Monday, October 9, the Embassy and Consular Section of the United States will be closed in honor of Columbus Day which is celebrated in the United States that day.

In 1937 the President of the United States, Franklin D. Roosevelt, proclaimed October 12 as a day of homage to the first European explorer in the Americas, Christopher Columbus. It was President Richard Nixon who declared the day a national holiday, which is commemorated the second Monday in October in the U.S.

The diplomatic headquarters, in the western San José district of Pavas, will reopen Tuesday, October 10 with normal operating hours of 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

In Costa Rica, the holiday is known as Dia de La Raza or Dia de Las Culturas, and this year will be commemorated on Monday, October 16. The celebration in Costa Rica focuses on the different ethnicities and cultures that make up the country and its history and traditions.