The Interview: Marina Shatalova and Amigos de la Cultura - by Harry Padilla Chinchilla

Marina Shatalova is President and co- founder along with Rosa Arechederra Urquidi, Vice President, of the Asociación Amigos de la Cultura, started in June, 2023. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity..photo credit: Harry Padilla Chinchilla

Interviewer: Thanks for being here today, Marina. Let’s start with a bit about you—how long have you been in Costa Rica?

Marina: I came in October 2017, so it’s been a while now.

Interviewer: What brought you here?

Marina: I came to work as a nanny for a family. I did that for three years. I was mostly spending time with young children, I noticed there were very few activities or educational activities for young children. 

My background is in speech therapy and special psychology—I have degrees in both. I’m back to teaching, online now. It runs in the family—both my grandmothers were teachers, one taught literature and the other was a primary school teacher.

Interviewer: You seem to have such a strong connection to 

literature.

Marina: All of Russia is a very culturally rich place. Even my small hometown, with a population of just 25,000, has numerous studios, libraries, and a large cultural center. I was born and raised in an environment where culture was a part of everyday life. In Russia, culture is truly integrated into daily living.

Interviewer: Has your love for Russian culture influenced this? 

Marina: Absolutely. With the recent wave of Russian immigrants due to the war, many are eager to connect. A group called “Events in Costa Rica” started organizing things like book clubs, ballet classes, and lectures. For example, the woman running the Russian community group—her granddaughter is a prima ballerina here and just danced Don Quixote! Now young Russian moms are asking

 about schools, dance classes, and ways to pass on our cultural traditions,. It’s really beautiful.

Interviewer: And you’re part of that cultural bridge?

Marina: Yes, and I’m glad to be. It started small, just looking for more opportunities for kids. But it’s grown into this wider effort to share knowledge, art, and culture—while learning from Costa Rica in return. Important culture —music, poetry, art – are things that nourish the spirit.

Interviewer: From teaching a few kids in your care, you’ve transitioned into cultural education in Costa Rica. How did that begin?

Marina: It started with one of my young students. I noticed there were no activities for kids beyond going to the beach. Around the same time, a close friend told me how hard school had been for him growing up with dyslexia. He felt completely unsupported. That really moved me. I began asking around and realized those gaps in the system still exist. Some children still face a kind of exclusion. While many teachers here are amazing, sometimes traditional methods—or lack of support—can hurt a child’s confidence. I wanted to create something more inclusive and culturally enriching.

Interviewer: Your first effort was to open the library to create a space for kids to go, to read and attend fun cultural events. Can you tell us a bit about the activities of Amigos de la Cultura? And is the library open every day?

Marina: At the moment we are completely dependent on the availability of our rotating volunteers to host welcome visitors at the library, organize books, and contribute ideas. Among the regulars are James, Emily, Stephanie, Mirian, Terry, Michelle, and Heilyn. We are also grateful to volunteers who have since moved abroad or become too busy to participate actively, but whose contributions were significant— Victoria, Donna, and Kayla. 

We are looking for funding to be able to hire someone to be at the library regularly for four hours a day.

We are grateful to Daniel and Rebeca from Manuel Antonio Spanish School who have been teaching board games on Monday evenings since the very beginning of the Association. Karina, Byron, and Helena host movie nights on Fridays for both kids and adults. Liliana leads a monthly book club in Spanish, and another in English, she also runs an open theater group for adults every Sunday. It’s open to anyone who wants to explore acting or get involved in theater. Dr. Fercy leads a monthly women’s support group for those who have gone through difficult life experiences. We also had collaborations from The Sloth Institute, Anna Maria Villada Rosales, who gives lectures about sloths, and Katherine Evans, and her lecture about corals.

And Milena, Xiomara, Saylin, Jannet, and Anne Marie help manage administrative and communication matters.

I personally lead an art therapy session once a month and we also host guest speakers and volunteer lecturers who give open talks on animals and nature. In addition, we’ve had BioDanza dance workshops offered by Megu Garcia. Artists, authors, sculptors, actors, and dancers also visit us to share their creativity and experience with the community.

Interviewer: You get a lot done with the help of volunteers, but you’ve also received a lot of in-kind donations, isn’t that right?

Marina: The first funding for the project came through the Art & Craft Market, which my friend Maria Verba and I created in Quepos and Manuel Antonio. We agreed that 10% of all sales would go directly to support our initiative — these contributions came from the artisans themselves. In this way, the project was built by the people and for the people.

