Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solis Rivera, will be in Hojancha, Guanacaste on July 25 to celebrate the creation of the new district of Matambu.

The district encompasses the Matambú Indigenous Reserve, and its designation as Hojancha county’s 5th district is thanks to the initiative of Liberation Party Legislator Juan Rafael Marín Quirós.

His petition presented to the Legislative Assembly was based on requests from local residents and the Matambu Integral Development Association.

Their goal in creating the political entity is “to protect this indigenous community, preserve the integrity of their land, their customs and culture,” said the Guanacaste legislator, adding that the designation “will allow greater community, economic and social development, thereby promoting better living conditions for its inhabitants.”

The initiative was received with enthusiasm by residents of the Matambú community, reported the Guanacaste regional news source Primero en Noticias.

The Association of Integral Development Matambú said the creation of the district is “fundamental to salvaging, protecting and promoting the Chorotega Culture in one of the last indigenous communities in the region.”

Matambú has a population of about 1,200 and is one of the country’s 22 indigenous reserves; its area is about 1,600 hectares.

The district will have as its capital the center of Matambú, and will be composed of the hamlets surrounding Matambú and village that are within the territorial limits of the indigenous reserve, said local news sources.