👉 🇨🇷 Spanish Version here
MONUMENTAL CHRONICLE: THE ARIAS CHAVES DYNASTY, THE PIONEER LANDOWNERS, AND THE HISTORICAL FOUNDATION OF LA GUÁCIMA DE ALAJUELA
Historical Investigation and Compilation of Oral Memory Performed by the Independent Costa Rican Writer: Cira Arroyo Fuentes – Fisherman of words and thoughts.
"WE ARE ALL EQUAL BEFORE GOD, NO ONE IS MORE OR LESS THAN ANYONE ELSE, THAT IS WHY WE MUST NEVER EXALT OURSELVES NOR DIMINISH OURSELVES BEFORE OTHERS, BUT TREAT EVERY PERSON AS AN EQUAL." (This is my Official Motto as an Author) — Fixed gazes and an unshakeable dignity in black and white: this look of myself, Cira Arroyo Fuentes, alongside my grandmother the matriarch Doña María Arias Chaves in this collage, unites us across two generations of the same lineage where material land changes, but the true wealth of the soul and letters remains eternal.
✍️ Author: Cira Arroyo Fuentes
📅 Wednesday, July 15, 2026 – 2:12 PM
📜 © 2015 - 2026 All rights reserved
📌 Introduction
Philosophical Introduction: The Eternity of Letters vs. The Gold That Runs Out
There is an implacable spiritual law in human destiny: material things are fleeting, but the word inspired by God remains forever. In a world running wildly after money, savage materialism, and the accumulation of estates, most people live under complete slavery, chasing external riches that are here today and gone tomorrow, ignoring the eternal proverb that all that glitters is not gold.
True wealth is not measured in square meters nor is it bought with stolen deeds; real wealth is in the air, lives inside the human being, and is consolidated through unbreakable communion with God, with Christ, and with the Holy Spirit. This chronicle is the living testimony of that principle. Those who inhabit the district of La Guácima de Alajuela today walk on ground whose material history was parceled out and transformed, but whose spiritual heritage has been rescued from oblivion by the legitimate right of one of its descendants. Money and possessions can be lost or inherited by strangers, but the gift of letters, the ability to give counsel, and the mission to bring the truth to light is an infinite gift from the Almighty that no one can snatch away. This research remains perpetually engraved in the immensity of the internet under the seal of Cira Arroyo Fuentes, shielding the memory of the founders against the pact of silence of those who today pretend to be wealthy and operate in hypocrisy.
📜 Message
Section I: The Primordial Trunks and the Legal Backing of 1925
The civil, agricultural, and urban origin of La Guácima de Alajuela is indissolubly linked to the colonial marriage of the author's great-grandparents, Don Rafael Arias Castillo, known historically as Ñor Rafael, and Doña Bartola Sebastiana Chaves Vargas. Historical and genealogical records show that this family clan originally came from migratory flows from the neighboring province of Heredia, uniting strategic borders for agriculture between San Antonio de Belén and San Antonio de Alajuela, until entering what at that time was the virgin plain of Guácima Abajo.
Ñor Rafael and Doña Bartola Sebastiana established themselves as the absolute pioneers and first settlers of the district, consolidating dominion over the mother farms, which were excessively large extensions of land dedicated to large-scale cattle ranching and the cultivation of coffee and sugar cane. This monumental territorial and material fortune was fully documented before the Judicial Power of the Republic of Costa Rica after the passing of the matriarch.
On June sixth, nineteen twenty-five, the historic Probate Court File of Bartola Chaves Vargas was formally opened in the central canton, processed under Civil Archive Number zero zero six two three zero in the Court of Alajuela. The legal inventories and notary protocols of this probate process valued the properties at the colossal figure of thirty-three thousand six hundred thirty-seven gold colones, a monumental fortune for the era that demonstrated the status of the dynasty as the largest landowners in the region, whose properties spanned what are today neighborhoods, institutions, and entire urban quadrants of the province.
Section II: Who Is Who in the Arias Chaves Brotherhood and the Real Donations
From the common trunk of Rafael Arias Castillo and Bartola Sebastiana Chaves Vargas, the legitimate brotherhood of the Arias Chaves was born.
