Bernardo Soto Alfaro was born in Alajuela, Costa Rica on February 12, 1854. He studied Law in Santo Tomás University in 1877. By 1881, he was appointed governor of Alajuela.

Following the death of President Próspero Fernández in 1885, Soto Alfaro assumed the presidency as the first designate. In 1886, he was elected as president in his own right and served until 1889. During his presidency, Soto Alfaro instituted free, compulsory, and secular education, and he founded the Liceo de Costa Rica, the National Museum of Costa Rica, and the Miguel Obregón Linzano National Library. He is also known as the founder of the National Asylum for the Mentally Ill, and during his presidency, the Morazán Park was built.

Soto Alfaro established the Costa Rican Red Cross in 1885 when the Guatemalan president initiated an invasive military campaign to attempt to revive the Federal Republic of Central America. Soto Alfaro died in San José, Costa Rica on January 28, 1931.

Manuel Gómez Miralles (1886-1965) was a Costa Rican photojournalist and photographer who documented the political and social structure of Costa Rica. Miralles photographed Costa Rican President Federico Tinoco’s political campaign and his stump speeches (1917-1919). He also documented the earthquake in Cartago (1910), the Panamanian war (1921), the coup called “El bellavistazo” in 1932, and the derailment in el Virilla (1926).

Gómez Miralles is considered one of the most important photographers in Costa Rica, and his work has been compared to that of the Casasola Archives from Mexico.