Piropos

Walking down the street to the sound of hissing is not something I am accustomed to experiencing in the U.S. But in Costa Rica, it is a daily occurrence

Soon after arriving in San Jose, I learned the meaning of "Piropos." The word comes from an old tradition when people would walk around the city in the evenings, the men and women going in opposite directions. The men would try to come up with clever sayings to say to the girls they were trying to impress. Today, they are basically pick-up lines muttered by Ticos to women in passing. Some are flattering, others are insulting, and many are just crude.

My first assumption was that if my experiences on the street were shared by Costa Rican women, they must be annoyed every time they set foot outside of the house. But I've found that you eventually get used to it and it becomes a part of the other background noise... cars honking, vendors yelling, etc. And from talking to women down here, it seems to be something that is almost expected. I've had women tell me that if they leave Costa Rica and go to the U.S., they feel like something must be wrong with them because of the lack of hissing, catcalls, and piropos. They are made to feel ugly by the silence.