On Saturday night in the Cuba Creek district of Limon, officers from Fuerza Publica and members from tactical support units raided a locale known in that Caribbean rural community as a venue for cockfighting and gambling. The officers descended upon the property and surprised about 100 spectators and gamblers. Fuerza Publica rescued 55 gamecocks from the operation, made one arrest, and took dow...

In a recent conversation with Radio Reloj 94.3 FM, the President of the Sea Turtle Conservation Program (PRETOMA in Spanish) explained that the number of Leatherback and Hawksbill sea turtles that massively arrive in Costa Rica during nesting season has been reduced by as much as 90 percent over the last two decades. Costa Rica has a number of measures in place to protect sea turtles, from legi...

Author's note: You can learn more about greenwashing in a previous article in The Costa Rica Star about the Hotel RIU in Guanacaste. Fifteen students and a Spanish teacher from West Richland High School in Illinois are coming to Costa Rica later this year. According to a recent news report in the Olney Daily Mail newspaper, the summer trip is being financed in part by a donation from a farm...

Early rains and precipitation forecasts for the rest of the year will bring instability to the agricultural markets, with uncertainty for farmers and benefits to consumers in a number of produce items. Preliminary reports indicate that May will be a good month for shoppers who flock to the farmers' markets in Costa Rica, and climate change has a lot to do with it. A 2008 study by researchers at...

Paseo Colon, Second Avenue and other main streets in San Jose were awash in orange during the morning hours of April 15. Such was the color of the shirts worn by hundreds of cyclists who took to the busy streets of Costa Rica’s capital for an event coordinated by the Embassy of the Netherlands and ChepeCletas, a group dedicated to promoting bicycle culture in Costa Rica. According to event orga...

On Friday night, Australian-born actor and filmmaker Mel Gibson appeared on the long-running Tonight Show with Jay Leno and gave a brief version and opinion of the sordid feud that has played out online between him and Hollywood screenwriter Joe Eszterhas. Mr. Gibson specifically made reference to the audio recording that Mr. Eszterhas’ teenage son secretly recorded at the actor’s palatial home ne...

Isabel "Chavela" Vargas Lizano was born during the first quarter of the 20th century in San Joaquin de Flores, a coffee-growing region of Heredia that former President Oscar Arias Sanchez calls home. When she was 17 years old, Chavela Vargas left Costa Rica for Mexico, a country where she would not only find fame and glory, but also the deep respect and love of the Mexican people. For the secon...

A massive avalanche down the western slope of Mount Everest disrupted the busy climbing season and injured a Sherpa guide. Eyewitnesses at the Everest Base Camp reported seeing a cloud of snow over Camp 1, which ended up completed buried by the icefall.  The plume of snow was estimated to have been ten stories tall. Warner Rojas, a mountaineer from Costa Rica who aims to be the first Tico a...

Costa Rica is known to attract a fair share of international visitors, but Ticos are catching up to foreign tourists –and they are turning to Google to plan their domestic getaways.  According to a report on online business daily Estrategia y Negocios, more than half of all Ticos who go on vacation within Costa Rica started their trip on Google. Google is paying attention. The Internet search g...

The Santa Ana Bulldogs and the Toros of Escazu will face off tonight at 6:00 pm at the Cuty Monge Stadium for the fourth edition of the Costa Rica Federation of American Football (FEFACR in Spanish). The Bulldogs are currently the top-rated team in the league, having won all eight games of the 2012 season. The Toros arrive to the Super Bowl with a record of 5 victories and 3 losses. FEFACR and ...

If you plan to take a Saturday afternoon stroll around Plaza de la Cultura and the Central Avenue pedestrian boulevard tomorrow, don't be surprised if you see a group of couples kissing in the vicinity of the legendary Soda Chelles. According to national newspaper La Nacion, a activist group that supports the rights of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgendered community in Costa Rica will h...

Author's Note: The article herein is based on news reports that have appeared in El Pais, a publication that takes a very firm stance on environmental issues in Costa Rica. The advent of the Information Age has produced some very interesting practices related to media jamming and manipulation. The lexical terms that develop to match these practices tend to be colorful as well. Astroturfing,...

Flying will be cheaper than bus travel for a few days in Costa Rica. Nature Air, a domestic flight carrier that bills itself as the world's first carbon-neutral airline, will offer very cheap flights with a couple of promotions during May. These two promotions will be the most inexpensive flights offered in 2012. The first promotion started two days ago, and will run until Saturday, April 28th ...

