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

Alajuela Province Alajuela () is a province of Costa Rica. It is located in the north-central part of the country, bordering Nicaragua to the north. It also borders the provinces of Heredia to the east, San José to the south, Puntarenas to the southwest and ...

of Costa Rica. 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 The Central Valley () is a plateau and a geographic region of central Costa Rica. The land in the valley is a relative plain, despite being surrounded by several mountains and volcanoes, the latter part of the Central Range. The region houses a ...

, Alajuela is nowadays part of the conurbation of the Greater Metropolitan Area. The city is the birthplace of Juan Santamaría, the national hero of Costa Rica and the figure who gives the name to the country's main international airport, 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.

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 The Western Huetar Kingdom, also called Lordship of Garabito, Kingdom of Garabito or Cacicazgo of Garabito, was an Amerindian nation located in Costa Rica. It was one of the two great indigenous kingdoms of the central part of the country, the ot ...

, 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 Liga Deportiva Alajuelense (LDA, ), commonly known as Alajuelense and nicknamed La Liga (), is a Costa Rican multisport club based in the borough of El Llano, Alajuela, Alajuela province. Although they compete in a number of different sports, Ala ...

is the province's major football club, having won 30 league titles. The club has a historical rivalry with

Deportivo Saprissa Deportivo Saprissa is a Costa Rican sports club, mostly known for its football team. The club is based in San Juan de Tibás, San José, and play their home games at the Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Aymá. The team's signature colours are purple ...

, 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 g ...

, 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 ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...

, 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 denominatio ...

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

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 municipa ...

, Spain *

Lahr Lahr (officially Lahr/Schwarzwald since 30 September 1978) (); gsw, label= Low Alemannic, Lohr) is a town in western Baden-Württemberg, Germany, approximately 50 km north of Freiburg im Breisgau, 40 km southeast of Strasbourg, and 95&nb ...

, Germany *

Montegrotto Terme Montegrotto Terme ( vec, Montegròto) is a comune (municipality) in the Province of Padua in the Italian region Veneto, located about west of Venice and about southwest of Padua. Montegrotto Terme is a spa resort, part of the Terme Euganee spas ...

, 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 bo ...

, Italy * Downey, California, 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, Mexico *

Ibaraki Prefecture is a 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, Tochigi Prefecture ...

, 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, whic ...

, 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 Florentino Alfaro Zamora (died 1871) was a Costa Rican politician. Zamora was a leader of the 1842 rebellion against Francisco Morazán José Francisco Morazán Quesada (; born October 3, 1792 – September 15, 1842) was a Central American ...

(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'' * Juan Santamaría (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, a ...

, Guardia married and lived in Alajuela most of his life * Emilia Solórzano Alfaro (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 Leon, Léon (French) or León (Spanish) may refer to: Places Europe * León, Spain, capital city of the Province of León * Province of León, Spain * Kingdom of León, an independent state in the Iberian Peninsula from 910 to 1230 and again fro ...

(1840–1887) Historian, Lawyer, Diplomat, Journalist. Declared ''Benemerito de la Patria'' (Distinguished Citizen) in 1994. * Bernardo Soto Alfaro (1854–1931) President of Costa Rica (1885–1889) *

Anastasio Alfaro Anastasio Alfaro (February 16, 1865 – January 20, 1951) was a Costa Rican zoologist, geologist and explorer Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras ...

(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 León Cortés Castro (December 8, 1882 – March 3, 1946) was a Costa Rican politician. He served as President of Costa Rica from 1936 to 1940. During his term he introduced new bank reforms, supported banana plantations in the South Pacific reg ...

(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 Ma ...

(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 Liga Deportiva Alajuelense (LDA, ), commonly known as Alajuelense and nicknamed La Liga (), is a Costa Rican multisport club based in the borough of El Llano, Alajuela, Alajuela province. Although they compete in a number of different sports, A ...

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. Found ...

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

Born in or live in Alajuela

* Fernando Durán (1939– ) Author * Edgar Zúñiga (1950– ) Sculptor * Jorge Arroyo (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