Juan Santamaria Day in Costa Rica (11/04)

Juan Santamaría Day — is a historical holiday celebrated in Costa Rica annually on April 11.

Juana Santamaria (Spanish. Juan Santamaría, August 29, 1831 — April 11, 1856) — national hero of Costa Rica, participant in the 1856 war against American filibusters. It was on the day of his heroic death that today’s holiday was established in the country.

When the American filibuster William Walker overthrew the Nicaraguan government and tried to capture the rest of Central America to form a slave empire, Costa Rican President Juan Rafael Mora Porras called on the population to take up arms and go north to Nicaragua to fight the invaders. One of the volunteers was poor worker Juan Santamaria.

After the expulsion of the American filibusters from Costa Rica, the Costa Ricans continued north and on April 8, 1856 reached the city of Rivas (Nicaragua), where the battle known as the «Second Battle of Rivas» took place. The clash was very violent, and the Costa Ricans were long unable to neutralize Walker's group of riflemen, who had settled in a very advantageous position in a wooden fort, near the city center.

On April 11, General José Maria Cañas put forward the idea of sending one soldier to set fire to the fort with a torch. Several attempts were unsuccessful, only Juan Santamaria succeeded. He was wounded, but managed to throw a torch into the corner tower of the fort, thereby making a decisive contribution to the victory at Rivas.

The holiday in honor of the hero of Costa Rica is celebrated mainly in schools and colleges, ceremonial events are held with the introduction of flags, singing hymns and reciting poetry. Primary school students are preparing dramatizations of Juan's heroic feat, when he ran with a lit torch, set fire to a house in which enemies were hiding, and then died with honor and dignity.

In memory of Juan Santamaria, statues are erected in the park named after him in the central canton of Alajuela and in front of the congress in San Jose. Costa Rica International Airport also bears the name of the hero.

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