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
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