Barva is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

of the

Barva Barva is a district of the Barva canton, in the Heredia province of Costa Rica. The city is known for having a nice mix of rural and metropolitan landscape. Toponymy The name comes from Barvac or Barvak a cacique of the area around 1569, which ...

canton, in the Heredia 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 ...

. The city is known for having a nice mix of rural and metropolitan landscape.

Toponymy

The name comes from Barvac or Barvak a

cacique A ''cacique'' (Latin American ; ; feminine form: ''cacica'') was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, the indigenous inhabitants at European contact of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. The term is a Spa ...

of the area around 1569, which in turn might come from either: * From ''New Tlapallan'' in

Nahuatl language Nahuatl (; ), Aztec, or Mexicano is a language or, by some definitions, a group of languages of the Uto-Aztecan languages, Uto-Aztecan language family. Varieties of Nahuatl are spoken by about Nahuas, Nahua peoples, most of whom live mainly in ...

, or ''Tla pallapan'', which in

Huetar language Huetar (Güetar) is an extinct Chibchan language of Costa Rica that was spoken by the Huetar people. It served as the ''lingua franca'' for precolonial peoples in central Costa Rica, and went extinct in the 17th century. Only a few words in the l ...

was Tabaraba or Abaraba, hispanicized as Barba and meaning ''Black River'' or ''Dark River'' as explained by José Fidel Tristán in 1910. * ''Bal'' (town) and ''wac'' (

anteater Anteater is a common name for the four extant mammal species of the suborder Vermilingua (meaning "worm tongue") commonly known for eating ants and termites. The individual species have other names in English and other languages. Together with ...

), meaning ''Anteater Town'', according to Luis Ferrero. * ''Bar'' or ''bur'' (

bees Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamil ...

) with ''ba'' or ''bac'' (

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

), meaning ''Bees Tribe'', as explained by bishop Bernardo Augusto Thiel y Hoffmann in late 19th century, from sources from 1575 and 1599. By Decree 188 of 4 October 1974, the name changes from ''Barba'' to ''Barva''.

Geography

Barva has an area of km² and an elevation of metres. It is located 3 km north of Heredia.

Culture

Patron saint and mask festival

The

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of the town is

Saint Bartholomew Bartholomew (Aramaic: ; grc, Βαρθολομαῖος, translit=Bartholomaîos; la, Bartholomaeus; arm, Բարթողիմէոս; cop, ⲃⲁⲣⲑⲟⲗⲟⲙⲉⲟⲥ; he, בר-תולמי, translit=bar-Tôlmay; ar, بَرثُولَماو� ...

. A large church, Iglesia de San Bartolomé de Barva, was established between 1568 and 1575 is in Barva. Every year on August 24, the people of the town have a celebration dedicated to the saint, and the highlight of the celebration is the unique

masquerade Masquerade or Masquerader may refer to: Events * Masquerade ball, a costumed dance event * Masquerade ceremony, a rite or cultural event in many parts of the world, especially the Caribbean and Africa * Masqueraders, the performers in the West ...

, where people go out wearing masks and hit others with cow and

pig bladder Pig bladder (also pig's bladder) is the urinary bladder of a domestic pig, similar to the human urinary bladder. Today, this hollow organ has various applications in medicine, and in traditional cuisines and customs. Historically, the pig bladder ...

Demographics

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

Transportation

Road transportation

The district is covered by the following road routes: * CR RNS 119

National Route 119 * CR RNS 126

National Route 126

Notable people

* Bernardo Rodríguez y Alfaro

References

Districts of Heredia Province Populated places in Heredia Province {{CostaRica-geo-stub