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Cartago
Cartago is located in the central part of
the country. Bordering provinces are Limón to the east and San
José to the west. The capital is Cartago. The province covers an area of
3,125 km², and has a population of 432,395 (2000). It is subdivided into 8
cantons. It is connected to San Jose via a four lane highway.
Cartago
was founded in 1563 by Spanish conquistador Juan Vásquez de Coronado,
and was the first permanent Spanish settlement in Costa Rica. It served as the
capital of Costa Rica until 1823, when the first elected head of state, Juan
Mora Fernández, moved the capital to what was then the small village of
San José because Cartago wanted to unite the newly independent province
of Costa Rica to the colony of Mexico while the rest of the population wanted
to form a republic.
In 1723, a volcanic eruption from the Irazu volcano
destroyed Cartago. The city was severely damaged by major earthquakes in 1822,
1841 and 1910. In 1963, another volcanic eruption badly damaged the city, and
covered San José and almost all of the city's crops in ash.
Many
pilgrims come to Cartago annually, to visit the city's principal church, the
enormous Basílica de
Nuestra Señora de Los Ángeles, on the feast day of the Virgin
of the Angels (August 2). The church has a statue of the Black Madonna known as
La Negrita, who supposedly had great healing powers. The sick come to her
statue in hope of a miracle from La Negrita.
According to folklore in
Costa Rica, La Negrita appeared to a young native girl named Juana Pereira, in
1635. The rock where La Negrita made her alleged appearance is kept in a
backroom in the basilica and is revered as a sacred relic and object of
inspiration. The rock is supposed to be in the same location it was when La
Negrita originally appeared, but it has been moved as the basilica was rebuilt
(see below). It is common for pilgrims to touch the rock in
reverence.
The central park in Cartago includes the ruins of an earlier
basilica. The earlier basilica was destroyed several times by earthquakes, the
last time in 1910. As a result, the rebuilding of the basilica in the same
location was abandoned and the new basilica was built to replace the old one
several blocks away.
The main products of the region are potatoes,
onions, milk, and orchids. These used to support more than 90% of the city's
economy although other resources such as computer technologies have risen since
the last decade.
The province is known for its rich ecological diversity
and dense tropical rainforests along the mountain ranges near the Irazu and
Turrialba volcanoes.
Cartago is home of the Costa Rica Institute of
Technology, one of the most prestigious higher education institutions in the
country and one of Central America's most important engineering schools.
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