150th anniversary of the battles against
William Walker Juan Santamaría, National Hero

By Franco Cartín

«The 9th of April 1865 don Juan Rafael Mora entered the city of Rivas with an army of three thousand men, which Costa Rica had raised to expel the filibuster William Walker from Nicaragua. A battalion of 500 men occupied the port of South San Juan and another one of equal force had occupied the lake of Granada. In the night of the10th, General Cañas arrived with the rest of the army. Some days before, Walker had abandoned the entire department of Rivas. He was going to the lake of Granada with the American troops. (…) These circumstances boosted the Costa Rican troops› self confidence, which made it possible to surprise the enemy April 11th. After four hours of hard battle and finally admitting the impossibility of removing general Walker from his hideaway, general Cañas ordered to set the place on fire. According to witnesses, three attempts were made with the purpose to burn the place down, from different angles: The first one was carried out by lieutenant don Luis Pacheco, who was seriously injured with five bullets in his chest. Another attempt by a Nicaraguan Official, named Joaquín Rosales, and the third and final attempt was by an Alajuelan, Juan Santamaría, who was the only one to succeed. The young soldier left the headquarters of mayor sergeant don Juan Francisco Corrales, situated in the corner of the southwest Manor House, carrying a pile of clothes soaked in turpentine. He applied it on the roof of the building, thereby starting a fire which the filibusters couldn't extinguish. » (Extracts of the text: Juan Santamaría and the Fire of the Meson War. Story by: Ricardo Fernández Guard).

Juan Santamaría, the National Hero:

Juan Santamaria was a 25 years old young mulatto, born in Alajuela on August 1831. He was the son of a single mother, doña Manuela Carvajal. Being poor, Juan had to start working at a young age. He did work like sweeping, cleaning floors and furniture. Occasionally, he cleaned the porch, milked the cows and run other errants.

His last occupation was at the headquarters of the army where he was the appointed drummer of the troops. Before march 1856 and the war against the pirates, Juan became a part of the Alajuelan Army that left towards Nicaragua. Without knowing that in Rivas he would be immortalized: In front a building of adobe brick, low walls and a thatched roof, which occupied a complete block in front of a square: the Manor House. This building was the refuge of the filibusters and also the place from where they shot at the costa ricans. Juan Santamaria is the atypical hero of all the war heroes of Latin America. He is a hero who belonged to the people, since that was where he came from. In him, the heroism of the costa rican people, its fight for expelling the foreign invaders and the identity of a willful and egalitarian people, is summarized. His example and that of all those who have fought the war, is a lesson of patriotism and national dignity for the present and future generations.

Alajuela is getting ready for the 150th anniversary:

It al happened the morning of the 11th of April 1856….This 11th of April 2006, the National War celebrates its 150th Anniversary (1856-1857). «This is a fundamental process in the history of Costa Rica, which permitted the country to consolidate its independence and sovereignty» explained don Fabio Molina Rojas, Mayor of Alajuela. For this reason, the city hall of Alajuela, in cooperation with the School of History of the University of Costa Rica, organized a Round of Conferences on the 150th anniversary of the National War.

This activity was initiated March 8, 2005. Some of the conversations were related to the National War and the 1850's; this was about the agrarian politics in the decade of 1850 and the political discontent in the years of 1848-1859. Also some conversations were about the crisis, demographic catastrophe and war (1856-1857).

This Round of Conferences will finish on Wednesday the 19th of April. This night, Dr. Steven Palmer will dictate a dialogue on: “The recovery of the National Campaign and the figure of Juan Santamaría at the end of the 19th century”. This will take place 7 o'clock at night in el Centro Alajuelense de la Cultura, at the west side of the Central Park of Alajuela.

The purpose of these dialogues is to conserve the memory of the events in the 19th century in Costa Rica and its repercussions in the 20th century. At the same time presenting the new achievements by the historical research on that period of national history. The dialogues are of a military point of view, in order to provide better knowledge of the Costa Rican society that was obliged to take up arms in 1856-1857, in order to defend its sovereignty.

The parades:

Many people do not understand how in a peaceful country like Costa Rica, every year, the people engage in parades of marching bands, escorts and cadets. Every April 11th the parks and streets of Alajuela are filled with people marching to the sounds of militant music. It’s not that awkward if you think about it, the military triumph our country celebrates was the battle against the filibusters, the National War, for that same reason the parades incorporate military aspects. However, the escorts do not really march, what they do is better described as dancing. The cadets do not have stern looks, quite to the contrary they smile while showing off to their family or their college girlfriend. The marching bands also play popular music and folkloric songs besides the typical marching music.

To sum up, «ticos» do not march...we party in the memory of the military triumph, which allowed us to develop as a country and unite as a people.

Alajuela turns into a Garden of Sculptures:

From monday April 3rd, Alajuela turns into a Garden of Sculptures, adding beauty to the city. Works of art of famous international sculptors will be presented in the Próspero Fernández Park (near the cemetery) as a part of the 4th International Symposium of Monumental Sculpture, Alajuela 2006.

This symposium is led by a distinguished Alajuelan sculptor: Édgar Zúñiga. There will be a workshop that lasts for 14 days, where a group of sculptors will meet to create one work of art each, which later on will be donated to our country. The sculptures selected this year are: «Seed of Liberty» by Albert De Matteis, «Victory» by Donald Jiménez, «Independence» by Diana Manni, «the Rolling Flame» by Anthony Fage, «Raised Hand» by Vincent di Vicenzo, «Peace Columns» by Heinz Treiber and «the Power of Affirmation» by Claude Millete. Every sculpture has a value of more or less 30 million colones ($60,000) and is made out of steel.

During these 14 days the participating sculptors will be lecturing new sculpture styles, techniques and trends and their origins. In addition to that, they will recreate works in certain areas of the park for the public to watch and ask the sculptors questions about their work and technique. The Symposium will be open to public from 8 am till 5 pm.

Other activities that will make you visit Alajuela:

The city hall of Alajuela has payed close attention to all the likes and needs of the community and its visitors. The week after Semana Santa (easter), there will be bolero night (bolero is a type of slow dance) and a fireworks show, from thursday the 20th of April at the Alajuelan Cultural Centre. Furthermore, the Regional Literary Awards of Poetry will be held the evening of friday the 21th of April, and from 8 o’clock the same morning there will be a painting contest for childs and adults, folkloric dances and concerts.

Alajuela isn’t just a place with architectural beauty and kind people...It also stands for culture, good taste and a people that fight for maintenance of their country way of living: they continue carrying the torch of the Alajuelan identity.

We invite you to contact the city hall of Alajuela to get more information about the planned activities. Call 436-2323 or visit them on the web: www.munialajuela.go.cr