The Virgin of the Seas

In 1913, in the small city of Puntarenas, there was a small ship called “El Galileo”. The owner of the boat, Hermenegildo Cruz Ayala, was originally from Chiriqui Panama. And as many at the time, Don Hermenegildo had come to try luck to the young Costa Rican port.

As in many occasions, El Galileo sailed from Puntarenas to go fishing, with the hopes of bringing food for their families. However, on this occasion many days went by without any news from El Galileo.

Pushed by the grievance of the family members, and facing the commotion of the town, all the people in the town went to the temple to ask the Virgin del Carmen to protect the Galileo. The catholic town and the Padre Carmona, priest of the temple, prayed for the fishermen.

Days went by without knowing anything about the Galileo, until finally the miracle happened: the fishermen were found by a rescue boat. The town and the family members were full of joy, their prayers had worked.

To the surprise of everyone, the survivors talked about a woman that helped them through the tempest. The woman had been with them, bringing them food and helping them gain the strength to swim to safety.

Don Hermenegildo was a man of faith, and when he heard the fishermen’s stories, decided to take them to Padre Carmona to give thanks to the Virgin del Carmen. At the temple, they kneeled down and went where the image of the Virgin was. When they got to there, the fishermen surprised said: “This is the same woman that gave us food and helped us survive”

Silvano Nieto, captain of the Galileo narrated:

“The gigantic waves presented themselves amongst the burst of the tempest. The Galileo swung between the wind and the sea, while the sound of the broken wood seemed to tell me that the ship was threatening to break in pieces. Thousands of ideas went through my head, and the possibility of drowning possessed my mind. The crew ran from side to side crying, they did not ignore the danger, and they felt impotent against the adversity. For a moment I felt a fear of God, with tears in my eyes, while my hands seemed to crush because of the strength that I was using to hold the helm, I started to pray for my life.

I am not very much a Christian, but at that moment an infinite faith got me closer to God. I remembered the words of my mother telling me that whenever I was in danger, I should ask for help and protection of the Virgin Mary, and so I did. It was only a few minutes that felt forever, but very quickly I saw in front of me a ship with a white light. At that moment the sea lost all its fury, and it looked to me that a divine force was talking to us. I understood that our virgin had always been very close to me, and with great joy got my heart”

Don Hermenegildo told the priest:

“I promise you Padre, that from now on, every year, during the month of July, we will have a celebration in the seas for our Mother”

From then on, the people from Puntarenas called her the Virgin of the Seas. And all the fishermen, large and small, like on family go to the Gulf of Nicoya in Her honor.

This activity happens on the second Sunday of the month of July. It starts with a mass. After, all the owners of large and small ships participate in a raffle to decide which boat will have the honor of taking the Virgin of the Seas back to the seas. This boat is escorted by the rest of the boats.

For this reason, the Virgin of the Seas is not only the most significant religious element of the faith of Puntarenas, but it has also become a main value in the cultural identity of the city!!

The Indigenous Isidoro Calderon

Isidoro Calderón lived in San Pedro de Turrubares, in the Central Pacific coast of Costa Rica. At that time, Turrubares was a small agricultural town, known for its mountains, animals, and rivers.

Isidoro was the son of Santiago Calderón and Margarita Quirós. He had a very simple life: he was a lonely man, with no studies, that could not read or write, did not wear any type of shoes, never got married, did not drink or smoke, and never worked for anyone.

When he was hungry, he would go cut bijagua (leafs that can be dried to wrap meat and other types of food). In Turrubares, there were many bijaguales, thus he would cut them and sell them to buy himself food. Otherwise, he would visit family members willing to feed him.

Isidro was famous because he had a very special power, the power to transform himself into any animal he wished. He would only do it for fun, and not with the purpose of hurting anyone. His ability was completely natural, without the need of prayer or magic. It is said, that he would transform himself into a cat, deer, jaguar, pizote, and any other animal he wished.

In one occasion, Isidoro found a man planting corn. The man had a shotgun next to him, on the root of a tree. At 8 in the morning, the man saw a deer running by, and he immediately shot it and killed it. He was very happy with his hunt, so he took the deer to his house, and put it on a bench in his porch. When his wife came out she was also very happy, and she asked her husband to cut the animal’s testicles to prepare them for lunch. Back then, people used to have lunch early in the morning, so the hungry man told his wife that he did not want to wait, that he wanted to start eating then, and leave the deer outside for now. To their surprise, when they came out after lunch, the deer was gone.

That same afternoon, the man went to town and found Isidoro, who teased him: "Why didn’t you kill the deer? That was not very smart of you?" It was him all the time.

