Misplaced Pages

You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Spanish. (October 2024) Click for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the Spanish article. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Misplaced Pages. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Spanish Misplaced Pages article at ]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|es|Cantón de Montes de Oca}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Misplaced Pages:Translation.

Montes de Oca
Canton
Fuente de la Hispanidad, roundabout under Route 39 and on Route 2
FlagSeal
Motto(s): Cuna de la Educación Superior (Cradle of Higher Education)
Montes de Oca canton
Montes de OcaMontes de Oca canton location in San José ProvinceShow map of San José ProvinceMontes de OcaMontes de Oca canton location in Costa RicaShow map of Costa Rica
Coordinates: 9°56′24″N 84°00′40″W / 9.940046°N 84.0110652°W / 9.940046; -84.0110652
Country	Costa Rica
Province	San José
Creation	1 August 1915
Named for	Don Faustino Montes de Oca
Head city	San Pedro
Districts	Districts San Pedro Sabanilla Mercedes San Rafael
Government
• Type	Municipality
• Body	Municipalidad de Montes de Oca
• Mayor	Domingo Arguello García (PUSC)
Area
• Total	15.78 km (6.09 sq mi)
Elevation	1,262 m (4,140 ft)
Population
• Total	49,132
• Estimate	53,862
• Density	3,100/km (8,100/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−06:00
Canton code	115
Website	montesdeoca.go.cr

Montes de Oca is a canton in the San José province of Costa Rica. The head city of the canton is San Pedro.

Toponymy

Its name honors a former congressional representative from the area, Don Faustino Montes de Oca (1859–1902).

History

Montes de Oca was created on 1 August 1915 by decree 45.

Government

Mayor

According to Costa Rica's Municipal Code, mayors are elected every four years by the population of the canton. As of the latest municipal elections in 2024, the Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC) candidate, Domingo Arguello García, was elected mayor of the canton with 25.56% of the votes, with Haydee Castillo Castro and Andrés Vesalio Guzmán Gómez as first and second vice mayors, respectively.

Mayors of Montes de Oca since the 2002 elections

Period	Name	Party
2002–2006	Sonia María Montero Díaz	PAC
2006–2010	Fernando Trejos Ballestero	UPC
2010–2016		PRC
2016–2020	Marcel Soler Rubio	CGMO
2020–2024
2024–2028	Domingo Arguello García	PUSC

Municipal Council

Like the mayor and vice mayors, members of the Municipal Council (called regidores) are elected every four years. Montes de Oca's Municipal Council has 7 seats for regidores and their substitutes, who can participate in meetings but not vote unless the owning regidor (regidor propietario) is absent. The current president of the Municipal Council is National Liberation Party regidor Enrique Sibaja Granados, with Social Christian Unity Party regidora Jeiny Lizano Vargas as vice-president. The Municipal Council's composition for the 2024–2028 period is as follows:

Composition of the Municipal Council of Montes de Oca after the 2024 municipal elections

Political parties in the Municipal Council of Montes de Oca
Political party			Regidores
			№	Owner	Substitute
	Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC)		2	Jeiny Lizano Vargas	Jessica Viviana Mora Romero
				Jeison Francisco Salazar López	Jorge Antonio Mora Portuguez
	Montes de Oca People Coalition (CGMO)		2	Carolina Monge Castilla	Kimberly María Ortiz Villalta
				Jorge Luis Espinoza Camacho	Gustavo Campos Alfaro
	National Liberation Party (PLN)		1	Enrique Sibaja Granados	Danilo Rodríguez Arias
	We Are Montes de Oca Coalition (CSMO)		1	Marta Cleotilde Corrales Sánchez	Irene Salazar Carvajal
	In Common Party (PEC)		1	Kattia López Alvarado	Maritere Alvarado Achio

Geography

Montes de Oca has an area of 15.78 km (6.09 sq mi) and a mean elevation of 1,262 m (4,140 ft).

The elongated canton reaches from the suburbs of the national capital of San José eastward to the province of Cartago, and neighbors the cantons of Curridabat, San José, Cartago, and Goicoechea. The Torres River delineate a portion of the northern boundary, while the Ocloro River and Poró Creek mark the southern boundary.

