Sarchí

Sarchí is the capital city of the canton of Valverde Vega in the province of Alajuela in Costa Rica. The city is composed of two distritos (districts), Sarchí Norte and Sarchí Sur.

The district of Sarchí Norte covers an area of 15.11 km² (1), including the central area of the city. It has a population of 6,912 (2). The district of Sarchí Sur covers an area of 6.51 km² (1), and has a population of 4,659 (2).

The city lies at an elevation of 970 meters above sea level (1) on the slopes of the Cordillera Central (Central Mountain Range) at the eastern edge of the Central Valley. It is 27 kilometers northwest of the provincial capital city of Alajuela, and 46 kilometers from the national capital city of San Jose.

Sarchí is Costa Rica's most famous crafts center. The town offers more than 200 stores and small family-operated woodworking factories producing wooden bowls and other tableware, fold-up rocking chairs of wood and leather, and a wide variety of kitschy items. The most popular items on sale are "carretas", elaborately painted oxcarts that traditionally carried coffee from the highlands down to the port on the Pacific coast.

History

Originally was settled by Ambrosio Alfaro Godinez in the second half of XIX Century.The original Aztec name Sarchí means "potrero" or open field used to keep horses and cattle, the first settlers found it in that condition, and surrounded by tropical rain forest. Reference from Evly Inksetter, the first county historian.The name of Sarchí comes from the Aztec word "xalachi", which means "relax placeThe town was granted the title of "ciudad" (city) by a law of September 21, 1963.

It was also the place where serial furniture manufacture started in Costa Rica, around 1890 decade with a design of Daniel Alfaro Corrales, and later mass produced by his brother Pedro Juvenal Alfaro Corrales, those furnitures, in special the chairs are know as "sillas sarchí" and are easily recognized because all the parts were turned. Eloy Alfaro Corrales, the youngest brother was partner with Pedro Juvenal, but later started his own business of Oxcart making when he bought the workshop of Sem Perez who in turn bought from Hacienda La Eva

Daniel Alfaro Corrales also designed the segmented oxcart wooden wheel in use today, making the wheel stronger than the original one piece, or the improved three pieces design.

Valverde Vega was create canton (County) in 1949, after more than forty years of struggle.

Places of Interest

* Church: One of Costa Rica's most beautiful houses of worship, this "wedding cake" church features a vaulted hardwood ceiling and carvings contributed by local artisans. (Sarchí Norte).

* Fábrica de Carretas Joaquín Chaverri: the oldest and most famous of the factories producing brightly painted oxcarts. (Sarchí Sur)

* Mercado de Artesanías a large warehouse-like store selling crafts of all kinds, operated by a Crafstmen's cooperative. (on the edge of Sarchí Norte, along the road to Naranjo and next to the gas station)

* Plaza de la Artesanía: a large modern mall of souvenir shops where numerous buses carrying tourists from San José and elsewhere arrive throughout the day. (Sarchí Sur)

* Taller Eloy Alfaro (He was know in the town as "Don Lolo"): a workshop that produces oxcarts using machinery powered by a waterwheel, with the most of same machines used in the manufacturing of the oxcart from late XIX century in the original workshop in Hacienda la Eva (Sarchí Norte, two blocks north of the church).

* World's Largest Oxcart: A huge, brightly-painted carreta that sits in the Parque Central in front of the church in Sarchí Norte. It was built in 2006 in order to get the name of the town into The Guinness Book of World Records. The plan was a success.

Typical dances: every september 15th people come to park to enjoy the typical dancesall of this is carried out in front of the church.

Patronal parties: on july 25 we celebrate the patronal parties in honor of our patronous people make typical foods and sell them everyone share and enjoy this party.

References

#Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN), 2001.
#Estimates of Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (INEC), May 2003.