Liberia has been nicknamed `` la ciudad blanca '' ( the white city ) due to the white gravel once used to make the city 's roads and the whitewashed colonial houses which used to made up a large part of the city .
Liberia is often called `` la ciudad blanca '' ( the white city ) by its residents because of the white gravel once used to make the city 's roads and the whitewashed colonial houses that once made up a large part of the city .