A criminal court in Puntarenas has ruled on the case of a Taiwanese captain in charge of a fishing vessel registed in Belize. Tsai Yu Jen was caught unloading 20,000 kilos of blue shark at a commercial dock in the Port of Puntarenas. Fishing inspectors detained him when they determined that his considerable catch consisted of blue sharks with their fins cut off. Captain Tsai Yu Jen will now ha...

With a ceremony that took place at the esplanade of the Costa Rica Art Museum at La Sabana, representatives from the People's Republic of China (PRC) donated 50 new patrol cars to the Ministry of Transportation and Public Works (MOPT in Spanish). These patrol cars will be placed at the service of Transit Police operations. President Laura Chinchilla was present at the event, as well as top off...

In an effort to promote transparency and fiduciary duty in Costa Rica's fiscal process, the tax records of delinquent individuals and business entities could soon be in the public record. Such is the essence of a new legislative proposal introduced by Jose Maria Villalta of political party Frente Amplio, a faction generally aligned with leftist ideology. The proposal was introduced on April...

The long-running border conflict between Costa Rica and Nicaragua goes back several centuries, and it is currently being deliberated at both the International Court of Justice at The Hague and the Central American Court of Justice. The latest volley of accusations from both nations are centered on the infamous Google Maps invasion of Isla Calero by former guerrilla commander Eden Pastora and a...

On Wednesday morning, Daniel Calderon was at the Costa Rica Art Museum in La Sabana. Earlier this week, he was at the Central Park in Heredia and later at the Eladio Rosabal Cordero Stadium. In the meantime, he posted a flurry of updates to his Twitter account: In the Guarari Sector, 4 known robbers were captured in Zone 2; two of them in fraganti and the other two with outstanding warrants ...

A Small and Medium Business (PYMES) Fair will take place at the Plaza Mayor Shopping Center in Rohrmoser, San Jose, from April 26th to April 29th. Everyone is invited to visit the expo and support PYMES in Costa Rica. The businesses that will exhibit their goods and services at the fair include: Almacén Searson Arte Muebles Casa Muar Artesanía de los Santos  Artesanía Turca Temka Baysal ...

“No More Excuses, It’s Time to Build Roads.” That is the top headline in today’s print edition of business news daily La Republica. The statement comes from Minister of Transportation and Public Works Francisco Jimenez, who has promised to kick off a new ambitious highway infrastructure initiative on May 1st, 2012. The projects that Minister Jimenez is referring to have been gathering dust for ...

The next time you take a trip to one of our national parks or volcanoes; do not be surprised if you see a group of young men and women hunched over portable gaming systems, engaged in furious button-mashing with incredible thumb dexterity.  They are members of the growing Nintendo StreetPass 3DS community in Costa Rica, video game enthusiasts who break the tired stereotype of the lone gamer si...

The Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper recently announced deep budget cuts to Canada's Department of National Defence (DND). These cuts are already being felt by the Canadian Armed Forces, with the Vancouver Sun newspaper reporting on the closure of ten recruiting centers, most of them located in the outer provinces. The budget cuts have also claimed a naval intelligence ...

"Science and technology depend on people, and Costa Rica's future depends on her young people's affinity for science and technology. In this regard robotics is a medium, an instrument, a path to opportunities to develop on a personal and professional level, with improved value-added employment prospects that can make a difference. The Ministry of Science and Technology (MICIT) is very happy to sup...

Financial analysts and different news media outlets have been busy reporting on the output of coffee crops in Costa Rica, and the reports paint a different picture regarding production and climate. Costa Rica's most prized agricultural commodity is either holding up well in the wake of climate patterns caused by La Nina, or weakening to the point that Tico roasters will import more bags of coffee ...

A new establishment in Escazu intends to become Costa Rica's first "smoke-easy" in defiance of the Tobacco Control Law which was enacted in early April. This law explicitly prohibits smoking in many places where the public gathers, particularly bars and restaurants. The Tobacco Control Law does not seem to concern Don Sergio Martinez too much. Mr. Martinez is the businessman behind "9 Degrees N...

They are cordial, bilingual, ride bicycles, and often wear white polo shirts and blue shorts. The men and women of the Tourism Police, a special unit of Fuerza Publica, are often approached by backpackers and other visitors to Costa Rica with questions about directions and bus schedules. These officers also perform old-fashioned police work such as investigations and arrests. Such was the case ...

SAN JOSE - As part of an investigation that involves the Minister of Education, the former Minister of the Treasury, a former Presidential aide, and the public oil utility RECOPE, agents from the Judicial Investigations Office (OIJ) descended upon the Treasury Offices in the heart of downtown San Jose earlier today. Prosecutors from the Economic Crimes section of OIJ ordered the raid, which was...

