Costa Rican surfer Leilani McGonagle classified to the semi-finals of VISSLA ISA World Junior Championship the which is being held in Japan and in the U18 category. The Costa Rican added 10.4 points in round 4 taking the second place in her heat behind Kirra Pinkerton from the USA who managed 14.57 points McGonagle will go up against Minori Kawai from Japan, Kirra Pinkerton from the USA and ...

Commonly known as lionfish but also called zebrafish, the marine fish of genus Pterois spp is a venomous fish and an invasive species in the Caribbean Sea. They are well known for their ornate beauty, a common species in aquariums, but it represents a problem as it has been described as “one of the most aggressively invasive species on the planet” and it feeds off smaller native species of ecol...

Turrialba Volcano in Costa Rica registered important eruptions of gases and ashes that have reached up to 800 meters above the crater and 4,140 meters above the sea level (13,579.2 ft.). The first eruption of importance took place at 5:30 a.m. this Thursday morning, and reached 500 meters above the crater, a second and stronger eruption occurred at 8:25 a.m. of 700 meters above the crater and t...

The trailer of the movie “Man of Faith” based on the life of Costa Rican goalkeeper Keylor Navas was released today in a local press conference. Man of Faith begins with the voice over of ESPN’ sports commentator David Faitelson: “Today is a historic day for Costa Rica. Today Keylor Navas shapes up to be one of the best goalkeepers in the world. For the first time a Tico wears the Real Madri...

A total of 384 tourism companies have received the Tourism Sustainability Certification from the Costa Rica Tourism Board which is recognized by the World Tourism Organization. “For over three decades Costa Rica conceived sustainability as a base to its Model of Tourism Development, making it a competitive advantage and the main differentiation of the country as a destination. The country crea...

The Global Competitiveness Index 2017-2018 of the World Economic Forum ranks Costa Rica as the second most competitive country in Latin America only behind Chile. “Ten years on from the global financial crisis, the prospects for a sustained economic recovery remain at risk due to a widespread failure on the part of leaders and policy-makers to put in place reforms necessary to underpin competi...

Walmart stores in Costa Rica are launching a campaign starting September 30 and every weekend in October to help breast cancer patients in the country. Hair stylists will be present at each of the 11 locations the supermarket chain has and will cut the hair of all those willing to donate it to elaborate wigs for patients battling breast cancer. “An approximate 900 people contributed with th...

Hindu Festival of Lights known as “Diwali” will take place October 15 at the Wyndham Herradura Hotel in Cariari, Heredia, Costa Rica. Diwali is celebrated every year and it signifies victory of light over darkness, good over evil, knowledge over ignorance, and hope over despair. This activity has been celebrated in the country for the past eight years and it is organized by the Costa Rica- I...

Costa Rican singer and songwriter Debi Nova; the National Symphony Orchestra and actress-singer Maribel Guardia are part of the list of nominees of the Latin Grammys 2017. Debi Nova received the nomination for “Best Singer/Songwriter Album” for her album “Gran Ciudad”, “Thank you to the Academy, to Sony Music, and everyone that works with me, and everyone that listens and share my music. Gran C...

Danny Formal from the Hyundai Shell Claro team took the top spot at the podium today as the winner of the second edition of the Costa Rica Touring Car Championship (CTCC). Formal won the two first heats of the sixth and last date of the Hankook Cup which was full of excitement and concluded with strong rainfall that forced the cancellation of the third heat. 21-year-old Formal was one of t...

The construction of the new Flamingo Marina in Guanacaste, Costa Rica has been talked about for years, over a decade actually, ever since the government shut down the prior marina in 2004 by order of the Administrative Environmental Court after a lot of controversy since it didn’t have the proper environmental impact study and there were reports of contamination. Grupo de Desarrollo Marina Flam...

Living in Costa Rica can be fun and full of adventure, but sometimes the stress of work, the traffic jams can quickly get to us too, and that’s when it’s important to remember that this country has many great hotels were you can relax, both in the city and at the beach even if you can only afford to get away for the day. Plenty of hotels offer day passes that are a great solution to get away fo...

According to data by the World Health Organization, accidental drownings are the third cause of accidental death in the world, statistics show that over 370 thousand worldwide die by drowning every year and more than half of these victims are under 25 years of age. When it comes to Costa Rica, between 2001 and 2012 there were a total of 1,391 deaths by accidental drowning, averaging 120 deaths ...

