What does Laura Chinchilla Miranda have in common with Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev? The obvious answer is that they are all, or have been, democratic and political leaders of their respective nations, but there is something else they share in common: they have all used Apple MacBook Pro portable computers in the course of their duties.

Earlier this week the President of Costa Rica granted an interview to Cristian Cambronero, the blogger behind popular site Fusil de Chispas (toy rifle). Mr. Cambronero received a national journalism award in 2009, and his influential social media work in our country has been previously mentioned on the pages of The Costa Rica Star.

Along with Mr. Cambronero, photographer Priscilla Mora Flores was on hand to document the interview, which took place at the Presidential House in the modest Zapote district, east of downtown San Jose and down the street from Stan’s Irish Pub. Ms. Mora is a talented photographer, and she took several interesting photos during the interview, but her most measured composition is a shot of Presidential Laura Chinchilla sitting at her desk and working on her MacBook Pro.

The recent earnings report and share price of Apple Inc. does not indicate that the American personal computing giant needs any help from the President of Costa Rica to market their products, but this is hardly the first time that a MacBook Pro has been photographed in a presidential setting. In 2010, Fortune magazine commented on the fact that President Barack Obama chose to showcase an online healthcare initiative in the United States on a MacBook Pro. Before that, Russian Prime Minister Dimitry Medvedev was photographed at the Kremlin working on his brushed-steel MacBook Pro.

Fans of Apple products often keep track of the many celebrities and notable personalities who use them. Nobel laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez and actor and director Mel Gibson come to mind, as well as former Presidents Fidel Ramos of the Philippines and Boris Yeltsin of Russia.

Portrait Gone Viral

The photograph of President Laura Chinchilla working on her MacBook Pro has gone viral in Costa Rica, but not because of Apple’s staunch supporters. Cartoonist and graphic designer Allan Cedeno gave the picture the photo editing software treatment. He modified the photograph so that it looks like the framed portrait paintings of national heroes Juan Rafael Mora and Francisca Carrasco are covering their eyes.

Mr. Cedeno posted the edited and humorous photograph to his Facebook Timeline, where it was promptly shared and reached viral proportions. The idea of the two patriots covering their faces to avoid looking down at President Laura Chinchilla was received with different meanings by social media netizens in Costa Rica. Some think that the heroes are either disappointed with the current administration, or that they are implying the “facepalm” gesture to convey dismay.

While the true meaning of the doctored photograph is widely open to interpretation, readers of national newspaper La Nacion reached a certain consensus of relief at the fact that political satire is not only allowed in Costa Rica, but is also alive and well.

President Laura Chinchilla used her personal Twitter account to thank Mr. Cambronero for the interview.