A general view of a monument dedicated to Costa Rican national hero Juan Santamaria in Alajuela, Costa Rica on February 17, 2010. In 1856 when U.S. filibuster William Walker overthrew the government of Nicaragua and attempted to conquer other Central American nations, including Costa Rica, in order to form a private slave-holding empire, Costa Rican president Juan Rafael Mora Porras called upon the general population to take up arms and march north to Nicaragua to fight against the foreign invader. Santamaria, a poor labourer and the illegitimate son of a single mother, joined the army as a drummer boy. The troops nicknamed him "el erizo" ("the Porcupine"). AFP PHOTO/ Yuri CORTEZ / AFP PHOTO / YURI CORTEZ (Photo credit should read YURI CORTEZ/AFP via Getty Images)
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AFP YURI CORTEZ