The Costa Rica National Theater is a historical building that this October will celebrate 120 years of existence; it holds an important place in the heart and history of the country, and many times it gets overlooked. Impressive paintings, one of the most important ones being Alegoría del comercio y la agricultura de Costa Rica (Allegory of commerce and agriculture of Costa Rica) by Italian ar...

The National U18 Surf Team is currently in Hyuga, Japan, participating in the VISSLA ISA World Junior Surfing Championship which kicks out this Sunday, September 24 with the participation of 40 countries and close to 300 competitors. “We found the type of waves we expected, very small and without power. The competitor that manages to generate more speed will be obtaining more points. This is ...

The third edition of the Urbana Fashion Street Art 2017 promoted by Traffic Communications filled the Plaza de la Cultura in San José with beautifully decorated sculptures in the shape of mouths. This cultural initiative has the goal of bringing people close to different manifestations of art in unconventional formats. The past editions featured the essence of eight Costa Rican historic neighbo...

Shnit, the Worldwide Shortfilmfestival Playground, is celebrating its 14th edition, and it takes place in 8 cities in four different continents simultaneously, Buenos Aires (Argentina), Bern (Switzerland); El Cairo (Egypt); Capetown (South Africa); Moscow (Russia), Tokyo (Japan), and Bangkok (Thailand) and San José (Costa Rica); this year it will be held from the 18th to the 22nd of October. ...

The seismic alert went off in Mexico City at 7:53 a.m. (Mexico time) this Saturday, September 23 as a 6.2 magnitude earthquake was felt again with epicenter in Oaxaca, earlier this same day at 5:38 a.m. a 5.8 magnitude movement took place in the same region. This seism takes place just 4 days after a 7.1 earthquake with epicenter in the city of Puebla caused devastation in Mexico City and the d...

The Central Market (Mercado Central), the Borbón and the market located in the area known as the “Coca Cola Terminal” in downtown San José are historic landmarks, the Central Market for instance was established in 1880; these markets offer visitors an example of the Costa Rica of the past, and have a variety of handmade crafts, souvenirs and local products at great prices that attract local and in...

The Municipal Band of Acosta will represent Costa Rica in the 2019 Rose Parade in Pasadena, California. According to the band’s director José Manuel Mora, the band sent the application to participate since February, and a video was sent (included below) where the strengths of the band were highlighted. The Acosta band was founded in 2008 and has participated in national and international fe...

The Festival ART&TUR, International Tourism Film Festival of the wellness tourism fair Termatalia recognizes the best tourism audiovisual productions worldwide and in this year’s edition Costa Rica was recognized as the Best Production in the competition with the video of new international image “Costa Rica, My Choice, Naturally”. Termatalia is considered the world’s most important wellness...

October usually brings several walks to raise awareness about breast cancer and also raise funds for the treatment of patients that are battling different forms of cancer in Costa Rica; this year is no exception. The first event, “Corre por mí” (Run for Me), will take place this Sunday, October 1st at 6:30 a.m. going out from the National Stadium in La Sabana. This event offers several modalit...

Britt Group continues to grow in Costa Rica and with the purpose of strengthening the business it has divided into two divisions, Café & Chocolates Britt (Britt Coffee & Chocolates) and Morpho Travel Retail. Café & Chocolates Britt will continue handling everything that has to do with the coffee and chocolate products with concepts such as the Britt Espresso, Chocolatería Britt Café...

Early on Thursday, September 21, the Costa Rican Police reported the finding of a body in a vehicle near the Juan Santamaría International Airport in Alajuela; however, the identity of the person was not revealed until later that day. According to the Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ) the body corresponds to an 80 year-old German woman by the name of Rosemarie Bockhold Koopman. The victim ...

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with the President of Costa Rica, Luis Guillermo Solís in a bilateral meeting in New York, in the frame of the United Nations’ General Assembly Through a video posted on social media, the President of Costa Rica informed of the topics that were discussed with Trudeau, among which were human rights, environment and the economic empowerment of women. ...

LatAm Logistic Properties, a leading operator, and developer of Class-A logistic properties in Costa Rica, Colombia, and Peru announced it has signed a new build-to-suit lease agreement with PriceSmart, the largest operator of U.S.-style membership shopping warehouse clubs in Latin America and the Caribbean, for a 16,000-square meter regional distribution facility in Costa Rica. The new logisti...