Districts

The canton of Montes de Oca is subdivided into the following districts:

1. San Pedro
2. Sabanilla
3. Mercedes
4. San Rafael

Demographics

Montes de Oca had an estimated 53,862 inhabitants in 2022, up from 49,132 at the time of the 2011 census.

The canton is known for its high level of commercial development, the number of universities and other centers of higher education, and its active night life. It is one of the most urbanized and vibrant cantons in the San José area, both day and night.

In 2022, Montes de Oca ranked fourth highest in the Costa Rican cantonal Human Development Index, with a score of 0.857.

Education

Montes de Oca is known in Costa Rica as the Cradle of Higher Education as it is home to the University of Costa Rica as well as other university-level centers of study, such as the Universidad Latina and the Universidad Americana (UAM) Escuela Laboratorio. The canton can boast of 99% literacy, compared with 95% in Costa Rica at large.

Points of interest

• Fuente de la Hispanidad (The Fountain of Hispanity), a large fountain in a major roundabout built in the mid-80s that focuses on Costa Rica's cultural heritage. It is a major landmark in the area.
• Mall San Pedro, a shopping center built in the mid-90s, contains tattoo parlors, a movie theater, a food court, video game shops, and clothing stores.
• Iglesia de San Pedro (San Pedro Catholic Church)
• Calle de la Amargura (Bitterness Street) a street centered around the nightlife of the University of Costa Rica.

Transportation

Road transportation

The canton is covered by the following road routes:

• National Route 2
• National Route 39
• National Route 201
• National Route 202
• National Route 203
• National Route 306

Rail transportation

The Interurbano Line operated by Incofer goes through this canton.

Notes

1. Also legally named Heidi Castillo Castro.

References

1. ^ "Declara oficial para efectos administrativos, la aprobación de la División Territorial Administrativa de la República N°41548-MGP". Sistema Costarricense de Información Jurídica (in Spanish). 19 March 2019. Retrieved 26 September 2020.
2. ^ División Territorial Administrativa de la República de Costa Rica (PDF) (in Spanish). Editorial Digital de la Imprenta Nacional. 8 March 2017. ISBN 978-9977-58-477-5.
3. ^ Asamblea Legislativa de la República de Costa Rica (13 May 2024). "Código Municipal" [Municipal Code]. Sistema Costarricense de Información Jurídica (in Spanish).
4. Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (8 March 2024). "N.° 1658-E11-2024 - Declaratoria de elección de alcaldías y vicealcaldías de las municipalidades de los cantones de la provincia de San José, para el período comprendido entre el primero de mayo de dos mil veinticuatro y el treinta de abril de dos mil veintiocho" (in Spanish).
5. Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones. "Resoluciones declaratorias de elección". Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (in Spanish).
6. Municipalidad de Moravia (14 October 2024). "Miembros del Concejo". Retrieved 30 October 2024.
7. Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (12 February 2024). "N.° 2218-E11-2024 - Declaratoria de elección de regidurías de las municipalidades de los cantones de la provincia de San José, para el período comprendido entre el primero de mayo de dos mil veinticuatro y el treinta de abril de dos mil veintiocho" (in Spanish).
8. Instituto Geográfico Nacional de Costa Rica (20 June 2024). "División Territorial Administrativa, 2024" [Administrative Territorial Division, 2024] (PDF) (in Spanish).
9. "Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos" (in Spanish).
10. Centro Centroamericano de Población de la Universidad de Costa Rica. "Sistema de Consulta a Bases de Datos Estadísticas" (in Spanish).
11. Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (July 2023). Estimación de Población y Vivienda 2022 : Resultados Generales [2022 Population and Housing Estimate : General Results] (PDF) (in Spanish). ISBN 9789930525753.
12. "Censo. 2011. Población total por zona y sexo, según provincia, cantón y distrito". Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos (in Spanish). Retrieved 26 September 2020.
13. Sistema Nacional de Información y Registro Único de Beneficiarios del Estado; Escuela de Estadística de la Universidad de Costa Rica; Programa de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo (9 June 2023). "Atlas de Desarrollo Humano Cantonal en Costa Rica, 2022".

This Costa Rican location article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

• v
• t
• e

• Costa Rica geography stubs
• Cantons of San José Province
• Populated places in San José Province
• Greater Metropolitan Area (Costa Rica)