PARQUE JUAN SANTAMARÍA

The national hero has his own plaza with a statue of him at its center. The bronze sculpture captures the precise moment that transformed the destiny of young Juan Santamaría, a native of Alajuela. He joined the army during the National Campaign of 1856-1857 to defend Central America from American buccaneers, and made history in the famous battle of Rivas. In order to dislodge the entrenched enemy, Santamaría volunteered to carry a torch and set fire to the " Mesónde Guerra", an event in which he lost his life.