The International Festival of the Arts 2017 will be taking place June 29th through July 9th, 2017, and for this year’s edition the Artistic and Cultural Production Center, part of the Ministy of Culture and Youth has opened the period for reception of proposals for participation in the XV edition of the International Art Festival (FIA 17). The FIA is the biggest cultural and artistic even in Co...

Scientists have shown conclusively that treatment not only improves the health of people infected with HIV, it also stops transmission of the virus that causes AIDS. That public health issue is just one of the challenges Republicans face as they attempt to overhaul the Affordable Care Act, a law that brought health insurance coverage to some 20 million people - including tens of thousands of Am...

Avianca Airlines is offering a promotion to Miami as of January 5th and through January 31, all passengers traveling from San Jose, Costa Rica will have the opportunity to purchase tickets at a preferential rate of $279 USD, taxes included. Tickets purchased with this promotion can be used between February 1st and June 15, 2017, and the limit date to complete the trip is June 30. This promotion...

For many Costa Ricans, especially young adults, missing the Palmares festivities is not an option. After welcoming a new year and after the Zapote fair this is the next big event in the calendar. The usually quiet city in Alajuela turns every January into the epicenter of fun and the synonym of party. The Palmares event has been taking place for 30 years now and it includes a horse parade, a...

The seventh edition of the International Design Festival (FID for its Spanish name) will take place March 10 through March 12 in the Antigua Aduana building. This event gathers creative and influencing leaders from different parts of the world and offers conferences and workshops in a great environment that will also have gastronomy options and art exhibits available for the attending audience....

President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday threatened to impose a "big border tax" on General Motors Co <GM.N> for making some of its Chevrolet Cruze compact cars in Mexico, an arrangement the largest U.S. automaker defended as part of its strategy to serve global customers, not sell them in the United States. Trump's comments marked his latest broadside aimed at an American company over job...

Back in November 2, 2016 the first direct flight from Air France landed in Costa Rica, this is the plane with most capacity to land at the Juan Santamaria International Airport, and with it Costa Rica confirms the good moment the tourism sector has been having. The news of the beginning of operations of the French airline represents one of many good news the industry had in 2016, which generate...

Dogs will soon have a place of their own to enjoy in Pavas and Sabana Sur in San Jose where two dog parks will be situated. The Bella Vista Park in Pavas and Nacionalidad Costarricense in Sabana Sur will continue open for the general public but part of their area will be transformed into a dog park, featuring ramps, mazes, socialization areas and recreational areas specially designed for our fo...

"Costa Rica is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor. Costa Rican women and children are subjected to sex trafficking within the country, with those living in the north and central Pacific coastal zones being particularly vulnerable.” These are the first sentences of the 2016 Trafficking in Persons Report by the U.S....

Keylor Navas, Costa Rica’s National Soccer Team’s and Real Madrid’s goalkeeper was recognized as the Ibero-American player of 2016 by EFE. Navas was selected over players like Lionel Messi or Luis Suarez. This award is given annually to the players of Ibero-America that during the Spanish League season have accomplished a larger quantity of points, according to the opinion of the agency’s edito...

Mexicans overwhelmingly say they oppose the wall U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has promised to build along their northern border. But in Mexico's Ciudad Juarez, where extensive fencing was erected by the United States to secure the border between 2007 and 2010, residents have a more nuanced view of what a wall can mean. They say the Juarez fence has both caused and relieved problems in the ...

Smoking pot in young adulthood does not seem to increase the risk of early stroke, but cigarette smoking does, according to a study of nearly 50,000 Swedish military conscripts. “Extensive tobacco smokers in late adolescence had a fivefold increased risk of stroke before age 45, when compared to non-smokers, and more than double the risk of stroke (up through) age 60,” study author Dr. Anna-Kar...

Costa Rican Hernan Jimenez is someone that dared to dream big, and has managed to build a name and a reputation in a field where not many “ticos” have ventured. Here in Costa Rica when someone mentions wanting to be an artist he/she will face the usual negativity, with comments such as: “you are going to starve”, “you’ll never make it”, “you can’t make a living in this country doing that” or “n...

With the beginning of a new year everyone should try to make the most out of each day, after all, if you live in Costa Rica there are a lot of different things you can do to enjoy your life to the fullest. Here are three options of adventure tourism high in adrenaline that you can do in Costa Rica: Paragliding: Paragliding in Costa Rica continues to increase in popularity, what better way to...

