A new bill making its way through the United States legislature may impede travel for American passport holders who owe taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Costa Rica’s proposed Fiscal Reform Plan, which was recently sent back to the National Assembly by Sala Cuarta (Constitutional Hall), is just one example of legislative efforts in several nations to increase revenues with the goal o...

As Ticos celebrate the ultimate sacrifice of Costa Rica's favorite son and National Hero, Juan "El Erizo" Santamaria, it is important to look beyond the nice summer day off from work, the lack of vehicular restriction in downtown San Jose, and the fact that Juan Santamaria volunteered for the most noble of all patriotic endeavors. Juan Santamaria did not just stop filibuster William Walker and ...

Roger Soto Zotela, a 35-year Costa Rican citizen, was shot and killed by an undercover agent of Panama's Direction of Judicial Investigations (Spanish acronym: DIJ) last Wednesday, according to news sources in that country. Newspaper El Siglo reported that undercover policemen from the Chiriqui region of Panama were conducting a sting operation in the border region of Paso Canoas when Mr. S...

SAN JOSE – The headlines on all major news outlets in Costa Rica last night were dominated by the unanimous ruling of Sala Cuarta (Constitutional Hall), the country's highest court, on the highly-debated Fiscal Reform Plan. The response by the government was limited to a brief communique issued by the Executive: "The Government respects the ruling by Constitutional Hall with regard to the compl...

Three years ago, the National Tourism Board (Spanish acronym: ICT) launched an initiative to provide clear warnings to foreign and domestic tourists about certain risks they may face during their relaxing or adventurous activities in Costa Rica. The initiative called for a closer involvement by Fuerza Publica in looking after the safety of visitors to our country. The first stage of the project c...

If you miss the colorful doves that formed part of the Peace Parade in San Jose over the last few months, you'll have a chance at keeping one (or more of them) at your house when the prettiest 40 doves go on auction a week from today, on April 17th. According to national newspaper La Nacion, bidding on these doves is more than just taking home a part of Costa Rica's recent history, but also a c...

A team of searchers and scientists from Costa Rica and Argentina will once again look for evidence of the crash of the TC-48, one of the most intriguing unsolved mysteries in the history of aviation. The events surrounding the tragic flight of the TC-48 were covered in greater length in a previous article by The Costa Rica Star. On November 3rd of 1965, a military aircraft from the Argentin...

Daily newspaper El Universal in Venezuela reports that 59-year old diplomatic attache Guillermo Cholele, who was reported missing and kidnapped yesterday, was released by his captors in Charavalle, a district in the populous state of Miranda. According to the newspaper report, the Tico diplomat went to a coffee kiosk to ask for help around 2:00 in the morning. When local police arrived, Mr....

Surf fishermen in Peru are worried about the high number of dolphins they are finding dead in the water and on the beach. According to statistics compiled by Peru21, an online news portal in the Andean nation, 2012 has been a deadly year for dolphins. About 3,000 dolphin carcasses have washed up on the beach since the beginning of the year, and some experts believe it may be related to increased s...

The University of Costa Rica (UCR) recently screened two documentaries that deal with significant environmental issues in our country. One film focuses on the impact of pesticides and other agrochemical products on the environment and subsequently on the health of human communities, while the other documentary looks at the legislative debate surrounding hydrocarbon gas exploration in Costa Ric...

Four-legged members of the Distinguished Firefighting Corps of Costa Rica and their human handlers will travel to Bolivia later this year to take part in a special training course. The Bolivian Police University and special law enforcement units will train rescue dogs from more than 20 different nations, including Costa Rica, Spain, Brazil, Mexico, Nicaragua and more. The K-9 officers and their...

The recent imbroglio over undeclared home values and unpaid taxes that resulted in the resignations of the Minister of the Treasury and the Chief Tax Collector is threatening to derail the Fiscal Reform plan backed by the administration of President Laura Chinchilla. Not surprisingly, the different political factions at the National Assembly are weighing in with their own fiscal reform ideas. ...

The Office of the Chancellor has confirmed that a member of our diplomatic corps has been kidnapped in the Republic of Venezuela. The victim in question is Guillermo Cholele, who is an attaché and counsel to Nazareth Avendano, Ambassador of Costa Rica in the Republic of Venezuela. According to an official communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Avendano explained that Mr....