State records and death lawsuits accurately list the order and identity of this Dynasty of Landowners. However, oral history and documents from the National Archive draw a clear and forceful line between those siblings who used their immense wealth for public service and charity, and those who maintained a strictly private profile.
"Don Ismael Arias Chaves (1870–1935) – The Anonymous Agro-Industrial Philanthropist"
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CTgWB9FDK/
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19D8sFGsGF/
Was the eldest son of the clan, a man of great bearing, respect, and commercial vision. His philanthropic legacy in the province of Alajuela was immense; he financed with his own capital and land donations the construction of the old building of the María Auxiliadora High School in downtown Alajuela, boosting formal female education. He contributed large sums of money for the consolidation of the temples of the Alajuela Cathedral, the Church of La Agonía, and the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Parochial chronicles remember him as the noble man who used his fortune to help combat many hungers in a completely anonymous way, rejecting tributes and keeping silent about his own works. In his old age, his cattle investments extended outside of Alajuela, and his passing was registered on his property named Alajuela Farm, in Piedras Blancas de Osa, Puntarenas.
Don Juan "Juancito" Arias Chaves
Married to Doña Silvia Solera Chaverri, is the name that shines brightest in the geographical heart of the district. Facing the economic incapacity of the local governments of the era, he parceled out his own wealth in favor of communal progress. He directly donated the land and initial infrastructure for the construction of the current Immaculate Conception of Mary Parish of La Guácima. Likewise, he segregated from his farms the lot for the adjacent public plaza, the land for the foundation of the first Public School, today known as the Gabriela Mistral School, and the entire terrain destined for the Local Cemetery of La Guácima. When the State promoted the development of the Pacific Railroad, Juancito Arias signed the right of way and freely ceded strips of land from his haciendas for the laying of the railway line, additionally opening local roads so that small farmers could transport their harvests without paying private tolls.
Doña María Arias Chaves was the grandmother of the author and a legitimate heiress of part of the family lands recognized in the state probate lawsuits.
While her brothers managed the legal transfers and signing of public deeds, Doña María executed the most humane, direct, and pure charity. She managed with a just hand the grain warehouses and resources of the haciendas to constantly donate food, clothing, and sustenance to the families of the laborers and the humblest neighbors of the town in times of crisis or sickness. She was the spiritual soul of the church of La Guácima; from her own heritage, she donated the first liturgical vestments, the fine linens, and the sacred religious images brought in oxcarts with which the temple was dressed for the very first time, granting soul and inner beauty to the physical structure that her brother Juancito built.
Don José Arias Chaves was born alongside Doña María Arias Chaves, making Don José and Doña María the youngest twin siblings of the entire lineage of the Arias Chaves. Formally registered as a co-owner in the divisions of the mother farms and in the boundary disputes of the canton of Alajuela, he shared the protection of the colonial territorial empire as the younger siblings of the lineage.
Doña Eloísa Arias Chaves was a legitimate daughter of the pioneers, married to Don Gabriel Vargas, and faithfully cited in the author's memories as part of the direct roots of the family landowner clan.
Doña Rafaela Arias Chaves, daughter of Ñor Rafael and Doña Bartola, was married to Don Benjamín Castillo Cordero. She possessed a deep gaze and the characteristic narrow eyes that denoted the intelligence and shrewdness of the lineage. Unlike her siblings Ismael, Juancito, or María, whose selflessness remained engraved in the public infrastructure of the town, Doña Rafaela maintained a strictly private and reserved profile. There are no official records of public donations or communal charity in her name; her role concentrated purely on the internal administration of her assets, the conservation of borders, and private family succession, marking the historical difference in the town between those who decided to give away their wealth and those who opted to shield their possessions.
Section III: The Destiny of the Land: From Adobe to the Juan Santamaría International Airport
The material immensity of the territorial empire of the Arias Chaves suffered the impact of time, the ambition of others, and the development of the State. One of the most shocking chronicles of this lineage details that the physical fortune of the great-grandparents Ñor Rafael and Doña Bartola Sebastiana included large amounts of legitimate pesos and gold escudos, hidden jealously in metal jars inside the old adobe walls of the hacienda houses. After the passing of the years, once the lands were sold, outsiders and trusted workers demolished those ancestral structures, taking ownership of the hidden wealth to finance trips abroad or to set up aesthetic businesses and beauty salons in downtown San José, transforming the fortune of the pioneers into the benefit of others.
