Escazu

The city of Escazu lies in the Central Valley of San Jose, Costa Rica; offering one of the best weather in Costa Rica all year round. It is usually never too cold or too hot in Escazu. Rain occurs during the rainy season, but it usually rains for no more than a few hours or less during the afternoon and the mornings are almost always sunny. According to Costa Rica history records Escazu was discovered by the Spanish Conquistador Juan de Caballon in 1561. Pre-colombian (meaning before the arrival of Christopher Columbus to America) inhabitants lived in the Huetar Reign under the rule of the tribal Chief Garabito. The name Escazu comes from the indigenous word izt-kat-zu which means resting stone. The indigenous story says that the area where the Escazu currently is was a place where indigenous people stopped to rest at its stones when they were traveling from the south part of the current San Jose City to a location in Ciudad Colon in Santa Ana. During the Costa Rica Conquest most of the indigenous inhabitants moved to remote mountain areas to hide from the Spanish.

Spanish settlers built the first Escazu Church (San Miguel Church that is still standing and in great shape in the center of Escazu) during the year of 1799. By 1801 the population of Escazu was of about 1325 individuals. In 1920 Escazu was granted the status of City. Escazu has an area of 13 square meters and is constituted by the smaller villages of San Rafael de Escazu, San Antonio de Escazu, and Guachipelin. These villages used to be were rural and agricultural. Currently San Rafael de Escazu has become a highly commercial area with a lot of suburban residency areas and highly priced beautiful condominiums in Costa Rica. San Antonio de Escazu still mainly contains rural big areas that mix with huge non agricultural properties of wealthy local families. Guachipelin is currently becoming an enormous upscale residential area. Bello Horizonte de Escazu is an even smaller and secluded residential area that has been made home to many foreign residents since approximate 20 years ago.

Escazu is five miles away from San Jose City and around 25 minutes from the International Airport Juan Santamaria (not on rush hour thou). The first school and the municipality in Escazu were built in 1876, the main roads were paved with stones in 1869, sewers systems and water plumbing were built in 1908, and 1909 was the year that Escazu had electrical power to light its stone paved streets and some houses.

When you visit Escazu you will see some images or logos around of a silhouette of a witch flying in a broom, the reason for this is that Escazu has been known for centuries as the City of Witches. The actual and true reason for it being called like this is not known, but there are several versions. One is that old indigenous descendant women used to give away herbs and blends to any community member that will be looking for a natural remedy. These ladies will also prepare potions and advice people for more magical purposes such as making people fall in love, on how to obtain luck, repel evil spirits, and such. There is also a type of owl that makes a sound like a giggle that people have said to be witches flying around. The other version is that during the early settlement of the Escazu there were many orthodox Jewish families living here and that the other inhabitants thought some of their customs were quiet strange (especially for the uneducated about other distinctive cultures) so they referred to them as witches or sorcerers, and thus Escazu Village got the reputation of being the town of witches. All these different stories together could have also been the reason why Escazu was given its reputation for being a witches’ town. In addition, most people from rural areas of Escazu believe at different levels in magical or supernatural legends, legends that have been passed by generations, as it is part of the Escazu folklore.

Escazu has some old buildings still standing from the early Costa Rica times, with white stucco or bahareque walls and clay roofs (teja roofs). Oxcarts can still be seen used by agricultural farmers, the same way their ancestors did to carry sugar cane and wood. Some old rural houses still use wood ovens and stone corn grinders. Quite a picturesque sight really. San Rafael de Escazu still celebrates an ancient oxcart parade each year.