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Meaning of the Intercultura Costa Rica logo

Wonder what our logo is all about?

The Intercultura logo is a Central American adaptation of the anthropomorphized condor that appears in the Puerta del Sol de Tiahuanaco from pre-Colombian culture in Latin America, and is later transformed into the Central American Quetzal.

The condor symbolized strength and intelligence and, in addition, represented the cycle of life, as it was considered responsible for raising the sun every day to start the day again, and immortality, because it was continually reborn to restart the life cycle.

However, there is a legend that has existed for more than 2000 years throughout the American continent

This legend tells the story of the condor and an eagle who decided to take two different paths, thus creating a world divided between reason and emotion, technology and creativity, industry and nature. For many years, each developed separately, until their paths crossed and the condor came to be at risk of extinction due the superior strength of the eagle. However, the fifth Pachakuti, an Incan governor, created a portal for the two birds to fly together, in order to unite and create a greater consciousness, enriched by the contributions of each one. The result was the Central American quetzal, which represents "the union of heart and mind, of art and science, of the masculine and the feminine".

Read more here: El águila y el cóndor: Una profecía para nuestros tiempos

This union represents what Intercultura wishes to transmit through our cultural and linguistic proposal:

We believe that people never stop learning and growing, that our knowledge is enhanced through interactions between cultures and people different from ourselves, and that the best possible world it is achieved through union, not division. We believe that we enrich ourselves and others, and come out stronger and more humble as humanity, as a result of this interaction.