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Vázquez de Coronado
Vázquez de Coronado
Canton
	Church of San Isidro de Coronado
	Flag Seal
	Nickname: Coronado
	Vázquez de Coronado canton
	Vázquez de Coronado Vázquez de Coronado canton location in San José Province Vázquez de Coronado Vázquez de Coronado canton location in Costa Rica
	Coordinates: 10°04′33″N 83°56′53″W / 10.0759249°N 83.948042°W
Country	Costa Rica
Province	San José
Creation	15 November 1910
Local Celebration	15 May Saint Isidro Labrador's Day
Head city	San Isidro
Districts	Districts San Isidro; San Rafael; Dulce Nombre de Jesús; Patalillo; Cascajal;
Government
• Type	Municipality
• Body	Municipalidad de Vázquez de Coronado
• Mayor	Yamilet Quesada Zúñiga (PLN)
Area
• Total	223.93 km2 (86.46 sq mi)
Elevation	1,414 m (4,639 ft)
Population (2011)
• Total	60,486
• Estimate (2022)	67,078
• Density	270/km2 (700/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−06:00
Canton code	111
Website	www.coromuni.go.cr

Vázquez de Coronado, and commonly known just as Coronado, is the eleventh canton in the province of San José in Costa Rica. The head city of the canton is San Isidro.^[1]^[2]

Toponymy

Named in honor of the first Spanish colonial governor of Costa Rica, Juan Vázquez de Coronado, nephew of the famous explorer Francisco Vázquez de Coronado.

History

Vázquez de Coronado was created on 15 November 1910 by decree 17.^[2]

Geography

Río Sucio in Braulio Carrillo National Park.

Vázquez de Coronado has an area of 223.93 km² (86.46 sq mi) and a mean elevation of 1,414 m (4,639 ft) metres.^[3]^[1]

The canton of the highlands rises out of the suburbs of San José to encompass a major portion of the Cordillera Central (Central Mountain Range) and Braulio Carrillo National Park. The Sucio River forms the western boundary of the canton, while the Macho, Zurquí and Patria rivers establish the canton's limits to the east. The northern tip of the canton is marked by the confluence of the Sucio and Patria rivers.

The canton is geologically formed from volcanic materials associated with the Irazú and Barva volcanoes. It has an irregular morphology with soils suitable for agriculture and dairy farming.

Coronado has a maximum altitude of 1,510 m in San Rafael district and a minimum of 1,335 m in Patalillo district. The canton has rivers that descend to the Atlantic seaboard such as Sucio, Patria and Zurquí that also serve as boundaries with the provinces of Cartago, Heredia and the canton of Moravia respectively.

In the Pacific slope, the rivers Agra, Ipís and the Virilla and its tributaries (Durazno, Macho, Quebrada Varela). The rivers Ipís, Durazno and Macho serve as boundaries of the canton, the first two with Goicoechea and the last with Moravia.

Government

Mayor

According to Costa Rica's Municipal Code, mayors are elected every four years by the population of the canton.^[4] As of the latest municipal elections in 2024, the National Liberation Party candidate, Yamilet Quesada Zúñiga, was elected mayor of the canton with 25.57% of the votes, with Oscar Delgado Araya and Luisa María Vega Matamoros as first and second vice mayors, respectively.^[5]

Mayors of Vázquez de Coronado since the 2002 elections^[6]
Period	Name	Party
2002–2006	Rolando Méndez Soto	PUSC
2006–2010	Leonardo Herrera Sánchez	PLN
2010–2016	Leonardo Herrera Sánchez	PLN
2016–2020	Rolando Méndez Soto	PRSC
2020–2024	Rolando Méndez Soto	PRSC
2024–2028	Yamilet Quesada Zúñiga	PLN

Municipal Council

Like the mayor and vice mayors, members of the Municipal Council (called regidores) are elected every four years. Vázquez de Coronado'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.^[4] The current president of the Municipal Council is the Authentic Farmer's Party of Coronado member María Jimena Alvarado Zúñiga.^[7] The Municipal Council's composition for the 2024–2028 period is as follows:

Current composition of the Municipal Council of Vázquez de Coronado after the 2024 municipal elections^[8]
Political parties in the Municipal Council of Vázquez de Coronado

Political party		Regidores
Political party		№	Owner	Substitute
	National Liberation Party (PLN)	2	Alejandro Vinicio González Jiménez	Heiner Esteban Baroni Quirós
	National Liberation Party (PLN)	2	Ana Yancy Rojas Morales	Karla Marcela Ortíz Méndez
	Authentic Farmer's Party of Coronado (PALABRA)	2	Jean Carlo Arroyo Brenes	Michael Mora Solís
	Authentic Farmer's Party of Coronado (PALABRA)	2	María Jimena Alvarado Zúñiga^(P)	Mildred Campos Sandoval
	Social Democratic Progress Party (PSD)	2	Hilda María Zúñiga Lizano	Silvia Méndez Mata
	Social Democratic Progress Party (PSD)	2	Harold Enrique Majik Rosales	Keylor Vargas Monge
	Social Christian Unity Party (PUSC)	1	Jason Gerald Gutiérrez Lara	David Rojas Rojas

Climate

The canton has high rainfall and a typical mountain climate, in fact, many Costa Ricans traditionally associate this canton with its cold climate.

Districts

The canton of Vázquez de Coronado is subdivided into the following districts:

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	±% p.a.
1927	4,161	—
1950	6,124	+1.69%
1963	10,615	+4.32%
1973	16,336	+4.41%
1984	24,514	+3.76%
2000	55,585	+5.25%
2011	60,486	+0.77%
2022	67,078	+0.94%
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos^[9] Centro Centroamericano de Población^[10]

Vázquez de Coronado was estimated to have a population of 67,078 people in 2022, up from 60,486 at the time of the 2011 census.^[11]^[12]

In 2022, Vázquez de Coronado had a Human Development Index of 0.801.^[13]

Economy

The main economic activities include dairy farming, dairy and agribusiness, coffee and other agricultural products, trade, and services such tourism. The municipality has a vibrant commercial activity of the most diverse nature which involves factories, supermarkets, grocery stores, private health services, agro-veterinary services, bank branches, clothing and footwear, electrical shops, restaurants, video stores, bars and more.

Public Services

Since the fire that affected Dr. Rafael Calderon Guardia Hospital Nacional in 2005, the Coronado Integrated Health Center serves 24-hour emergency and outpatient. Emergencies of all kinds are served and the center supports Goicoechea and Moravia cantons that do not have emergency services 24 hours, or on Saturdays, Sundays or holidays. Currently the Directorate Medical Center is in charge of Dr. Rojas Cerna, and coordination of emergency services is in charge of Soto Porras, Charpantier and Rivera doctors.

Institutions

The canton of Coronado is home to important institutions such as :

Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture [es] (IICA)
National Olympic Committee
Research Institute Clodomiro Picado Twight of the Faculty of Microbiology of the University of Costa Rica, dedicated to research with snakes and serums against the venom of these animals
Nursing home of the Missionaries of Charity in turn serves as a base of operations in Central America
Coronado Day Center for Seniors
Self-Advocates Health Association of Coronado, who owns the Home Institution Saving alcoholic and drug addict Coronado, where treatment is given on additions
National Council for Scientific and Technological Research (CONICIT)