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Juan
Santamaría (August 29, 1831 - April 11, 1856), is officially recognized
as the national
hero of the Republic of
Costa Rica.
A national holiday in Costa Rica, Juan Santamaría Day, is held every
April 11
to commemorate his death.
Santamaría
was born in the city of
Alajuela.
When U.S. filibuster William Walker overthrew the government of
Nicaragua
and attempted to conquer the other nations in
Central America,
including Costa Rica, in order to form a private
slave-holding
empire. Costa Rican
president
Juan Rafael Mora Porras called upon the general population to take up
arms and march north to Nicaragua to fight against the foreign invader.
Santamaría, a poor laborer and the
illegitimate son
of a single
mother, joined the army as a
drummer
boy. The troops nicknamed him el erizo ("the hedgehog") on account of
his spiked hair.
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