Crema pura vida biography

A story once claimed Costa Rica’s signature catch phrase “Pura Vida” (Pure Life) is not that Tico after all. It states that a 1956 mexican movie with that same title is the origin of the popular idiom.

The film tells the adventures of a luckless man named Melquiades Ledezma, played by famous comedian Antonio Espino “Clavillazo” (1910-1993) who constantly repeated the phrase during the film.

Melquiades story begins when he is being expelled from his village for being the source of bad luck.

Then his misfortunes continue in his new neighborhood, where he ends up being branded a thief and accused of provoking a fire. His bad luck ends when he gets a winning lottery ticket worth a million pesos.

“In the case of Spanish in the country, the media -especially classic Mexican cinema- have contributed greatly to a language transfer: cabrón (bastard), lana (money), maje (dude), mariachi, a