Another one of Isidoro's pranks was to a gentleman called Osvaldo Marín Castro, who was a professional monteador. Don Osvaldo used to go hunting every week and would always catch something. Isidoro would always tell him where to hunt. Until one day, Don Osvaldo got angry at Isidoro. He called him an ignorant old man amongst other insults.

Since that day, Don Osvaldo could not hunt anything. After some time, he decided to go back to his friend Isidoro, and ask him for help. He took some candy, food, and other things to make him happy, and ask him to recommend good places for hunting again.

It is also said, that during his life Isidoro met the ex president of Costa Rica Don Teodoro Picado. The Picado’s family had a farm in San Pedro of Turrubares, where they would always go for vacations. Isidoro met them because he liked to play with children very much, and at that time Don Teodoro was only a child. Isidoro would get fruit from the trees for the child to eat, and would also take him horse back riding.

Isidoro continued his life of fun and pranks until he died at approximately 65 years old.

Historic Review of Garabito County

The discovery of the area known as Garabito (Tárcoles to Hermosa) dates from 1522, during expeditions by Gil Gonzalez Davila. At that time, the area was occupied by indigenous people from the West Huetar Kingdom.

At the beginning of the European Conquest of the Americas, the Huetar Kingdom had a main cacique (tribe leader) called Garabito. He was very powerful because of the extensive territory that was under his control (from San Jose to the Pacific coast, and perhaps even to the Atlantic coast), and because of his resistance to the Spanish conquest.

There were many confrontations between the Conquerors and Cacique Garabito’s men in the territory known to the Spanish as “the Province of Garabito”. In 1561, Juan de Caballón (who at that time was in charge of Costa Rica’s conquest) and a team of 90 soldiers arrived and set base close to the Ciruelas River, where they established the city of Garcimuñoz (in the area today known as Turrucares). Later they founded Villa de los Reyes (Orotina) and the Port of Landecho (Tivives).

Juan de Caballón repeatedly tried to catch Cacique Garabito, but he always responded with strength or wisdom. The process of conquering Costa Rica continued, but the Spaniards were not able to catch the Cacique.

In the mist of the confrontation, Juan de Caballón was replaced by Juan Vásquez de Coronado. When Vásquez de Coronado arrived to Costa Rican territory, with a group of 80 men, he found that there was a general revolt of the indigenous people seized by his predecesor. Vásquez de Coronado's policy was less strict, and thus, he was able to dominate most of the Costa Rican Caciques, with the exception of Garabito. As a result, he gave an order of war against Garabito, who was judged without defense, and given death penalty. From then on, a hunt for Garabito started, even after Vásquez de Coronado left charge. Garabito continued to hide and even attack the Spanish people. Nevertheless, he started losing strength and support.

During the government of Alonso Anguciana, Garabito returned to the Coyoche Valley, where he was finally captured and taken to the Spanish authorities. Garabito was allowed to spend his last years in Coyoche.

There are not many records of the historical development of the Region of Garabito after the conquest. Fishing villages started forming and slowly growing in Jacó, Herradura, Agujas, Tárcoles, Mantas, and others. By the 1920’s, Jacó was still a rural area, inhabited by very few families; all of them dedicated to agriculture and commerce. These families included:

1. Pastor Díaz Gómez (Jacó’s Central Avenue is named after him)

2. Encarnación Morales

3. Felipe Aparicio

4. Luís Méndez

5. Felipe Díaz

Until the road to Orotina was opened, the area could only be accessed by boat.

The development process was slow. In 1927, Jacó’s Mixed School was opened, and in 1946 a Catholic Church was founded. These buildings were evidence that the population was starting to concentrate in Jacó, and they served to give an identity to the area.

In 1965, Jacó was named a district of the province of Puntarenas, which opened the door for new infrastructure. For example, the water system (1976), the main road “Costanera Sur” that gave access to the Central Pacific region (1978), and the electricity system (1981). This infrastructure allowed for community dynamism and tourism development. The distance to San José, and the availability of reasonable access roads was an important incentive for internal tourism.

More intensive development started in 1983, when Jacó was named the capital of the Garabito region. From then on, Jacó has experienced faster population growth, going from 3,144 to 10,378 people. The population has grown at an annual rate of 7.5%, the fastest in the country between 1984 and 2000.

Tourism has been the main engine for development, and the most important economic activity in the region. Nowadays, Jacó is a major destination for international and domestic tourism that seek beach, nature, and water activities such as surf. Outside investment has also played a key role in the development of the area, becoming part of the area's culture.