[2] It was formerly known as San Juan del Murciélago and was meant to be the capital of the country, at least according to ex-president Braulio Carrillo,[3] this is the reason the town was originally designed with such a neat array of perfectly aligned blocks, cut by the streets running from North to South and the avenues from East to West.

[4][1] The canton forms a northern suburb of the national capital city of San José.

The Quebrada Rivera, a canyon, establishes the southwestern limit of the canton and also a portion of the southeastern boundary.

[5] As of the latest municipal elections in 2024, the National Liberation Party candidate, José Alejandro Alvarado Vega, was elected mayor of the canton with 37.17% of the votes, with Liliana María Beer Rodríguez and Olga Courrau Quesada as first and second vice mayors, respectively.

[5] The current president of the Municipal Council is the Social Democratic Progress Party regidor, Jimmy Villalta Espinoza.