(Photo: Walter Espinoza, Director of OIJ, Illustration Purposes Only) Soccer player Alexander Rodriguez Araya, who used to be part of the Grecia soccer team where he played as goalkeeper up until about four months ago, was detained today along with his brother and other 10 people all linked to a drug trafficking ring that apparently was part of the gang that used to be headed by "El Gringo", cr...

The Fishing Tournament Marina Pez Vela Open kicked off today, April 12 at Quepos, Costa Rica and will extend through April 14. The billfish team event will crown the team that tallies the most billfish points during the tournament. Prizes pay down to third place (first, second, and third). The tournament will award trophies, cash, and prizes to the team(s) that score the most accumulated point...

The National System of Areas of Conservation (SINAC) has been working in the past weeks in gathering the funds and organizing the work that could lead to a reopening of the Poas Volcano National Park to the tourists. This park has been closed now for one year since it's eruptive activity began on April 13, 2017; the closure of the park, which was the second most visited in Costa Rica, has resul...

The Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week San Jose has become one of the most expected events not just of the fashion industry but of the entertainment world in Costa Rica and the region, this years edition will take place Wednesday May 2 through Saturday, May 5, at its usual venue, the Real Intercontinental Hotel in Escazu. Earlier this year the organization of the MBFWSJ had announced he participation o...

Sadly, the problem is not new, the area of Crucitas in the North Zone of Costa Rica continues to be exploited by illegal gold miners who have caused incredible environmental damage. The area has suffered environmental damages since 2012 as a result of a failed mining project; back then, the damages were estimated in close to 10 million dollars mainly as a result of logging. The presence of g...

In Costa Rica the Law to Strengthen the Public Finances will be discussed and analyzed by the Legislative Assembly as of next Monday, this project proposes going from the current 13% sales tax to a 13% value added tax (VAT) in most services. With this change services that currently don’t pay taxes will now have to pay it, that is the case for instance of gyms and services offered by independent...

Internationally renowned classical ballet company Bolshoi Ballet will have presentations in Costa Rica May 12 and May 13 at the Melico Salazar Theater in downtown San Jose. Saturday May 12 the show will begin at 8 p.m. while on Sunday, May 13 the presentation is scheduled at 5 p.m. The Bolshoi Ballet is based at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, Russia; founded in 1776, it is ne one of world’s ol...

In May 2018, the Gran Hotel Costa Rica, which is affiliated with Hilton Worldwide and Hilton Curio Collection, will re-open after a complete transformation. Famously known as the hotel where John F. Kennedy stayed during his visit to the country in 1963, the Gran Hotel Costa Rica is the only hotel in San Jose declared by the government as a historical and architectural monument. It is located i...

The fourth date of the Kolbi National Surf Tournament takes place this weekend April 14 and 15 at Santa Teresa in the Gulf of Nicoya and has the confirmed presence of the best surfers in the country. Leilani McGonagle, Carlos Muñoz, Noe Mar McGonagle, Tomas King, Leonardo Calvo and Jason Torres all made a pause in their international agenda to participate in the Condominio Arenas Cup that will ...

American singer, songwriter and actress Demi Lovato had a concert scheduled in Costa Rica May 1st, however, the announcement was made today that the same has been cancelled. “I’m absolutely heartbroken that I have to make this announcement today… due to production issues, we have to move the South America #tellmeyoulovemetour dates, Ecuador, Costa Rica and Panama. I’m devastated we had to remov...

A forensic audit carried out at he National Institute for the Promotion of Cooperatives (Instituto Nacional de Fomento Cooperativo-INFOCOOP) revealed that during the past 10 years this entity "lost" close to $80 million dollars due to the illegal handling of public funds destined to the financing of cooperatives. The audit was carried out in the finances from 2009 through 2016 by accounting firm K...

An analysis carried out by project State of the Region brings attention to how the changes in the immigration policies of the United States will affect the Central American region, and in particular Costa Rica and Panama, countries that will likely see an increase in the flow of immigrants from other Central American countries. It is evident that the changes taking place will have an impact in ...

(Photo: Illustration Purposes Only) A man native of the United States was found dead in the pool of a condominium located in the area of Hermosa Beach in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. According to the Red Cross, it was his wife that found the body of the man in the pool in the early hours on Tuesday and made the call to the emergency service. Paramedics arrived at the scene and confirmed the death...

