History Lesson: Juan SantaMaría

Juan SantaMaría Statue

Since I've been here, I've become quite the history buff.  I find Latin American history much more interesting than that of the United States.  There is only so much I can take of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. They are pretty cool and did amazing things, but I prefer Che and other Latin American revolutionary leaders.

In the US our heros did very significant things, such as free slaves, lead a revolution for freedom and independence, defeat the axis powers, and fight for civil rights for all people.  In Costa Rica it's a little different, they have one main hero, and his name is Juan SantaMaría. I briefly mentioned him in my last blog, but I wanted to give a little background information on his story.  

Juan SantaMaría was born on August 29, 1831, in the city of Alajuela (that's the city I visited in my last blog post).  He joined the Costa Rican military, when Costa Rica was at war with Nicaragua/William Walker.  SantaMaría joined as a drummer boy for the military.  During the Second Battle of Rivas in Nicaragua, Walker's military had a big advantage because they held command of a house in the center of town.  There were several attempts by Costa Rican soldiers to take over the house, but it only ended in blood and death.  SantaMaría decided to give it a try, and took of for the house with a lighted torch.  He was successful, but ended up dying in the process.  The success of SantaMaría, led to the Costa Rican victory of the Battle of Rivas.  SantaMaría is now commemorated as a national hero in Costa Rica.  He has a plaza, statue, museum and the international airport named after him, along with a national holiday--April 11th, the day he died.

The statue calls home to Alajuela, his birth place.  Interesting fact about the statue, it was made in France.  The French sculptor, who made it, replicated it after a French soldier in a French uniform, not SantaMaría.  Even though the statue doesn't look like SantaMaría it doesn't stop the Costa Rican people from being proud of it.

¡Pura Vida!

Juan SantaMaría Museum (it used to be a jail and army garrison)

Replica of the Juan SantaMaría statue

Closer look at Juan SantaMaría Statue