Almost two centuries have gone by since our beautiful province of Guanacaste, home to the world-renown Gold Coast, annexed to Costa Rica. Prior to this historic day, the area now known today as Guanacaste was part of the Nicaragua country. Exactly 195 years and 1 day ago, an ambassador representing the county of Nicoya submitted an annexation request to the Central American Federation, with signatures and documents collected from the people of the province that were tired of the civil wars that were taking place in Nicaragua at the time and the excessive violence that came with them.
In honor of this critical moment in the history of Costa Rica and of Guanacaste, the date of July 25th became a national holiday called in Spanish “Dia de la Anexion de Guanacaste” or “Guanacaste Annexation Day” in English. All the banks, government offices, post offices, schools, most businesses and commercial centers throughout the country close down for this special day. And of course, the province of Guanacaste celebrates the hardest! There are parades, dances, traditional music and food/drinks sales in most of the communities within the province, setting a very folkloric tone to the environment in the streets during this day. 
The "Guanacastecos" (inhabitants of the Guanacaste province) have always been well identified with Costa Rica and take pride in being a part of this country. Proof of this is their famous slogan “de la patria por nuestra voluntad”, which means “part of this country by our own choice”. The Guanacaste Annexation Day is a real treat and one that will clearly demonstrate the great pride the people of Guanacaste take for their province and for Costa Rica. Since its annexation to Costa Rica, Guanacaste has become a very important part, especially economically and culturally, of our beautiful country.
Derrick Rowland, RE/MAX Administrative Assistant