Carrasco is most famous for joining the defending forces at the Battle of Rivas in 1856 with a rifle and a pocketful of bullets.

The strength and determination she showed there made her a symbol of national pride and she was later honored with a Costa Rican postage stamp,[1] a Coast Guard vessel,[2] and the creation of the "Pancha Carrasco Police Women's Excellence Award".

In 1856 (age 40), when William Walker and his filibusteros invaded Costa Rica, Carrasco volunteered as an army cook and a medic.

She is most famous for filling her apron pockets with bullets, grabbing a rifle, and joining the defending forces at the Battle of Rivas, becoming Costa Rica's first woman in the military Her strength and determination became a symbol of national pride, and she was commemorated with a Costa Rican postage stamp in 1984.

[1] The Costa Rican Security Ministry established a "Pancha Carrasco Police Women's Excellence Award" in her honor.