Alajuela () is a district in the Alajuela canton of the Alajuela Province of

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

. As the seat of the Municipality of Alajuela canton, it is awarded the status of city. By virtue of being the city of the first canton of the province, it is also the capital of the Province of Alajuela. Because of its location in the Costa Rican Central Valley, Alajuela is nowadays part of the conurbation of the Greater Metropolitan Area. The city is the birthplace of

Juan Santamaría Juan Santamaría Rodríguez (August 29, 1831 – April 11, 1856) was a drummer in the Costa Rican army, officially recognized as the national hero of his country for his actions in the 1856 Second Battle of Rivas, in the Filibuster War. He d ...

, the national hero of Costa Rica and the figure who gives the name to the country's main

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...

, which is south of Alajuela downtown.

Geography

Alajuela has an area of km² and an elevation of metres. It is located in the Central Valley, 19 kilometres northwest of

San José San José or San Jose (Spanish for Saint Joseph) most often refers to: *San Jose, California, United States *San José, Costa Rica, the nation's capital San José or San Jose may also refer to: Places Argentina * San José, Buenos Aires ** San ...

Climate

The climate is

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

, typical of the Central Valley, but slightly warmer than San José. Temperatures are moderate, averaging 23–26 degrees Celsius with a low humidity level, with dewpoints around 20 almost all year round. Alajuela and its surroundings are famed for having "the best weather in the world".

Demographics

For the 2011 census, Alajuela had a population of inhabitants.

History

In pre-Columbian times the land where the canton of Alajuela is today was part of the Western Huetar Kingdom, which was inhabited by native tribes, who at the time of the Spanish conquest were led by Chief Garabito. The first Spanish settlers established settlements in the region in about 1650.Ocampo Barrantes, Marlon. "Los Orígenes de la Población de Alajuela, 1601-1782". Editorial UNED, Costa Rica, 2009. In a letter of obligation granted in 1864, the place is mentioned as La Lajuela in the Valley of Barva, near the Canoas river. In 1777, the dwellers of La Lajuela and Ciruelas, having been served with notice to move to Villa Vieja (today's Heredia), requested the provisional construction of a public place of prayer in the house of Don Dionysius Oconitrillo, of Spanish origin, 30 metres north of where Alajuela's cathedral is today. After increases of population in the five existing quarters then: Targuaz, Puás, Ciruelas, La Lajuela and Rio Grande, the citizens faced difficulties to maintain their religious obligations, so they requested permission to establish a parish and a public place of prayer from the Bishop of Nicaragua and Costa Rica, Monsignor don Esteban Lorenzo de Tristán. According to a motion issued in the Spanish Parliament of

Cádiz Cádiz (, , ) is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the Province of Cádiz, one of eight that make up the autonomous community of Andalusia. Cádiz, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Western Europe, ...

on 19 May 1812, the first town hall of Alajuela was founded in 1813. On 18 December of the same year, the La Lajuela quarter obtained the title of town and it was renamed. It was first called "Villa Hermosa", then it was called "San Juan Nepomuceno de Alajuela" and finally the title of city was granted on 20 November 1824 and with it the name "Alajuela" which remains today. Participation in important historical events by citizens of Alajuela has ensured the city's reputation as a storied place in Costa Rican history. The national hero Juan Santamaría, who died during the Filibuster War in 1856 to remove invaders threatening Costa Rica's sovereignty, was born in Alajuela. This historical event is celebrated and remembered every year on 11 April and it is a national holiday. The area often experiences earthquakes. The 2009 magnitude 6.1 earthquake caused several landslides.

Economy

The main exports of the region are coffee, sugar-cane, maize, beans, tobacco, citrus fruits, strawberries, tubers like cassava, flowers and ornamental plants. Other commercial activities include poultry farming, beekeeping, pig farming and the dairy industry. More recently, Alajuela has seen important investment in free zone parks and heavy industry companies, with a considerable number of them dedicated to manufacturing a variety of medical devices.

Transportation

Alajuela is an important transport hub for the country, connecting the capital city of San José with northwestern Costa Rica. As a part of the Greater Metropolitan Area, most of the inhabitants of Alajuela work in other cities or regions of the Central Valley, and every day receives residents from other locations to work in local factories. Central America's second busiest airport,

Juan Santamaría International Airport Juan Santamaría International Airport ( es, Aeropuerto Internacional Juan Santamaría) is the primary airport serving San José, the capital of Costa Rica. The airport is located in the city of Alajuela, 20 km (12 miles) west of downto ...