After seven years of absence the first Disney Cruise will arrive in Puntarenas, Costa Rica this upcoming Sunday, April 15 from Florida, USA. The announcement of the return of the Disney Cruises to Costa Rica was made back in March 7 when representatives of the Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT) were taking part of the Seatrade Global Fair in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States. The ship that...

A group of 40 Costa Rican firefighters was already at the border with Nicaragua this Monday morning ready to help the neighbor country to control the forest fire that has been affecting the Indio Maiz Biological Reserve for several days which has reportedly destroyed over 7,000 hectares of protected land, however, they were sent back after being informed that President Daniel Ortega had decided to...

The ExpoEmpleo (Job Expo) 2018 will gather 19 companies that together have over 4,000 positions to fill, in particular for bilingual personnel with or without experience. The fair will take place April 13 and 14 at the National Stadium in La Sabana starting at 9 a.m. and finishing at 5 p.m. both days. This job fair takes place every year, but in this occasion it is directed exclusively to b...

This Wednesday, April 11 is a holiday in Costa Rica, do you know why? The country commemorates 162 years of the Battle of Rivas also known as the day of the National Hero, Juan Santamaria. The Battle of Rivas took place in Rivas, Nicaragua between the filibuster army lead by William Walker and Costa Rica's army lead by President Juan Rafael Mora Porras, General José Joaquín Mora Porras and G...

The famous theater show Fuerza Bruta (Brutal Force) will have presentations in Costa Rica in the month of May, at the Palacio de los Deportes in Heredia, the dates have not been announced yet but it is expected to be in the country for at least two weeks. The immersive spectacle has had presentations in 35 countries and 58 cities, this will be the first time in Costa Rica where they will bring ...

Between April 10 and April 18 Costa Rica will have higher levels of solar radiation due to the effects of the ‘zenith of the sun’. During these days the position of the sun causes the UV radiation to increase due to the rays impacting in a more perpendicular way. This phenomenon takes place every year in April and it has an impact in the entire territory; in the Central Valley the days of hi...

Photo Credit: Fundacion del Rio A team of 40 Costa Rican firefighters will travel to Nicaragua this Monday at 6 a.m. to offer their assistance in helping control the fire that is affecting the Indio Maiz Biological Reserve for several days now and that has already destroyed over 7,000 hectares of protected land. President Daniel Ortega declared yellow emergency. This Biological Reserve is t...

Costa Rican biker Kenneth Tencio “Pollis” managed to win a historic second place in the FISE BMX Freestyle World Series celebrated in the city of Hiroshima, Japan. This is the first time the Costa Rican is able to take the podium in a FISE competition, the most important in the world. This achievement puts Tencio in the second position of the world ranking with 9 thousand points. The first p...

The dry season in Costa Rica seemed shorter this time around, the rain carried on well into December, the country just got through tropical storms and cold fronts and the rain is already appearing again. This week the area of Parrita in Quepos and some areas of San Jose were surprised with strong rain fall that caused even small floods in a few locations. The National Meteorological Institu...

Carlos Alvarado Quesada was elected President of Costa Rica just a week ago and will take the lead of the country on May 8th, with the big responsibility of dealing with a high fiscal deficit, a divided congress and a country that demands actions against corruption and inequity. But who is and what is the background of Costa Rica’s 48th President? Does he have what it takes to make positive cha...

Kalon Surf Luxury Resort is located in Dominical, Costa Rica, and offers an all-inclusive 7 night package to national and foreign tourists who want to learn how to surf or improve their surfing skills while at the same time enjoying the beauty of this location and luxury accommodation. “The signature Kalon package includes luxury accommodation, surf coaching at all levels, gourmet cuisine, pila...

On the surface it sounds like a great idea, most modern cities have exclusive bike lanes, it’s a way of promoting a clean method of transportation and a healthy lifestyle... but is the city of San Jose really ready for this? Or is this plan going to cause more harm than good? Many Costa Ricans that go through San Jose on a regular basis seem to think this plan is, as Ticos say “applying perfume on...

Costa Rican Hanna Gabriels, who is the current WBO (World Boxing Organization) and WBA (Word Boxing Association) Female World Super Welterweight Champion (154 lbs.) and the US former Olympic gold medalist and now WBC (World Boxing Council and IBF ( International Boxing Federation) World Female Super Middleweight Champion (168 lbs.) Claressa Shields will be facing off June 22. The news were rele...

