Juan Santamaría

Who is Juan Santamaría?

Juan Santamaría was a Costa Rican soldier who became the country's foremost national hero for his role in the Second Battle of Rivas during the Filibuster War, part of Central America's 1856-1857 campaign against the American adventurer William Walker, who had seized power in Nicaragua and threatened to extend his rule across the isthmus. Santamaría was a young drummer (tambor) in the Costa Rican expeditionary army mobilized under President Juan Rafael Mora Porras. During the assault on Rivas on April 11, 1856, Walker's forces had barricaded themselves inside a wooden hostel, using it as a defensive stronghold that Costa Rican troops could not dislodge. Santamaría volunteered for the dangerous mission of setting the building on fire under enemy fire, reportedly asking only for a reward for his family if he fell. He succeeded in burning the hostel, forcing Walker's retreat, but was fatally wounded in the action. April 11 is now observed as Juan Santamaría Day, a national holiday in Costa Rica, and the country's main international airport bears his name in his honor.

Sources: Ministerio de Cultura y Juventud de Costa Rica, official biography of Juan Santamaría · Iván Molina and Steven Palmer, "The History of Costa Rica" (2016) · Ralph Lee Woodward Jr., "Central America: A Nation Divided" (1999)