Seven new casual dining franchises will open their doors to hungry Ticos this year, while three existing chains will expand their operations, according to online financial news site El Financiero. Many Ticos may not be familiar with brand names like Cosi, Moe's, Mo Joe's, Pollo Tropical, Smash Burger, Spoleto, or Whopper Bar -but they will get to know those franchises in 2012. Ticos are already...

The 19th round of the summer tournament ended with victories from the leader Perez Zeledon, along with Liga Deportiva Alajuelense (LDA), Deportivo Saprissa, Club Sport Herediano, and Club Sport Cartagines (CSC). This means that the powerhouse football teams LDA, Saprissa, Herediano and CSC still have a shot at qualifying for the quarter finals. The reigning league champions are looking better a...

Math does not have to be a boring subject of study limited to memorizing formulas and solving equations. According to Professor Edward Parra Salazar of the University of Costa Rica (UCR) – Pacific Region, mathematics is a discipline filled with interesting tidbits that can entertain and even stimulate other areas of learning. A new book by Professor Parra, entitled Sumario de curiosidades matemát...

Electric rice cookers are present in most kitchens in Costa Rica. A few staunch traditionalists who favor wood burning stoves and earthenware pottery may disagree, but one thing that Ticos who keep households or spend considerable time in the kitchen know is that rice cookers can easily adopt to our cuisine and meal patterns. In a recent article published by Panasonic for its web series "Around...

It's mating season for the yiguirros (Turdus grayi) and their melodious songs are getting stronger, which means that the beginning of the rainy season is upon us. For the eight communities surrounding the Agujas river in the Garabito canton -including Quebrada Ganado, Cementerio, Puente, Quebrada Margarita, Las Castanas, Playa Bochinche, and Playa Agujas- the yiguirro songs used to be received ...

As Easter celebrations mark the end of Lent season, emergency management and public safety authorities in various Central American nations are reporting the grim tally of injuries and deaths during the week. Many decades ago, the casualty counts during Semana Santa were negligible, as the majority of devout Catholics used to stay at home and only ventured out to church and religious process...

Gecko Trail, a travel agency located in Puerto Viejo de Limon, along with the community school and the Asociación de Organizaciones del Corredor Biológico Talamanca Caribe (ACBTC), are currently working on a project to raise awareness about the growing problem of trash and debris on the beach and natural areas in their town. The entities are planning a clean-up day in Puerto Viejo, on Frida...

Daily newspaper La Tribuna in Honduras has reported that the request by the National Football Team of that country to play the upcoming friendly match against Costa Rica at 3:00 pm was declined by FEDEFUTBOL. On April 11th, Costa Rica will celebrate the 156th anniversary of the Battle of Rivas, and many patriotic activities are planned for that afternoon. The players from Honduras are sched...

In several areas of our country, the electrical power grid and infrastructure pose a serious danger to monkeys, sloths, martillas and other arboreal creatures that either suffer tragic deaths or crippling injuries. According to two organizations dedicated to raising awareness and finding solutions to these grim situations, the statistics are ghastly. Nosara Wildlife Rescue explains that hun...

"When there is peace, the warlike man attacks himself" - that's Nietzsche, and his point is that there really is no peace. There's always some war, somewhere, with someone. And there are no winners or losers either... just those who are still around to fight another day. The quote above comes from "Buffalo Soldiers" -a film starring Joaquin Phoenix, based on a 1994 novel by American author Robe...

Young Ticos are no different than other youth cultures around the world when it comes to fashion. They innovate and emulate in equal amounts, they set trends, and are painfully aware that the world can't seem to take their eyes off them. It's not just parents or the moral majority keeping tabs on what they wear; marketers, industry observers and the media are always examining young people for diff...

With a score of 1-0 against our national beach football team, Guatemala came away the champion of Copa Pilsener at La Costa del Sol, a short tournament played in El Salvador during Semana Santa. With that loss, the beach football players from Costa Rica were relegated to the last place of the four-team playoff. The Costa del Sol beach football tournament was organized by athletic and tourism or...

Finca Bellavista is a unique sustainable treetop community located in the Osa Peninsula. In the past, The Costa Rica Star has written about this unparalleled residential project, which has been getting a lot more attention lately. A recent visitor to Finca Bellavista was Tico journalist Sebastian Castro, who is one of the youngest feature reporters working at CNN. Castro is a graduate from ...

Nine buildings zoned for commercial use in the beach community of Puerto Viejo could soon be demolished by order of the government. Sala Cuarta (Constitutional Hall) orders Fuerza Publica to prevent evictions of squatters in Los Chiles in 2011, only to have a lower court continue the eviction process months later. A multifaceted expat businessman fighting a complex land grab case spends 4...

