Like every year, the Manneken Pis, Dutch for “Little Pissing Man”), in Belgium, dressed again as a Tico peasant farmer, to celebrate Costa Rica’s Independence Day.
Located in the center of Brussels, the 61 cm (24 in) bronze sculpture of the naked little boy urinating into a fountain’s basin is a landmark. The current statue is a replica which dates from 1965. The original is kept in the Museum of the City of Brussels.
This year, as in the past, the Costa Rica Embassy in Belgium, along with several Costa Ricans at 10:00 Sunday, got together to dress the best-known symbol of the people of Brussels with a typical Costa Rican outfit, machete case, hood, and a handkerchief.
Manneken Pis is dressed in costumes, several times each week, according to a published schedule, which is posted on the railings around the fountain. Since 1954, the costumes are managed by the non-profit association The Friends of Manneken-Pis, who review hundreds of designs submitted each year, and select a small number to be produced and used.