The Costa Rican government opened its first embassy in Africa, in the capital city of Nairobi, Kenya, location chosen by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Manuel Gonzalez, with the plan to access Eastern Africa. “In the case of Keya, it is an undeniable area of influence in East Africa. Kenya is a country with an important and growing economy, that has shown interest towards Costa Rica. I know thei...

An 11 year-old Costa Rican girl who lives in the area of Sarapiquí, Heredia was taken to the hospital by her mother due to an abdominal pain; however, after being examined, doctors discovered she is 14 weeks pregnant. “The girl was brought to the emergency service by the mother to check on an abdominal pain, when she is being examined the mother suggests that she gets a pregnancy test and inde...

42 days have passed since Samuel and Ezequiel Nuñez, former siamese brothers overwent their separation surgery at the National Children’s Hospital (HNN) in Costa Rica; both 2-year-olds finally left the intensive care unit and are evolving slowly. Ezequiel has been out of ICU for almost a month, while Samuel had left the ICU on March 23 but had to go back only five days later after suffering sev...

The Latin American Center of Competitiveness and Sustainable Development of the Incae Business School conducted a study for the Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT), the Index of Social Progress of Tourist Centers in Costa Rica, which measures environmental and social indicators in ten regions. Three indicators are divided in four aspects and each is assigned a grade between 0 and 100. One of the...

The official ceremony where the new elected president of Costa Rica, Carlos Alvarado, will take over the leadership of the country will be on May 8th at noon time. Four years ago, the ceremony took place at the National Stadium, but Alvarado made it clear already on April 1st after knowing he had won the elections that this was not going to be the case this time around, “We have to face the fi...

On April 4, the Costa Rica Minister of Justice and Peace, Marco Feoli and the Executive Director of the Melico Salazar Theater, Marielos Fonseca, signed a cooperation agreement with the purpose of organizing and implementing activities geared towards the promotion of culture and art for prisoners. The agreement will allow prisoners that have good conduct to attend artistic and cultural events,...

After more than a decade of wait, the National Congress and Convention Center (CNCC) opens doors today, April 5 under the management of a consortium formed by Colombian group Heroica and Costa Rican firm Volio and Trejos. Heroica group also handles the Cartagena Convention Center with positive figures. According to projections by the Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT) the Convention Center is exp...

Engineering for Kids is a unique educational program in Costa Rica that works with international standards for the teaching of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (S.T.E.M), and this time they have developed a program dedicated to Costa Rican Engineer and Astronaut Franklin Chang Diaz, designed to inspire the future aerospace engineers. The classes are targeted to kids 4-6 years old (Juni...

The President of Costa Rica, Luis Guillermo Solis, signed this April 4th Law Number 9521 which declares the National Theater (Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica) a National Symbol of Historic Architectural Heritage and Cultural Liberty. "Costa Rica pays tribute to its National Theater and recognizes it as a national symbol. In this way we seal the beautiful relation that links our emblematic archite...

An unprecedented scientific expedition left from the Galapagos Island in Ecuador this past April 2 and will conclude April 13 when it arrives in Isla del Coco (Coco Island) in Costa Rica; the purpose of this expedition is to identify the marine migratory species that use this route and quantify their distribution, abundance and diversity of their predators. According to Zdenka Piskulich from th...

The two Island-class patrol boats of 110 feet that the United States donated to Costa Rica's Coast Guard Service finally left the Baltimore dock towards Puerto Caldera, Puntarenas, where they will be used to battle organized crime and drug trafficking, as well as in the protection of marine biodiversity and humanitarian actions. "It was a proud moment to see this vessels, named after our nation...

An increase in cases of measles was first reported last year in Europe and some areas of the United States, but recently, several countries in Latin America have also raised the alarm; for this reason, health authorities in Costa Rica are on alert and have began promoting a vaccination campaign that will take place in August. Maria Luisa Avila, specialists in the area of infectious diseases in...

The XVI edition of the International Festival of the Arts (FIA) in Costa Rica will officially kick off this Friday, April 6 and will extend through April 15. This year's FIA will once again offer different artistic presentations, music, dance, theater, literature, etc. In total 92 artistic groups (national and international), will bring people closer to culture, art and entertainment. B...

Advant Medical a global leader in Medical Device contract services and manufacturing solutions, recently announced a significant investment for its expansion into Costa Rica. The Costa Rican expansion saw the opening of a 13,000 square foot facility with a 2,200 square foot, Class 8, cleanroom with capacity to manufacture Class I, II, III Medical Devices. Advant has also invested heavily in new...