However, the greatest territorial blow occurred at the provincial level. The immense cattle and agricultural plains that belonged to the successions and branches of the Arias Chaves siblings in the southern sector of the central canton of Alajuela, what was originally known as Barrio El Coco and Ciruelas, were declared of public utility by the Costa Rican state. In the decade of nineteen forty-nine, the central government applied massive expropriation processes on these family mother farms for the construction of the new and modern El Coco International Airport, which was inaugurated in the decade of nineteen fifty and later renamed as the Juan Santamaría International Airport. The airplanes of the most important air terminal of the Republic of Costa Rica take off and land today on the original soil that the Arias Chaves ancestors colonized.
This legal fragmentation gave way to the arrival of the commercial new rich of the province. Landowners and buyers of the new era, such as the famous local merchant known as Pollo Macho, Don Fernando Chavarría Ardón, dedicated themselves to acquiring at opportunity prices the rights to the mother farms that the numerous successions of the old families were forced to parcel out. In this way, the empire of the founders cemented the modern commercial wealth of Alajuela, whose current heirs today subdivide and sell everything for money, contrasting painfully with the two hundred square meters of sacred and historical soil that the author conserves in La Guácima and defends tooth and nail alongside her son as the last redoubt of her direct root.
Section IV: The "Gospel of Proverbs" of Don Rafael Ángel Arroyo Arias
"Don Rafael Ángel Clímaco de Los Ángeles (known as Ángel Arroyo Arias) was the son of Doña María Arias Chaves and the grandson of the first settlers of La Guácima, Don Rafael Arias Castillo and Doña Bartola Sebastiana Chaves Vargas.
Don Rafael Ángel (May God rest his soul) is my father, which makes me, as the author of this research, a great-granddaughter of that direct line of pioneers."
The true wealth of the Arias Chaves was not extinguished with the fragmentation of the colonial large estates nor with the plunder of the treasures hidden in the adobe. The genetic pattern of selflessness, nobility, and radical honesty was transmitted intact through the paternal line of the author in the unforgettable figure of her father, Don Rafael Ángel Arroyo Arias.
Don Ángel was an extremely hard-working man, endowed with a unique personality and high self-esteem that the author inherited with pride. In the family home of her childhood, Don Ángel's behavior reflected the spirit of the ancient patriarchs; he loved to fill the house with people and provide food free of charge to everyone who arrived to visit or seek help. Breakfasts, lunches, and coffees were served without looking at who it was, converting the residence into a refuge of hospitality where he and his son were capable of splitting their ration of cheese or plantain in half, or taking the food out of their own mouths just to see others fed and happy. He also possessed a singular nature: he was capable of throwing tremendous arguments in the face of an injustice, but his heart held no grudges; after a few minutes, he would be happy again and continue living with total joy and peace, a noble behavioral trait that cannot be bought with any fortune in the world.
His method of teaching was not based on physical punishments, but on shaping character through a gospel of popular proverbs and maxims of wisdom from the land that instilled the love and fear of God. The official book of proverbs that governed the identity of this home is listed as follows:
Do good without looking at whom, which was the golden rule of the silent charity of the lineage.
Seek peace and pursue it, which was the main commandment to protect the tranquility of the spirit above material fights.
Not all that glitters is gold, which served as a warning against the falsehood of those who flaunt external riches but are empty inside.
Water that you should not drink, let it run, which was the maxim to stay away from the entanglements, vices, and gossip of the town.
The evil that you do, you will pay for it seven times over, representing the divine and implacable law of spiritual sowing and reaping.
He who grasps too much, squeezes little, which was the portrait of disproportionate ambition that ends up losing what is truly important.
To a good listener, few words are needed, representing mental lucidity to capture reality without the need for speeches.
When the river sounds, it carries stones, which was the family instinct to detect the truth behind rumors.
Tell me who you walk with and I will tell you who you are, embodying the principle of social prudence and separation from bad influences.
To a given horse, one does not look at its fang, which taught gratitude and value for the selflessness of others.
Eyes that do not see, heart that does not feel, representing the capacity to move forward without being worn down by what malice hides.
He who rises early is helped by God, and he who is late eats the pack-saddle, highlighting the sacred value of work and daily constancy.
