Antes de que Monteverde tuviera su nombre actual, esta casa ya estaba aquí
Construida alrededor de 1945 por la familia Zamora, la casa que hoy conocemos como Río Chante es parte de una historia mucho más grande que la de un antiguo edificio. Desde entonces, ha sido parte de la vida de la comunidad y, durante casi ocho décadas, ha servido a muchos propósitos diferentes: hogar, lugar de reunión, lugar de trabajo, servicio de atención médica, oficinas, talleres y centro cultural.
Río Chante es uno de los lugares que mejor conserva y conecta estas diferentes etapas de la historia local.
Monteverde Antes de 1951
Antes de 1951, alrededor del cruce de la corriente Cuecha, había un centro de actividad comunitaria conectado por caminos y senderos a las comunidades de montaña y Guacimal. Había granjas, un aserradero, un molino de azúcar y una pequeña planta hidroeléctrica.
La casa de la familia Ugalde también estaba cerca, en el sitio donde se encuentra la fábrica de quesos. Con el tiempo, la casa sirvió como una pequeña tienda de comestibles, una escuela y un lugar de reunión para la comunidad. Y, por supuesto, la casa familiar Zamora, hoy conocida como Río Chante, también formaba parte de este paisaje.
El día un nuevo capítulo Began: un refugio en el primer día
El 19 de abril de 1951, un pequeño grupo de exploradores viajó a caballo a través de estas tierras en busca de un lugar donde varias familias cuáqueros emigrando de los Estados Unidos podían establecerse, encontraron un territorio que ya estaba habitado y activo.
Para llegar a la zona, cruzaron el arroyo Cuecha en un puente de madera. Durante todo el día, exploraron pastos, caminos y propiedades, evaluando las posibilidades de establecer allí otra comunidad.
Según la cuenta de John Campbell, registrada en el libro Jubilee, la primera tormenta de lluvia de la temporada llegó esa tarde. Los exploradores encontraron refugio bajo el porche cubierto de la casa Zamora. Después de regresar a Heredia, recomendaron estas tierras como el lugar donde su grupo podría establecerse. El 16 de mayo de 1951, adoptaron el nombre Monteverde.
Con el tiempo, la casa fue adquirida por Arthur y Clara Rockwell. El Instituto Monteverde lo reconoce como la estructura de pie más antigua de las montañas y como la primera casa utilizada por las familias cuáqueros que se establecieron aquí.
Por esta razón, Río Chante tiene un lugar especial en la historia de Monteverde. Fue testigo del encuentro entre un comunidad costarricense existente y un nuevo grupo de personas que llegó a establecerse en las montañas.
Una casa que siguió sirviendo a la comunidad
La importancia de Río Chante no se limita a lo que sucedió en 1951. En las décadas que siguieron, la casa y sus alrededores siguieron sirviendo a Monteverde.
It was a home, a meeting place, and a workspace. It also served as a place for medical care and a pharmacy associated with Marvin Rockwell. The house was purchased by the Monteverde Institute, where it housed its offices.
En otras palabras, la función de la casa ha cambiado con el tiempo, pero una cosa ha permanecido constante: Río Chante ha sido un espacio para la vida comunitaria.
Esa continuidad también se refleja en la celebración del Día de Monteverde. En el 75 aniversario del 19 de abril de 1951, Río Chante participó en la organización de la conmemoración, proponiendo que la fecha sea recordada no simplemente como la llegada de extranjeros, sino como un encuentro entre personas de diferentes orígenes que marcó el comienzo de un nuevo capítulo de convivencia y organización comunitaria.
De una preocupación comunitaria a una organización formal
Following the 2007 global economic crisis, the Monteverde Institute sold the house to a foreign couple who obtained a loan from the Banco Nacional of Costa Rica (BNCR) with the intention of converting it into a yoga center. Unable to meet the mortgage payments, they abandoned both the project and the house.
For the community, this marked one of the most difficult periods in the history of Río Chante. A place deeply connected to Monteverde’s past was left empty and vulnerable, gradually losing the role it once played in community life.