The Itaipu dam, which is operated by Paraguay and Brazil, finished 2016 with record electricity production of 103.09 million MW hours, eclipsing China's Three Gorges Dam as the world's top generator of hydroelectric power, officials said Sunday. Itaipu's hydroelectric turbines achieved an operational efficiency level of 96 percent last year, a figure that exceeded the 94 percent goal set by the...

The hundreds of thousands of people who rang in 2017 in New York City's Times Square were treated to performances by a long list of big-name artists on New Year's Eve. Mariah Carey, Gloria Estefan and Silentó headlined the traditional celebration in Times Square on New Year's Eve, with partiers standing on their feet for hours and unable to leave their chosen spots amid frigid temperatures. ...

The four counties of Guanacaste with larger population are in red alert due to seasonal influenza. Since the beginning of December cases of cough and flu were reported and have increased in the hospitals Enrique Baltodano in Liberia and La Anexion in Nicoya. In the past two weeks 4 deaths were reported related to the seasonal influenza, these four patients had not been vaccinated. “We’ve...

US President-elect Donald Trump wished a Happy New Year for all American citizens, including his "many enemies" and those who fought and lost the battle against him and now "don't know what to do." Trump, who takes office as president of the United States on Jan. 20, used his Twitter account to post his message. "Happy New Year to all, including to my many enemies and those who have fought m...

2016 was a difficult year for big real estate developments, and so, the expectancy for a better 2017 is high in the construction and real estate industry. Costa Rican Central Bank expects that 2016 closes with a decline of 5.8% in the construction activities, however, it expects a growth of 4.2% for 2017. A list of 67 private real estate projects (commercial, residential and industrial) that...

As we enjoy the last few hours of 2016 and we wait to welcome this 2017 in the beautiful country of Costa Rica, many reflect on the past 12 months and make a balance of what it was like, this also helps us establish new resolutions for the time ahead, many seek a new love, success at work, to live a healthier life, or make more money, others want to travel or begin a new project; and to achieve th...

Hackers linked to the Kremlin accessed the system of US electrical utility Burlington Electric, the company admitted Friday. Burlington Electric said in a statement that the attack did not put its grid at risk as was previously reported by The Washington Post, which cited officials close to the White House on grounds of anonymity. "Last night, US utilities were alerted by the Department of H...

Costa Rican female midfielder Shirley Cruz is the thirteenth best player in the world this 2016 according to a poll carried out by the International Federation of Soccer History and Statistics (IFFHS). Shirley Cruz plays and is the captain of the French club Paris Saint Germain and is back in the ranking after being left out in 2015, her best ranking was in 2014 when she ranked number nine. The...

Visitors in Costa Rican beaches usually get a lot of safety warnings: don’t leave valuable items unattended, watch out for the red flags indicating rip currents, don’t drink and swim, watch out for crocodiles or sea snakes, etc. What we usually don’t hear is Do Not Touch the Manchineel Tree! Manchineel trees (Hippomane Mancinella), are very common, they are found all the way from Florida t...

The three dispensaries licensed to sell medical marijuana in Puerto Rico opened their doors on Friday to the 1,953 patients authorized to use cannabis for therapeutic purposes. Outgoing Gov. Alejandro Garcia Padilla marked the occasion with a visit to one of the dispensaries. Garcia Padilla, who hands over to successor Ricardo Rossello next Monday, signed the executive order legalizing medic...

The province of San Jose, holds first place in the number of counties declared free of discrimination. Eleven of twenty total counties are part of this declaration which is the first step of the local governments to implement measures that do not allow the gender or sexual orientation discrimination. “Implementing measures to ensure there is no discrimination, monitoring this measures and de...

This Friday night fans of Mixed Martial Arts have a very special card with UFC 207 which will feature the highly-expected return of Ronda Rousey to the octagon. “Rowdy”, who we last saw back over a year ago, (November 2015) when she got knocked out by Holly Holm and was forced to take a break due to a broken jaw; she will take on current UFC female bantamweight champion Amanda Nunes this Decemb...

If you stayed at home for this end of the year, but you want to spend the last day of the year or the first day of 2017 in good company and doing something out of the ordinary, we offer you four options of one day trips that you can enjoy in Costa Rica: Colinas del Poas: This mountain recreation center is located on the road to the Poas Volcano and it offers canopy tour, Tarzan swing, climbing...