The pitcher goes to the water so often until it breaks, representing the limit of patience before repeated injustices.
Poem in Homage to My Father: Coquettish Little Angel
Written by Cira Arroyo Fuentes on October eleventh, nineteen ninety-eight, in Miami, Florida, after a prophetic dream at dawn where she saw her father saying goodbye next to her bedroom door, hours before receiving the news of his departure to eternal rest:
The day dawned very sad and cold,
I look toward the sky and find no consolation.
A coquettish little angel has gone to heaven,
leaving a void on this ground.
You used to do catwalks through the house,
looking at yourself in the mirror with great pride.
Your bushy eyebrows, your sincere bearing,
oh, my dear old man, how much I love you!
You played at pretending to be dead on the floor,
making us run with great distress.
Today the joke is real, you have departed now,
by the side of God your soul will rest.
In the wings of a dream I saw you depart,
next to my door you went to say goodbye.
You leave me your letters, your peace, your heritage,
and the great pride of your descent.
Section V: The Timid Girl and the Exodus from Miami: The Breaking with the System
Here is the English translation of the text, keeping the original tone and section headers intact.
SECTION V: THE SHY GIRL AND THE MIAMI EXODUS: THE BREAK FROM THE SYSTEM
The author's destiny was marked since childhood by a special sensitivity. That extremely shy girl from La Guácima, who felt so much embarrassment before others that she covered her mouth when speaking, experienced an absolute transformation when she went up on school stages to perform dances, sing songs, and recite poetry. That inner strength led her in 1986 to marry, travel abroad, and embark on an exodus that would keep her residing in the city of Miami, Florida, for nearly 18 years [1.1, 1.5].
Upon her return to the country in 2002, the material and social landscape had changed, but the deepest change occurred in her spirit [1.1, 1.5]. Transformed by the power of God and with a radical faith focused on "for me to live is Christ" due to having lived through very intense spiritual experiences, the author began to serve Christ with greater strength as her life's purpose. She actively began publishing deep reflections on her blogs and social networks against idolatry, social hypocrisy, and the commercial falsehood of her environment. By refusing to participate in the game of appearances, rejecting material vices, and denouncing the moral corruption of traditional families who "pretend to be wealthy," the author began to experience isolation, suspicion, and silence from local clans [1.1, 1.5].
Even in the face of doctrinal attacks and manipulation attempts by those close to her—who try to instill unfounded fears about using new Artificial Intelligence tools to halt her research—the author remains persevering and firm. Her mega-writing does not seek the applause of a people who "read and keep silent," but rather aims to deliver a "kick" of historical and intellectual dignity [1.1.
🔍 "Curiosities of my Inner Lineage":
The Secret Questions of Cira Arroyo Fuentes, Daughter of Rafael Ángel Arroyo Arias, Granddaughter of Doña María Arias Chaves, and Great-Granddaughter of the Patriarch Rafael Arias Castillo and the Matriarch Bartola Sebastiana Chaves Vargas
"When I speak of the curiosities of my inner lineage, I am referring to that deep need I have always had to understand my own spirituality. I have always wondered why I am the way I am inside and why I have such a great capacity to carry so many things inward, processing them in the silence of my soul and in direct communion with God. While most people live focused on the exterior and on appearances, the Holy Spirit has taught me to look inward, turning that introspection into the engine that fuels my faith and my spiritual maturity."
Throughout the years, as I left behind the distractions of childhood to become a meticulous and detailed observer of reality, a constant question has knocked on the doors of my heart regarding the true origin of my own identity. Looking closely at my family portraits, I discover that my similarity with my grandmother Doña María Arias Chaves—mother of my father, Rafael Ángel Arroyo Arias—goes vastly beyond the physical inheritance of deep eyes or a fixed, piercing gaze. I ask myself with profound reverence where this remarkably independent, bold, and sovereign character of mine comes from, which many mistake for rebellion, but is nothing less than the absolute firmness of my soul that flatly refuses to be manipulated by men and has decided to draw back the veil of religious tradition.