, is three kilometers south of the district center.

Road transportation

The district is covered by the following road routes: * CR RNP 3

National Route 3 * CR RNS 123

National Route 123 * CR RNS 124

National Route 124 * CR RNS 125

National Route 125 * CR RNS 130

National Route 130 * CR RNS 153

National Route 153

Rail transportation

The Interurbano Line operated by

Incofer upright=1.20 , Universidad de Costa Rica station, San Pedro, Montes de Oca. Rail transport in Costa Rica is primarily under the stewardship of Incofer (Instituto Costarricense de Ferrocarriles), an autonomous institution of the state. Incofe ...

goes through this district.

Sports

Liga Deportiva Alajuelense is the province's major football club, having won 30 league titles. The club has a historical rivalry with Deportivo Saprissa, both popularly viewed as the two best football clubs of Costa Rica. They play their home games at the

Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto The Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto is a football stadium in ''El Llano'' neighborhood of Alajuela, Costa Rica, which is the home of Liga Deportiva Alajuelense, one of the most successful football clubs from Costa Rica. It also serves as the home gr ...

, located in this district, and a new stadium is currently being built on another location inside the Alajuela Province.

Gallery

File:AeropuertoJuanSantamaría.jpg,

File:Skatepark Alajuela por la noche.jpg, Alajuela skatepark File:Santamaria, Juan -monumento Alajuela 04.jpg, Monument to Juan Santamaria, who was born in Alajuela, popular hero of the

Filibuster War The Filibuster War or Walker affair was a military conflict between filibustering multinational troops stationed in Nicaragua and a coalition of Central American armies. An American mercenary William Walker invaded Nicaragua in 1855 with a sma ...

File:Alajuela likeluis.jpg, Alajuela´s catholic

Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

is located in front of Alajuela´s central park (Officially named Parque General

Tomás Guardia Tomás may refer to: * Tomás (given name) * Tomás (surname) Tomás is a Spanish and Portuguese surname, equivalent of ''Thomas''. It may refer to: * Antonio Tomás (born 1985), professional Spanish footballer * Belarmino Tomás (1892–1950), ...

) File:Teatro Municipal Alajuela 2011.jpg, Municipal Theatre of Alajuela File:Iglesia Metodista de Alajuela.jpg, Alajuela´s

Methodist Church Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related Christian denomination, denominations of Protestantism, Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John W ...

Sister cities

San Bartolomé de Tirajana San Bartolomé de Tirajana is a village and a Spanish municipality in the south-eastern part of the island of Gran Canaria in the Las Palmas province in the Canary Islands. With an area of , San Bartolomé de Tirajana is the largest municipal ...

, Spain * Lahr, Germany * Montegrotto Terme, ItalyPage 2
Murals of La Guacima , Page 2
, accessdate: 5/13/2014 *

Bordano Bordano ( fur, Bordan) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Udine in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about northwest of Udine, on the right bank of the Tagliamento river. Bordano bord ...

, Italy *

Downey, California Downey is a city located in Southeast Los Angeles County, California, United States, southeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is considered part of the Gateway Cities. The city is the birthplace of the Apollo space program. It is also the home of ...

, USA *

Dothan, Alabama Dothan () is a city in Dale, Henry, and Houston counties and the Houston county seat in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is Alabama's eighth-largest city, with a population of 71,072 at the 2020 census. It is near the state's southeastern corner, ...

, USA *

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...

, Mexico *

Ibaraki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Ibaraki Prefecture has a population of 2,871,199 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Ibaraki Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the north, ...

, Japanpref.ibaraki.jp
IBARAKI Prefectural Government
, accessdate: 5/13/2014 *

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the province, sitting at the head of Hangzhou Bay, whi ...

, China

Notable residents

Historical

* Gregorio Jose Ramirez (1796–1823) Politician, Military Commander. *

José María Alfaro Zamora José María Alfaro Zamora (March 20, 1799 – June 12, 1856) was the Costa Rican Head of State between the periods of 1842 and 1844 as well as 1846 and 1847 and President of Costa Rica between May 1 and May 8, 1847. Early life and family ...