Airline Volaris Costa Rica had presented its application to be allowed to operate in airports in the United States a while back, however, their petition had met the objection of Southwest Airlines; however, the US’ Department of Transportation issued this September 21 an order that provides temporary authorization to Volaris Costa Rica for operations between these two countries. The official do...

The rumors began last Friday, and although there was no official announcement, the social media quickly went crazy with the rumor: Bruno Mars live in Costa Rica December 7th! Yesterday the production company SD Concerts Costa Rica, finally confirmed the event, which will take place at the National Stadium and is part of the artist’s 24K Magic World Tour, 24K Magic is the name of his last album ...

In the past few weeks, several countries have faced tragedy, hurricanes and earthquakes have struck and caused devastation, in small islands in the Caribbean as well as Mexico and the United States. If you are in Costa Rica and you want to help the victims of the Mexico earthquake authorities recommend going directly to the Red Cross in the country. The Costa Rican Red Cross will channel all...

The earthquake that affected Mexico City this September 19 at this point and according to reports has claimed the lives of over 225 people, collapsed buildings, and several damages. Considering the tragedy and complicated situation, several airlines are waiving change fees on flights to and from Mexico City. American Airlines, United Airlines, Copa, Aeroméxico and Avianca are some of the air...

The Costa Rica Train Institute (Incofer) will be purchasing eight new train units with capacity for 400 passengers each by December of this 2017; unfortunately, new trains will not be arriving in the country until 24 months later. This purchase involves an investment of US$52 million that is being provided through a loan from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (BCIE). Accordin...

Costa Rica has plenty of natural treasures, most at plain sight, but the country also has its share of underwater treasures, and these are the ones that the country is striving to protect with the help of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Heritage. “Underwater cultural heritage means all traces of human existence having a cultural, historical or archaeological character ...

Costa Rican goalkeeper Keylor Navas who plays with Spanish club Real Madrid is one of the nominees of the FIFPro World XI. The list includes a total of 55 professional soccer players, 17 of them are from Latin America. The FIFPro (International Federation of Professional Footballers), is the worldwide representative organization for all professional footballers; more than 65,000 players in...

Just 11 days ago, on September 8th the city of Oaxaca on Mexico’s southern coast was affected by an 8.2 earthquake, which caused the death of almost 100 people, and left many buildings with structural damage. Today, September 19, 2017, at 12:14 p.m. Costa Rica time, 1:14 p.m. Mexico time, another earthquake initially reported of a 7.1 magnitude and later confirmed as having a 7.4 magnitude shoo...

The air traffic control systems and the aeronautic communication systems at the Radar Control Centers in the Costa Rican airports were from 2006, while the radars had a 18 year operating life; these systems among others were recently replaced with the lastest generation technology. The new systems for processing flight plans, the functionalities for the transmission of data coordination between...

Snow cones are a popular dessert in Costa Rica, and now you can enjoy them anytime you want and customize it according to your preferences. “Taller de Copos” (snow cone workshop), opened its doors in the 7 Bancas shopping center in San Rafael, Escazú with an investment of around $60,000.00. The concept offered is similar to the one offered by ice cream shops that allow you to choose the ic...

Last Thursday, Playa Hermosa in Guanacaste was once again the scene of a double murder, two Costa Rican men, identified as Brayan Duarte and Gary Strattman Mata were shot to death, the first outside a residential area and the other outside of a local bar “Bar Bahía Culebra” which was closed down months ago by the Municipality of Guanacaste. According to the police both men apparently were membe...

Travelling is something most of us enjoy, there are many ways of vacationing and sometimes the popular vacation experience just takes you to the most beautiful places in a country but doesn’t allow you to really explore the country’s culture, the way of living, traditions, and needs. Turtle Trax S.A. in Costa Rica offers precisely that, it is a company that organizes rural tourism projects on t...

Landslides and floods were the result of the rains this Saturday in Costa Rica. Route 27 (San José- Caldera, Puntarenas) was one of the most affected areas, with floods in several sectors, in the sector between Atenas and Orotina material was falling on the road and videos taken by users showed incredible “waterfalls” in the area; this situation caused traffic jams and a couple of car accidents...

Photo: Canelo-GGG / HBO Boxing Canelo vs. GGG was a highly expected fight that didn't disappoint, but in the contrary, fulfilled the fans’ expectations from beginning to end; two warriors that stepped into the ring and gave it heart and soul. From the moment the bell rang both fighters exchanged punches and looked for the knockout. The first few rounds showed a superior Canelo that moved wel...