San Marcos de Tarrazú

San Marcos or San Marcos de Tarrazú is the capital city of the canton of Tarrazú in the province of San José in Costa Rica. It is also the name of the distrito (district) that includes the city. The district of San Marcos covers an area of 42.07 km², and has a population of 8,817.

The city lies at an elevation of 1,429 meters above sea level in a mountainous area known as Los Santos, 70 kilometers south of the national capital city of San José.

The city was founded in the 1820s by agricultural migrants from the Central Valley. The region's earliest residents were dedicated to growing basic foodstuffs, namely beans, corn, and sugar cane. Local farmers started growing coffee in the highland valley in the 1890s. The region is best known for its high quality coffee.

San Marcos de Tarrazu is located in the north bank of the Pirris River, in a highland valley surrounded by mountains that are part of the Talamanca Sierra in southern Costa Rica. Downtown San Marcos is 1350 meters above sea level but is surrounded by peaks as high as 3000 meters above sea level.

Its geography is suited to growing coffee, mostly because the slopes of the mountains face the morning light and the cloud cover protects the coffee trees in the afternoon. The red soil found in the valley is of volcanic origin. All this plus the altitude make ideal conditions to grow the coffees harvested by locals.

Downtown San Marcos de Tarrazu - Catholic Church in the background

Concepcion de Tarrazu highlands near Quepos Port, Costa Rica

Naranjillo de Tarrazu, as seen from Concepcion, near Port Quepos

Coffee fields Quebrada Honda de Tarrazu

Downtown San Marcos de Tarrazu National bank branch to the left and the popular "Bar El Banco" to the right, in a busy December afternoon

The Tarrazú county or canton is divided in three districts: San Marcos de Tarrazu, San Lorenzo, and San Carlos. The first district is the commerce center of the entire valley. This region has a deep-seated political relationship with the Liberacion Nacional political party that stems back to the 1948 Civil War. Jose "Pepe" Figueres and his troops were not only headquartered in the neighboring community of Santa Maria de Dota, but the main concentration camp of political prisoners for these forces was housed in San Marcos' school. Moreover, a vast majority of Figueres' foot soldiers were from the present-day cantons of Tarrazu, Dota, and Leon Cortes. Furthermore, most of Figueres' workers at his cabuya hacienda, "La Lucha Sin Fin," were from this same region.

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Wikipedia