(1799–1856) Costa Rican Head of State (1842–44, 1846–47) * Florentino Alfaro Zamora (1805–1873) Politician * Juan Alfaro Ruiz (1810–1856) Politician * Jose Maria Figueroa (1820–1900) Artist. He recorded the early events of Costa Rican history in his Album de Figueroa * Apolinar de Jesus Soto (1827–1911) Vice-President of Costa Rica (1886–1889). The title was called then ''Primer Designado'' *

(1831–1856) Costa Rican national hero. *

Tomás Guardia Gutiérrez General Tomás Miguel Guardia Gutiérrez (December 16, 1831 – July 6, 1882) was President of Costa Rica on two occasions: from 1870 to 1876, and from 1877 to 1882. On 27 April 1870 Tomás Guardia was one of a group of army officers who depose ...

(1831–1882) President of Costa Rica (1870–82) Born in

Bagaces Bagaces is a district of the Bagaces canton, in the Guanacaste province of Costa Rica. Geography Bagaces has an area of km² and an elevation of metres. Communities The district includes the towns of Bagaces, Pijije, Montenegro, Montano, and ...

, Guardia married and lived in Alajuela most of his life *

Emilia Solórzano Alfaro Emilia Solórzano Alfaro (December 8, 1835 – July 18, 1914) was the First Lady of Costa Rica during the periods of 1870–1876 and 1877–1882. She was born in Alajuela on December 8, 1835, to her parents Rafael del Pilar Solórzano ...

(1835–1914) Costa Rican First lady (1870–1882) For her activism in favor of Education and Human Rights, she was declared ''Benemerita de la Patria'' in 1972. * Leon Fernandez Bonilla (1840–1887) Historian, Lawyer, Diplomat, Journalist. Declared ''Benemerito de la Patria'' (Distinguished Citizen) in 1994. *

Bernardo Soto Alfaro Ramón Bernardo Soto Alfaro (12 February 1854 – 28 January 1931) was President of Costa Rica from 1885 to 1889. He took office when his father-in-law, President Próspero Fernández, died in office in 1885, and in a gesture of national conc ...

(1854–1931) President of Costa Rica (1885–1889) * Anastasio Alfaro (1865–1951) Zoologist, Geologist, Archeologist, Ethnologist. Creator of the

Museo Nacional de Costa Rica The Museo Nacional de Costa Rica is the national museum of Costa Rica, located in the capital of San José. It is located at Calle 17, between Central and Second Avenue, Cuesta de Moras. It moved to its current location in 1950.Ricardo Fernandez Guardia (1867–1950) Historian, Author, Diplomat. Declared ''Benemerito de la Patria'' (Distinguished Citizen) in 1944. * León Cortés Castro (1882–1946) President of Costa Rica (1936–40) *

Otilio Ulate Luis Rafael de la Trinidad Otilio Ulate Blanco (August 25, 1891 – October 10, 1973) served as President of Costa Rica from 1949 to 1953. His French heritage comes from his mother, Ermida Blanco. He never married but had two daughters, Olga Mar ...

(1891–1973) President of Costa Rica (1949–53) *

Carlos Luis Fallas Carlos Luis Fallas Sibaja (January 21, 1909 – May 7, 1966), also known as Calufa (from the initial syllables of his first, middle and last name), was a Costa Rican author and communist political activist. Born in Alajuela to a single mother, F ...

(1909–1966) Costa Rican most important author, political activist. Elected for the Congress (1944–48). Posthumously declared ''Benemérito de la Patria'' (Distinguished Citizen) in 1977. *

Alejandro Morera Soto Alejandro Morera Soto (July 14, 1909 – March 26, 1995) was a Costa Rican football player, who played as a striker mostly for Alajuelense in the Costa Rican Primera División. He is considered one of the best and most talented players of ...

(1909–1995) Footballer. Played with LD Alajuelense in Costa Rica, and

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Founded ...

, Spain. * Margarita Madrigal (1919–1983) Best-selling author of language textbooks.

Born in or live in Alajuela

* Fernando Durán (1939– ) Author *

Edgar Zúñiga Edgar is a commonly used English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Eadgar'' (composed of '' ead'' "rich, prosperous" and ''gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the later medieval period; it was, however, rev ...

(1950– ) Sculptor *

Jorge Arroyo Jorge Eduardo Arroyo-Pérez (born in San José in 1959) is a Costa Rican writer, playwright, opinion columnist, essayist, poet and theater director. He is currently Costa Rica's ambassador to UNESCO. The only author to receive four times the N ...

(1959– ) Playwright

References

External links

*
Municipalidad de Alajuela, December 2007

Directorio y Guía de Alajuela
{{Authority control Greater Metropolitan Area (Costa Rica) Districts of Alajuela Province