The US government needs to present evidence that Russia interfered in last month's elections, a spokesman for President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday. "If the United States has clear proof of anyone interfering with our elections, we should make that known," Sean Spicer said in a conference call with reporters. "Right now we need to see further facts," the future White House press secret...

The 53rd edition of the “Copa del Café” (Coffee Bowl) tennis event at the Costa Rica Country Club will kick start on Monday, January 2nd. This junior tennis tournament is an International Tennis Federation Grade 1 Junior Circuit and is considered to be one of the best in the world, supported by the tennis federations of many countries and the oldest of its kind in Latin America, receiving entri...

A new sports and entertainment theme park will open doors in May of 2017 in Alajuela, Costa Rica. Sport Land, hopes to provide kids and adults a space for the practice of different sports, games and different entertainment alternatives as an option for families and friends to have fun together and forget about electronic forms of entertainment for a while. 41,000 square meters will be divided i...

Francisco Fonseca is a 22-year-old native of San Ramon, Alajuela, who just a few months back, in August 19, won the vacant International Boxing Federation (IBF) Inter-Continental Super Featherweight (130 lbs.) Title by beating Mexican Luis Gonzales in a knockout victory. Fonseca will be defending his belt in March 2017 in Spain against local fighter Juli Giner. Giner “The Rock” is a 33-year-...

- Entertainer Debbie Reynolds died after suffering a stroke, according to entertainment site TMZ. Reynolds was rushed to a Los Angeles hospital on Wednesday just a day after the death of her daughter Carrie Fisher, US media outlets reported. Reynolds, 84, fell ill at the Beverly Hills home of her son Todd Fisher, celebrity news Web site TMZ said. Someone at the residence telephoned for an...

Costa Rica Recovery works with individuals affected by alcoholism and drug addiction, providing individualized treatment plans created by a multidisciplinary team of experienced and qualified professionals. Substance abuse disorder is classified by the AMA (American Medical Association) as a disease under both the medical and the psychiatric sections. As such, seeking help for the condition is ...

When you hear about the wonders Costa Rica has to offer, one of the aspects that always comes up is the wonderful weather the country has; this is the reason many choose it as a vacation escape, especially those that live in areas of very cold winters, and this is also the reason many decide to move to Costa Rica. But what is so wonderful about the weather in Costa Rica? Costa Rica has only ...

All clients of PriceSmart Costa Rica who have recently purchased frozen raw tilapia should check to see if it is part of the lot #16080816172Y with expiration date: 08/07/2018 and if so, return it to the closest PriceSmart as soon as possible to receive a full reimburse, informed PriceSmart today through its local Facebook page. PriceSmart informed that they had been notified by the Costa Rica...

Actress Carrie Fisher, known for her role as Princess Leia in "Star Wars," died Tuesday, December 27, she was 60 years old. Carrie Fisher was an actress, author and screenwriter, that became known worldwide for portraying Princess Leia, in the "Star Wars" films. "It is with a very deep sadness that Billie Lourd confirms that her beloved mother Carrie Fisher passed away at 8:55 this morning,"...

Costa Rica’s Animal Health Service (SENASA) continues to work in the communities affected by hurricane Otto. Officials continue feeding and caring for pets in the areas of impact and the temporary clinics. SENASA has delivered in the areas affected, 46,829.22 kilograms of pet food, with an estimated cost of 79 million colones (close to $150 thousand USD). To date, the lands in these northern ar...

British singer-songwriter Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou, known as George Michael has died at his home, his agent reported. He was 53. George Michael shot to fame in the 80’s with the duo Wham! and later continued his career as a solo artist. “It is with great sadness that we can confirm our beloved son, brother and friend George passed away peacefully at home over the Christmas period,” his publ...

There are plenty of travelers that don’t identify themselves with just one particular vacation style, but instead they are looking for the perfect combination of activities and destinations to satisfy their preferences. For example, some like staying in a secluded hotel where they can relax but also have the possibility of doing some outdoor activities and even adventure tourism. Others want ...

Evacuation orders are in effect in coastal areas in four southern regions following a powerful magnitude-7.6 earthquake that hit Quellon, a town on Chile's Chiloe Island, prompting officials to issue a tsunami alert. Officials have not yet released casualty figures or damage estimates. The evacuation order and tsunami alert cover Biobio, La Araucania, Los Lagos and Los Rios regions, nationa...