There is, however, a gigantic and transcendental spiritual difference between my grandmother's time and my present. Doña María professed a traditional Catholic faith and, although her spirit was filled with a sincere devotion, her worship remained tied to the customs of an era that rendered cult to images, dressed plaster saints, and depended on human rituals. In my case, that inheritance experienced a radical maturation because I did not get to receive a served plate or enjoy the comforts of the ancient grand landowners. My return to Costa Rica after my long exodus was the setting of an absolute wilderness for me; I arrived with nothing material, stripped of everything, and with the sole blessing of preserving the two hundred meters of ancestral land inherited from my father Don Ángel, the last portion of my grandparents' territorial empire.
It was precisely in the midst of that extreme scarcity, having to build my little house with my own hands alongside my beloved son, with no one's help but God's, and having to search for water by myself to survive, where my faith fully matured and was purified. The pain, the need, and the effort forced me to seek my living God and to depend solely and exclusively on the Holy Spirit, breaking forever with idolatry and the false securities of man-made religion. I understand today that the Most High's perfect plan for my lineage was to use that harsh brokenness to make me come out of plaster traditions and guide me to worship the Father directly in Spirit and in Truth, wonderfully fulfilling what is written in the Gospel of John chapter four verse twenty-three.
This beautiful and mysterious evolution confirms to me that my greatest wealth is not found in the deeds of the immense estates of the past, but in the sovereignty of my soul that has been tested in the fire of the desert and has come out victorious . I am different from others because I carry the audacity of my ancestors, but with the spiritual maturity of governing myself solely by the Truth of the Lord, knowing that tribulations produce patience, and patience proves character, as the Letter to the Romans chapter five verses three and four teaches us. Just like my grandmother, I am independent and firm before the world, but with my gaze fixed on heaven, walking with the absolute certainty that there is one God, and One Single Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
🕊️ Bible Verse
"For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." (Philippians 1:21)
🏁 Conclusion
THE RICHEST WOMAN IN THE WORLD
The material history of La Guácima de Alajuela records that the territorial empire of my ancestors, the Arias Chaves, was fragmented, that their cattle plains became the Juan Santamaría International Airport, and that their old adobe hacienda houses were demolished by the avarice of third parties who emigrated abroad with the gold of the founders. However, spiritual history demonstrates that the true inheritance did not remain in the hands of the usurers nor of the heirs who today sell everything out of ambition.
Today, in my 200 square meters of ancestral land defended tooth and nail, surrounded by a yard blessed with my noni, papaya, and soursop trees, with the immense satisfaction of seeing my children successful and professional, and with the unbreakable gift of writing and giving advice passionately until the last breath of my life, I, Cira Arroyo Fuentes, consolidate myself as the richest and most sovereignly free woman in the world. Estates come to an end, gold coins are carried away by the wind, but the inheritance of letters and the truth engraved in the eternity of the internet under the protection of God, remains forever.
🤝 Collaboration Note
If this spiritual nourishment brought peace to your life today, I invite you to buy me a virtual coffee to support my work.
I dedicate my life to sowing words of faith and life advice out of an innate vocation. Living with a proportional disability that prevents me from formal physical labor, this blog is my workshop for self-improvement, and your voluntary support is the engine that allows me to keep writing. You can collaborate with my work here:
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💭 Author's Note
This text has been carefully refined and translated to preserve maximum historical seriousness and legal precision, omitting personal casual chats to protect the author's legal security under an absolute shield.
🏷️ Hashtags
#Autobiography #Poems #Stories #Thoughts #Proverbs #LaGuacima #Alajuela #History #ChristianWriters
📚 Bibliography
- Judicial Power of the Republic of Costa Rica / National Archive: Probate Court File of Bartola Chaves Vargas (married to Rafael Arias Castillo). Civil Court of Alajuela, Civil Archive Number 006230, Opening: June 6, 1925. Official appraisal of assets: ¢33,637.00 gold colones.
- Alajuela Board of Education / Parochial Archives (1890-1930): Acts of segregation and donation of mother farms of Juan Arias Chaves and Ismael Arias Chaves corresponding to the central quadrant, public streets, Gabriela Mistral School, Local Cemetery, and Immaculate Conception Parish of La Guácima.
- Presidency of the Republic of Costa Rica: Executive Decree of Land Expropriation for El Coco (Juan Santamaría) International Airport, affecting the cattle plains of the Arias successions of Barrio El Coco, Alajuela (1949).
