Purabá de Santa Bárbara
| Purabá de Santa Bárbara | |
|---|---|
| District | |
A neighborhood in Purabá de Santa Bárbara
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 Purabá de Santa Bárbara
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| Coordinates: 10°04′36″N 84°09′24″W / 10.07667°N 84.15667°WCoordinates: 10°04′36″N 84°09′24″W / 10.07667°N 84.15667°W | |
| Country |
 Costa Rica
|
| Province | Heredia Province |
| Canton | Santa Bárbara |
| Area | |
| • Total | 12.61 km2 (4.87 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,240 m (4,070 ft) |
| Population (2008) | |
| • Total | 3,898 |
| • Density | 310/km2 (800/sq mi) |
| Demonym(s) | Vecino de Purabá, Purabáeño |
| Time zone | Central Standard Time (UTC-6) |
Purabá de Santa Bárbara, also called Zetillal or Setillal, is the sixth district of the Santa Bárbara canton in Heredia, Costa Rica. The district consists of several large neighborhoods: San Bosco (Bosconia), Marías, Purabá, Lajas, and Calle Quirós.
Like the rest of the canton, the area now known as Villa Jesús was originally occupied before the Spanish settlers came by the Huetares, an indigenous tribe. The Huetare King, Cacique Garabito, dominated the area.
In early 1663, settler Joseph de Sandoval Ocampo set up cattle ranches in the area, including one toward the between the present-day areas of San Pedro and Purabá, which was called Tapatalanga or Anonos at the time.Heredia, Barva, and Alajuela, three neighboring cities, were populated and settled in the late 1700s. As trade increased between the three cities, the canton developed.
Recalling her childhood of making dolls out of plantain leaves in Purabá, former teacher María Cecilia Alfaro Víquez, born in 1940, said that the roads were made of pebbles and dirt. The culture and economy of sugarcane production was so widespread that even children like Alfaro Víquez made toy sugar mills. In 1949, a bridge was constructed in the district, blessed by the local Catholic priest.
Purabá is the newest district in Santa Bárbara, created in 1976.2 The backbone of Purabá's economy is agricultural production, particularly sugarcane cultivation, even though sugarcane grows best at lower elevations. Up until 1975, Ingenio Agroindustrial Las Marías was a buyer of agricultural products for domestic consumption, but it moved to Grecia in 1975.
Like much of Costa Rica, the Comisión Nacional de Prevención de Riesgos (National Risk Prevention Commission) puts Purabá in a high-risk zone. This is due to the district's mountainous geography, which can lead to landslides and flooding. The highest part of Purabá is on the lower slopes of the Barva Massif, also known as Barva Volcano, at 2.400 metres (7.87 ft) above sea level. The lowest part, at San Juan, is at 1.000 metre (3.281 ft) above sea level. The Barva volcanic massif is part of a mountain range which includes volcanic cones. So part of Purabá de Santa Bárbara is in the foothills of Barva Volcano. Several large rivers run through Purabá. These include Quebrada Setillal, Rio Ciruelas, Rio Pacayas, Rio Dorita. In 2010, the canton outlined plans to prevent future natural disasters in the district.
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Wikipedia