Costa Rica By. Jillian Brennan Spanish I APID

Location & Capital Costa Rica is located in the Central American isthmus, between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. Costa Rica’s capital is San Jose which is located in the Central Valley.

The Flag Each color of the flag represents an important aspect of Costa Rica: Blue means the sky, intellectual thinking, perseverance to accomplish a goal, and ideals of the religious and spiritual desires. White means thinking, happiness, wisdom, power, and the peace of Costa Rica. Red means the warmth of Costa Rican people, their love to live, their blood shed for freedom, and their generous attitude. The flag was designed in 1848 by 1st lady Pacifica Fernandez Oreamuno after the ideas of the French Revolution.

Independence Costa Rica gained its independence from Spain on September 15, 1821; Independence Day is celebrated every September 15 th and is a National holiday.

Historical Occurrence In 1824, Costa Rica gained the Guanacaste Province because of the annexation of the Guanacaste Province from Nicaragua.

National Holiday St. Joseph’s Day, patron saint of San Jose and San Jose province is a National Holiday celebrated in Costa Rica on March 19 th.

Famous Structures/Features The Teatro Nacional is a Famous Theatre on the south end of San Jose Plaza There are 112 Volcanoes in Costa Rica, making them very important geological features.

Famous Man Oscar Arias Sanchez won the Nobel Prize thanks to his efforts to find peace in Latin America. In May 1986, he met with the Presidents of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua to talk about proposals for a peaceful solution to the areas’ political disagreements. After working on many other positions in the government, he became Costa Rica’s president.

Famous Woman Silvia Poll brought up Costa Rica’s name up by winning several Olympic medals for swimming. She has brought home several honors in swimming. Although Silvia does not compete anymore, she will be remembered as a hero to Costa Rica for many years to come.

Population Estimated at 3.5 million in July of 2000 Population is growing at 1.69% As Of 2010 (estimated) 4.1 million

Bibliography: Google Images Nobelprize.org Wikipedia.org/census Worldbookonline.com Nationsencyclopedia.com