Curridabat is the eighteenth canton in the San José province of

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

. The head city the homonymous

Curridabat Curridabat is a district of the Curridabat canton, in the San José province of Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the nor ...

. The canton forms a suburb of the national capital of San José, lying on the southeast edge of the city.

History

Curridabat was created on 21 August 1929 by decree 209.

Government

In 1930, the canton had a municipality with three , a mayor () and a ''political chief'' (; both charges were held by same person). At this time, the canton's population was of people. As the population grew, the municipality had to create a sanitation department to collect garbage, provide public road maintenance, and build infrastructure. The municipality Council was later expanded to five members by popular election in 1970.

Mayor

According to Costa Rica's Municipal Code, mayors are elected every four years by the population of the canton. As of the latest municipal elections in 2024, the 21st Century Curridabat (CSXXI) candidate, Errol Andrés Solano Bolaños, was elected mayor of the canton with 24.52% of the votes, with Paula Rebeca Camacho Solís and Melissa Berenzon Quirós as first and second vice mayors, respectively.

Municipal Council

Like the mayor and vice mayors, members of the Municipal Council (called ) are elected every four years. Curridabat's Municipal Council has 7 seats for regidores and their substitutes, who can participate in meetings but not vote unless the owning regidor () is absent. The current president of the Municipal Council is Pro-Curri People Party member Luis Ulderico Monge Díaz, with

Social Christian Unity Party The Social Christian Unity Party () is a centre-right political party in Costa Rica. PUSC considers itself a Christian-democratic party and, as such, is a member of the Christian Democrat Organization of America (ODCA). It was founded in 1983 by ...

member Andrea Vargas Uribe as vice president. The Municipal Council's composition for the 2024–2028 period is as follows:

Geography

Curridabat has an area of .

Points of interest

* (Sun's Plaza) a shopping center built between 1982 and 1983. At the time it was the most modern shopping center in the city. Today, it has many customers ranging from middle to high class. * (Eastern Multiplaza), now Multiplaza Curridabat, is a mall built between August 2002 and October 2003 that belongs to the commercial chain of the same name and have other malls in Central America. It has a food court, cinemas and stores. It is located in the old establishment of Republic Tobacco Co. The mall was expanded twice in 2007 and between 2013 and 2014. * ''San José Indoor Club'', it is a recreational sports club for the middle and high class in San José. It was opened during the mid-1970s.

Districts

The canton of Curridabat is subdivided into the following

districts 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 ...

: #

# Granadilla #

Sánchez Sánchez is a Spanish family name. Historical origins "The illustrious Sanchez Family... is descended from one of a number of Gothic knights (caballeros) who in the year 714 escaped from the ‘barbara furia’ of the Mohammedan invasion and to ...

# Tirrases

Demographics

Curridabat had an estimated inhabitants in 2022, up from at the time of the 2011 census. In 2022, Curridabat had a

Human Development Index The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistical composite index of life expectancy, Education Index, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income i ...

of 0.835, the sixth highest nationwide.

Notable residents

Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier Rafael Ángel Calderón Fournier (born 14 March 1949) was President of Costa Rica from 1990 to 1994. He was the presidential candidate of the Social Christian Unity Party for the national elections held in February 2010, but resigned his candida ...

, former president, lives in Pinares; also son of former president

Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia (March 8, 1900 – June 9, 1970) was a Costa Rican medical doctor and politician, who served as President from 1940 to 1944. Early life Rafael Angel Calderón Guardia was born on 8 March 1900 in San José. In his ...

* Karen Olsen Beck, wife of former president

José Figueres Ferrer José María Hipólito Figueres Ferrer (25 September 1906 – 8 June 1990) served three terms as President of Costa Rica: 1948–1949, 1953–1958 and 1970–1974. During his first term in office he abolished the country's army, nationalized ...

; also mother of former president José Figueres Olsen *

Transportation

Road transportation

The canton is covered by the following road routes:

Rail transportation

The Interurbano Line operated by

Incofer Rail transport in Costa Rica is primarily under the stewardship of Incofer (Instituto Costarricense de Ferrocarriles), an autonomous institution of the state. Incofer owns the national railway infrastructure and operates virtually all freigh ...

goes through this canton.

Notes

References

{{Provinces of Costa Rica Cantons of San José Province Populated places in San José Province