2 chapulines jumped off their M/C and accosted a priest carrying his church’s donations. They were wearing M/C helmets with darkened visors. When they asked for the money, he told them they were stealing from God. They shot him in the leg, grabbed the money, and vrooom!