We’ve had a sponsor for the past six months — Katrine Luz. She and her family have generously supported us by donating essential equipment and furniture.

From June 2023 to February 2025, we were hosted by the Municipality of Quepos, with our space located in the Casa de la Cultura, across from Marina Pez Vela. As of March 2025, we’ve entered into a meaningful collaboration with the Asociacion Deportiva y Recreativa de Barrio Bella Vista , under the leadership of Milton Barboza Corrales.. They have graciously offered us two rooms—one a venue for cultural events and lectures, the other dedicated entirely to our growing collection of books.

The company REandCom kindly donated our internet connection. Katrine Luz contributed curtains, furniture, and technical equipment. Jorge Bonilla Murillo provided furniture, a projector, and additional tools. The Vetcomer store and Jorge Rojas offered a bookshelf and paint. Marina Pez Vela, through Estebaliz Hidalgo, donated sofas and armchairs. Milo Bekins handcrafted three beautiful bookshelves from wood grown on his family’s finca. Karina and Douglas also created delightful furniture for our children’s corner. And the lovely Alma and Linda Prout donated a charming bookshelf for young readers as well.

And of course, we are deeply grateful to the many others who have brought—and continue to bring—books in both Spanish and English, enriching our space and community with stories from around the world. Tourists and individual volunteers who made their own dona- tions have also supported us..

Interviewer: What’s your plan for the future of Amigos de la Cultura?

Marina: I believe this space has the potential to become permanent. We already have the library—why not make it official? Culture matters—music, poetry, stories. They nourish the spirit. We’ve seen the impact at our concerts and events. Children take part, people connect, and soon, we hope to do a storytelling series for children, featuring fairy tales, traditional stories of Costa Rica’s Indigenous peoples, and local histories, including the story of Quepos y Costa Rica.

Interviewer: Can you tell us about some memorable activities you've hosted?

Marina: Absolutely! One of the most memorable events was the 

flamenco performance — we had around 70 to 75 people in the hall. The dancers traveled from San José and performed entirely on a donation basis. They were incredibly generous. We would love to invite them again, along with other performing groups.

The Christmas cookie decorating event was also a joyful occasion — and Santa made a special appearance! The children were thrilled. We’ve also hosted unforgettable concerts both outdoors and at the Casa de la Música, in collaboration with Javier Durán, director of SINEM.

A particular highlight has been the powerful theatrical monologues by Andy Gamboa, a talented actor born and raised in Quepos, who recently gained international recognition and awards at a major theater festival in Mexico. His performances have become cultural milestones and a source of deep pride for our community.

Interviewer: In addition to all this, you instigated an artisan market— what’s the story there?

Marina: They started to support local craft makers. Many emerging artisans have grown their own brands, created collaborations, trained others, sold their work to international tourists, and taken part in training through ICT — with whom we also partnered. As a result, they’ve formed stable creative collectives and sustainable ventures. It’s a true reflection of cultural dynamism — an exchange of experience, support, and joy across borders. We’ve hosted glassblowers, essential oil producers, natural cosmetics artisans, painters — you name it. It’s more than a market — it’s a celebration of community and creativity. Our artisan markets were temporarily paused, but we’re very eager to bring them back — as part of the cultural fabric of our town.

Interviewer: How can people get involved in supporting your project?

Marina: Right now, we’re actively rebuilding our structure — the organization of events, operating hours, and overall rhythm of our space. Many of the volunteers move a lot (Life is mobile for many of us), but we strive to be a stable presence — so that locals, expats, and tourists alike come to know that there’s a library and cultural center here in the Canton of Quepos. We’re always happy to welcome new people, fresh ideas, and volunteers.

We’re also always open to sponsorship. At the moment, we need to repair the roof and install safe railings along the staircase for children. We need an office desk or a folding table. In general, we’re nearly fully equipped — but there are ongoing and significant costs, like when we host visiting authors, actors, or sculptors. We want to ensure they have a comfortable place to stay and proper meals, so they can share their work and knowledge with the community.

These are substantial expenses, and we’re always deeply grateful for the support of sponsors. Volunteer work is done entirely out of goodwill, and all funds go directly into the heart of the project. 

New collaborations have emerged, along with fresh ideas and projects. I’m proud of our team—of the friendship, the cooperation, the way we’ve stood together. We’ve shared both joyful and difficult times, and we deeply value one another.

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