In 2016, repeated acts of vandalism at the deteriorating house and growing security concerns led neighbors to contact the BNCR and request its intervention. At that time, the bank had initiated the process of recovering the property title, but the procedure was complicated by the absence of the signatures of the previous owners.
This situation united the community around a broader question: how could a future for Río Chante be secured that honored its history while also allowing it to continue serving Monteverde? The vision that emerged was to restore the house as a local “third place”: a safe and welcoming space where residents and visitors could gather, learn, create, and participate in community life. The intention was also to preserve its cultural, educational, and environmental functions and entrust its future to a local organization.
This effort led to the formal establishment of the Riochante Monteverde Cultural Center Association in 2023 as a local non-profit organization. Its overall purpose is “to promote the creation of a cultural space for the residents and visitors of the community,” with an emphasis on protecting the historic house, offering free activities, and providing an accessible space for the community.
In 2024, the BNCR regained the title to the property. Throughout the years of uncertainty, Río Chante was not left completely abandoned: residents and local organizations maintained their presence on the property and assumed responsibility for its ongoing care.
Today, that commitment has transformed a difficult chapter in the house’s history into an opportunity to ensure that Río Chante remains part of this community’s future.
A cultural reality that can be measured
Río Chante is not simply a proposal for the future. It is an existing community cultural center that is already active.
During 2025, it received 2,184 visits and hosted 50 cultural, educational, environmental, and community activities. In addition, 5,760 hours were dedicated to monitoring, on-site presence, and site maintenance. Between 2017 and 2025, the property recorded 10,192 visits in a county with a population of 4,155, according to the latest national census.
These figures represent much more than numbers. They demonstrate how the community is already using the space and the amount of work required to keep it active and protected.
This effort has been made possible through volunteer work, donations, and the collaboration of numerous local individuals and organizations.
Where Culture and Conservation Meet
Río Chante’s value is also environmental.
Since 1997, the property has been protected by a conservation easement intended to safeguard the forest, the spring, and Cuecha stream, as well as its role as a biological corridor. The protection framework also allows for educational activities, community trails, environmental monitoring, and student participation.
Since 2009, the biologist Luisa Moreno of the Monteverde Institute has used the property as an environmental monitoring site. The ReVerdes group of the Monteverde Reserve also conducts monitoring several times a year. Students from Monteverde Friends School participate through their short courses, helping with trail maintenance and other observation, stewardship, and conservation activities.
Río Chante facilitates these activities and maintains a constant presence on the property. In this way, it gives practical continuity to a vision of conservation and education that has been present on the property for nearly three decades.
A Community Priority
The value of Río Chante has also received institutional recognition.
The Monteverde Municipal Public Cultural Policy 2025-2035 identifies Río Chante as a cultural center, a site of heritage interest, and a space for cultural organization and promotion. Among its proposed actions is the “rescue and development of partnerships for the use of Río Chante and other spaces.”
The policy also establishes a particularly relevant priority: “Support the cultural spaces that already exist.”
For the Asociación Riochante Centro Cultural de Monteverde, that support should take the form of partnerships that strengthen the community work already underway while respecting the autonomy with which Río Chante has been cared for and managed.
The Future of a Living History
Today, the property belongs to BNCR, and its future has yet to be secured.
However, its historical, cultural, environmental, and community value is not simply a matter of the past. It is supported by decades of use, by the work of those who have cared for the place, and by the activities that continue to take place there.
Preserving Río Chante does not mean freezing a house in the past. It means protecting a place that has accompanied different stages of Monteverde’s history and that continues to play a role in its present. It means preserving the memory of those who were here before, recognizing the encounter between different communities that helped shape Monteverde as it exists today, and, above all, allowing new generations to continue gathering, learning, creating, and caring for this place.
Río Chante is not simply a historic house. It is a house that, nearly 80 years after it was built, continues to serve the community.
How to support?
The Asociación Riochante Centro Cultural de Monteverde has requested the Ministry of Culture and Youth to recognize and protect the heritage value of the property.
We invite those who believe in the history, culture, environment, and autonomous community spaces of Monteverde to learn about, sign, and share the petition:
Click here: Request to the Ministry of Culture and Youth
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