Santa Cruz de Guanacaste Canton
Encyclopedia
Santa Cruz is the name of the third canton
in Guanacaste Province
in Costa Rica
. The canton covers an area of 1312.27 square kilometres (506.7 sq mi), and has a population of 43,333. Its capital city is also called Santa Cruz.
The heart-shaped canton is on the northern Pacific coast between Bahía Potrero to the north and the mouth of the Río Montaña to the south. It includes Cabo Velas, the furthermost western point on the Nicoya Peninsula. The Río Tempisque delineates a small portion of the eastern border.
The capital city of Santa Cruz, named Santa Cruz, is a typical Costa Rican rural town. Its inhabitants are very diverse and consist mostly of farmers, fishermen, workers or employees of several of the many hotels located in the vicinity. The town is known within Costa Rica for its cultural heritage and many historical traditions. These traditions include the Fiesta de Semana Santa (Easter week celebration) and the traditional bullfights as well as many others.
Every year in Santa Cruz there are a number of festivals which include bullfighting ceremonies. These ceremonies, though traditional at heart, lack most of the features seen in Spanish bullfighting traditions. Usually the ring in which the bull is let loose is open to anyone, tourists as well as locals - man, woman or child. The bullfight usually starts with a man being placed on the bull with nothing but a string to hold on to. This man is inevitably, after some time, thrown off. Even though there are always medical personnel in place to supervise the bullfight, severe injuries or even death among the bullriders are not uncommon.
The bulls are treated with respect and dignity and in no bullring within Costa Rica is it ever alright to deliberately injure or kill a bull in a bullfight, whereas in Spain or Mexico the very purpose of the bullfight is for a trained professional to kill the bull.
Santa Cruz is a beautiful town filled with kind and openhearted people who when meeting a tourist gladly directs him or her to the nearest beach, hotel or historical sight. the town is also connected to some of the most popular beaches in Costa Rica and there are buses going to these beaches almost every hour.
The canton also includes the town of Santa Bárbara, known for its traditional annual dance of the calabash
es (baile de los guacales). Since 2000 the activity has been considered of cultural interest to the community and all participants receive a hand-painted calabash vessel to thank them for their economic contribution (which they paid in the form of an entrance ticket).
(distritos):
Cantons of Costa Rica
This is a list of the cantons of Costa Rica.Cantons are the second-level administrative division of Costa Rica. The country's seven provinces are subdivided into 81 cantons , and these are further subdivided into districts .A unique feature of the cantons is that they are the only administrative...
in Guanacaste Province
Guanacaste Province
Guanacaste is a province of Costa Rica located in the northwestern part of the country, along the coast of the Pacific Ocean. To the north it borders Nicaragua. To the east is the Alajuela Province, and to the southeast is the Puntarenas Province. It is the most sparsely populated of all the...
in Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
. The canton covers an area of 1312.27 square kilometres (506.7 sq mi), and has a population of 43,333. Its capital city is also called Santa Cruz.
The heart-shaped canton is on the northern Pacific coast between Bahía Potrero to the north and the mouth of the Río Montaña to the south. It includes Cabo Velas, the furthermost western point on the Nicoya Peninsula. The Río Tempisque delineates a small portion of the eastern border.
The capital city of Santa Cruz, named Santa Cruz, is a typical Costa Rican rural town. Its inhabitants are very diverse and consist mostly of farmers, fishermen, workers or employees of several of the many hotels located in the vicinity. The town is known within Costa Rica for its cultural heritage and many historical traditions. These traditions include the Fiesta de Semana Santa (Easter week celebration) and the traditional bullfights as well as many others.
Every year in Santa Cruz there are a number of festivals which include bullfighting ceremonies. These ceremonies, though traditional at heart, lack most of the features seen in Spanish bullfighting traditions. Usually the ring in which the bull is let loose is open to anyone, tourists as well as locals - man, woman or child. The bullfight usually starts with a man being placed on the bull with nothing but a string to hold on to. This man is inevitably, after some time, thrown off. Even though there are always medical personnel in place to supervise the bullfight, severe injuries or even death among the bullriders are not uncommon.
The bulls are treated with respect and dignity and in no bullring within Costa Rica is it ever alright to deliberately injure or kill a bull in a bullfight, whereas in Spain or Mexico the very purpose of the bullfight is for a trained professional to kill the bull.
Santa Cruz is a beautiful town filled with kind and openhearted people who when meeting a tourist gladly directs him or her to the nearest beach, hotel or historical sight. the town is also connected to some of the most popular beaches in Costa Rica and there are buses going to these beaches almost every hour.
The canton also includes the town of Santa Bárbara, known for its traditional annual dance of the calabash
Calabash
Lagenaria siceraria , bottle gourd, opo squash or long melon is a vine grown for its fruit, which can either be harvested young and used as a vegetable, or harvested mature, dried, and used as a bottle, utensil, or pipe. For this reason, the calabash is widely known as the bottle gourd...
es (baile de los guacales). Since 2000 the activity has been considered of cultural interest to the community and all participants receive a hand-painted calabash vessel to thank them for their economic contribution (which they paid in the form of an entrance ticket).
Districts
The canton of Santa Cruz is subdivided into nine districtsDistricts of Costa Rica
| The cantons of Costa Rica are subdivided into 473 districts .-References:...
(distritos):
- Santa Cruz
- Bolsón
- Veintisiete de Abril
- Tempate
- Cartagena
- Cuajiniquil
- Diriá
- Cabo Velas
- Tamarindo
External links
- "Santa Cruz Canton Map" Instituto de Fomento y Asesoría Municipal, 1984
- "Santa Cruz Google Satellite Map" Maplandia