Most of the natives are descendents of the Chorotega Indians who for many centuries were isolated by the challenging terrain on which they lived. At that time, as throughout much of the region’s history, the Gold Coast belonged to neighboring Nicaragua, which impacted the cultural lexicon of the early Guanacaste natives. Further, the civilizing influences emanating from the Mayan Empire of Guatemala spawned additional tribes, including the more technically advanced—and ultimately more prolific—Corobicis.

When Columbus discovered Costa Rica during his fourth voyage to the “New World,” the area now known as the Gold Coast was severed from more burgeoning societies—and remained so for many years subsequent. The first successful colonization of Guanacaste occurred when Gil Gonzales Davila from Spain converted the Corobicis to Catholicism in the mid Sixteenth century.