"When opportunities appear, take them. Don't vacillate. "Sometimes a route is not straight, you have to take turns." Such were the words of Dr. Franklin Chang-Diaz at the Lawrence Senior Center in Essex County, Massachusetts. Franklin Chang-Diaz, in addition to being a Distinguished Citizen of Costa Rica, is the CEO and founder of the Ad Astra Rocket Company -an aerospace enterprise that is wor...

In celebration of World Book Day, the Ministry of Culture has planned a series of events to commemorate the importance of print (and now electronic) media in Costa Rica. At the Miguel Obregon Lizano National Library in San Jose, there will be a lecture on Education and Print Culture in Costa Rica in the Second Half of the 19th Century. The lecture will take place at 2:00 pm and will kick off a ...

When the People's Republic of China (PRC) graciously handed Costa Rica the keys to the new National Stadium last year, the powerful Asian nation was proud to have completed the most technologically-advanced and modern sporting venue in Central America and the Caribbean. China, however, was not done leaving its mark in the region. According to a recent article published by The New York Times, Ch...

The Day of the American Indigenous was celebrated earlier this week in Costa Rica, and the Ministry of Culture planned a series of activities this past Saturday in San Jose to commemorate the occasion. The cultural events took place at the Morazan, La Merced and Espana parks; they were organized by Enamorate de tu Ciudad (Fall in Love with Your City) and Banco Popular. The events included i...

Going into the last game of the regular season, Club Sport Cartagines (CSC) had three options to qualify to the next round of the First Division Summer Tournament in Costa Rica: Winning; taking three points and comfortably advancing. Coming away with a tied score, as long as Saprissa lost against Club Sport Herediano (CSH). Losing, but with the hope that neither CSH or Liga Deportiva Alaju...

For the second year in a row, Tico athletes elevated Costa Rica's status in the surfing world with medals. Noe Mar McGonagle earned third place overall in the under-16 division at the Dakine World Junior Surfing Championship in Playa Venao, Panama. The young Tico surfer from Pavones was victorious in every heat during the eight days of elimination rounds. His day began with a morning heat which...

Fourteen characters, two actors, two hours. That's the essence of ¡Que Zambrote! (What a Mess!), a sketch comedy especially written with modern Tico society in mind. This dynamic theater play is acted by experienced actress Rita Campos, who returns to the stage after a hiatus due to maternity leave, and Ricardo Segura, a young newcomer who graduated from the prestigious Conservatortio de Castella....

The Ministry of Science and Technology (MICIT in Spanish), along with the Chamber of Industries of Costa Rica (CICR) wrapped up InnovAccion, the First Conference on Innovation for Competitive Enterprises on April 20th. The conference was directed to entrepreneurs and small business owners who are interested in using innovation to remain competitive in today's marketplace. At the InnovAccion...

One of the highlights of the annual Festival of the Stone Spheres in the Osa canton is watching the alignment of the Sun with three magnificent and mysterious spheres in the early morning hours. This is how journalist Andrea Solano Benavides of prominent news daily La Nacion described the mystifying event: It was 5:45 am and the Sun embraced the Osa canton to welcome a new day. A fiery sphere of...

Thanks to the efforts of all the young surfers who traveled to Playa Venao in Panama, the Junior National Surf Team of Costa Rica is now number ten in the world, and it could climb to the eighth position. All eyes are on Noe Mar McGonagle, the 15-year old surfing prodigy from Pavones who could be advancing to the finals, and who currently has a strong chance of bringing home a gold medal. ...

Elevating the quotidian to sacred status; I see the mundane as sacred, because it really is. I see daily life as an spectacle for the soul. I perceive artistic essence in the daily rituals of the people in India. - Jenny Kozlow I see discarded objects as fragments of a culture on the brink of extinction, and yet the perennial symbols of mystic wisdom move me. - Michael Sims Jenny Kozlow ...

Today is the final round of regular season matches between First Division teams, and four teams are vying for two tickets to the four-way semifinals that will wrap up the Summer Tournament. For two of the teams, advancing to the next round will be completely up to their performance, while the other two teams depend on a mixture of tenacity, mathematical probability and plain old luck. He...

As we celebrate Earth Day in Costa Rica, take a moment to think about our capital city. The next time you find yourself in downtown San Jose in the midst of rush hour, say about 5:50 pm on a Tuesday, take a stroll towards the bus stops that take commuters to the southern suburbs of Hatillo and Desamparados. Better yet, head over to the bus terminals of the old Coca Cola market and survey th...