Francisco Castillo is a master oboe performer and classical music composer who has toured with Andrea Bocelli and the New West Symphony Orchestra. The world premier of his composition "Rhapsody for Oboe, English Horn, and Orchestra" will be performed by the Redlands Symphony at the University of Redlands Memorial Chapel in California's Inland Empire on April 14. This will be a special perfo...

A set of photographs of Hollywood actress Reese Witherspoon and her family vacationing at what looks like one of our beaches on the Pacific coast is currently making the rounds of several celebrity gossip websites. The famous actress, who is married to talent agent Jim Toth, has not announced her pregnancy, although paparazzi and the informants they employ have been feeding reports to the t...

Laurens Molina is a Tico athlete currently training for the upcoming XIV Paralympic Games in London. At the recent XVII Los Angeles Marathon, Mr. Molina took the ninth place in a race that has become very competitive among wheelchair-bound athletes. The first athlete to cross the finish line in Los Angeles was Krige Schabort from Capetown, South Africa. Like Mr. Molina, Mr. Schabort is a wh...

Author’s Note: This is the seventh item in a series of articles that touch on the subject of sustainable practices in Costa Rica. There is a high degree of innovation and street smarts involved in sustainability; if you happen to know of a good sustainability tip, please feel free to share it with The Costa Rica Star. The Cano Negro National Refuge is a protected area that takes up almost 10,00...

A recent expedition led by Rich Hoyer for Wings, Inc. -a renowned provider of birding tours worldwide- started quietly with only about 30 species on the first day. Outside of San Jose, Mr, Hoyer spotted only a few birds in the hotel gardens and a coffee farm; in fact, he spotted more diversity of butterfly species than birds. He was hoping to spot the ground-sparrow (Melozone or Cabanis biarcuatum...

One of the oldest and most distinguished institutions of academic formation in Costa Rica turned 125 years old without much pomp or fancy celebration. The Liceo de Costa Rica is a public school that imparts secondary education from grades 7th to 11th to adolescent males, and it has the honor of counting the most impressive alumni roll in our country. Several former Presidents, distinguis...

The comments of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) at the 2012 Forum in Paris were somber: “The reports from Costa Rica will not move to the next phase of review due to the grave deficiencies in their legislative frameworks.” The other Latin American countries mentioned were Guatemala, Panama and Uruguay.  In the Caribbean, Barbados had failed back in 2010, but...

For most people in Latin America, Holy Week means religious obligations, heavy traffic, closed stores, crowded beaches, and dry laws.  In Cuba, however, Holy Week has been a regular week over the last several decades –until this year. The visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the Caribbean island nation of Cuba was very fruitful for Catholics who for many years have encountered great difficulties i...

American musician and columnist Duff Mckagan is better known for his 12-year bass run in the legendary rock band Guns N’ Roses. What few people know is that Mr. McKagan and fellow rock icon Mike McCready, who plays guitar for Seattle-based grunge icons Pearl Jam, have a little bit of Costa Rica history in them. Mr. McKagan grew up in Seattle and knew Mr. McCready from the vibrant rock scene...

It’s been almost three months since the red tide phenomenon became visible in the waters of our Pacific coast. According to scientists at the Costa Rican Institute of Fishing and Aquaculture (INCOPESCA in Spanish), the ominous-looking red tide this season has not presented high levels of toxicity. Online news daily Costa Rica Hoy has been following the red tide occurrence this summer with a...

Earlier this week, President Laura Chinchilla was at the United Nations General Assembly promoting our country's image of happiness. Our President also supports the initiative presented by the Kingdom of Bhutan to give preference to developing Gross National Happiness (GNP) over Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Our President's remarks on GNP got a lot of attention from the international commun...

Thousands of Nicaraguan immigrants are expected to travel back north this week to observe Semana Santa and Easter with their families, but many of them will not cross Penas Blancas. "Mojados" as they are known in their native land, will try to evade border checkpoints for fear of running into civil law enforcement authorities in Costa Rica, or military security forces in Nicaragua. According to...

For the upcoming exhibition football match against the Honduran National Team on April 11, coach Jorge Luis Pinto has selected 19 Tico players, minus some talented footballers who are making sports headlines in professional leagues around the world. The lineup was published in online news daily El Pais. Absent from the game will be Bryan Ruiz, who plays for the Fulham of the English Premier...