la garza legend

Chorotega-Mangue Legend

Garza, or La Garza Beach, is a coastal place in the Nicoya region, where a small and recent settlement lives mainly from the exploitation of valuable timber trees, such as cedar, pochote, cocobolo, and mahogany. The origin of its name is told in the following legend.

Long before white, bearded men appeared on the shores washed by the Gulf of Nicoya—that immense sapphire set in a crown of amethyst and emerald hills—the warlike chief Diriá sent a large expedition of warriors to fight the tribes of Nosara.

Like swift and silent coyotes, the men from Diriá crossed dense forests, swam across rivers with their weapons strapped to their backs, and opened deer trails under the green canopy of the woods. After two days of marching, they caught sight of one of the rancherías of the people of Nosara.

Some Nosaran hunters discovered their enemies and ran to warn the villagers. The conch tlícpure sounded, filling the air with dread. Men, women, and children fled to the nearby mountains, seeking to escape the invaders and gain time to fight them back.

The battle was fierce. For several days, arrows and hatchets from both sides struck down warriors, piercing chests or shattering heads crowned with parrot feathers.

Gradually losing ground, the Nosarans retreated toward the coast; their brave tapaliguis refused to yield without a fight. Yet the tide of battle seemed to favor the subjects of the great chief Diriá. Despite the courage of its warriors, Nosara was close to defeat: their chief had fallen, their best fighters had been slain, and panic began to spread among the ranks.

In that desperate moment, a woman stepped forward to lead the fight. She was beautiful and agile, with skin the color of golden cinnamon. She moved swiftly from one place to another, encouraging the warriors; even the wounded regained strength and spirit at the sight of her bravery and determination. She guided them with such valor that at last, the Nosarans managed to drive the invaders away.

As the sun set on the final day of battle, the victors began to gather their dead and tend to their wounded, who lay scattered on the sands of the beach. There, they found the maiden who had saved them from certain defeat lying motionless near the water, bleeding from a wound to her chest. Beside her stood a slender, dark-feathered heron, its plumage stained with blood, as if keeping watch.

The maiden died, and the heron spread its wings in a majestic flight over that beach—La Playa de la Garza—before slowly disappearing into a horizon of fiery light and splendid blue.

Recuperado de Editora Las Américas. (1956). Páginas ticas: Libro para el primer año de los colegios secundarios. San José, Costa Rica: Editora Las Américas. (Leyenda “Playa de la Garza”, pp. 18–20)