Doña María Elena Espinosa Grijalba’s Arroz de Maíz

A guardian of Chorotega recipes in Guanacaste, Costa Rica.

Doña María Elena Espinosa Grijalba of Guaitil, Guanacaste, Costa Rica. Photo: Nicholas Gill.

You should know her name. Everyone else should know it too. It’s Doña María Elena Espinosa Grijalba. She’s a Costa Rican national treasure. In her mid-60s, she’s one of the greatest cooks in all of Central America and a guardian of Chorotega recipes that are disa…