Santa Cruz is officially La Ciudad Folclórica de Costa Rica, steeped in history and traditions revived every January during Las Fiestas Patronales de Santo Cristo de Esquipulas. The rest of the year, the statues that stand on the four corners of Parque Bernabela Ramos (the town's new center since 1993, when Plaza de los Mangos was ravaged by a fire) serve as reminders of Santa Cruz's legacy. On the northwest corner, a stoic Bernabela wearing a campesina apron holds a scroll in her hand, representing the land donation that gave birth to the city. She was a wealthy Catholic Spaniard who hung the "sacred cross" on her porch and held mass for both Spanish and indigenous worshippers. A statue of Chorotega cacique Diriá guards the southwest corner of the parque; an action statue of a montador (bull-rider) with his vaquetero (assistant) a tortilla-making scene complete the display. The new park is pleasant year-round, and Santa Cruz is en route to the most popular beaches on the peninsula.
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