Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solis Rivera, will be in Hojancha, Guanacaste on July 25 to celebrate the creation of the new district of Matambu. The district encompasses the Matambú Indigenous Reserve, and its designation as Hojancha county's 5th district is thanks to the initiative of Liberation Party Legislator Juan Rafael Marín Quirós. His petition presented to the Legislative Asse...

If you have lived in Costa Rica for a while you probably are familiar with the Taj Mahal restaurant in Escazú, the go to place for Indian food in Costa Rica that has been operating since 2002; however, this famous restaurant has evolved, and now under a new administration has become part of the chain Naans and Curries and went from offering delicious Indian food to offering a complete experience a...

“Amigos son los Amigos”, "Friends are the Friends" is the name of the art exhibit that can be enjoyed at the AG Gallery in San Rafael, Escazú through July 30th and that shows a sample of the works of Joaquín Rodríguez del Paso (1961-2016) and his friends José Sancho and Miguel Hernández. Joaquín Rodríguez del Paso was born in Mexico in 1961 and his family moved to Costa Rica when he was very y...

There are just a few archaeological sites in Costa Rica, probably the most popular one is the Guayabo National Monument in Turrialba, Cartago; but there is another one, many times overlooked even by locals, this is Finca 6 In Palmar Sur de Osa, Puntarenas, also known as “Las Esferas del Diquis” (The Diquis Spheres). Finca 6 is the second archaeological site that is open to the public after Guay...

Another edition of Costa Rica’s Art City Tour takes place today (Wednesday, July 12) starting at 5 p.m. and through 9 p.m. , this edition is titled “Vacaciones en Chepe” (Vacation in Chepe. Chepe is how locals refer to the city of San José). Once again, the Art City Tour involves visits to different museums and galleries in San José; the goal of these events is to allow locals and foreigners to...

In 2015, Costa Rica's Ministry of Public Education started to undertake a "transformation" of its curriculum to include "sexuality and affectivity" as part of its offerings, explained Education Minister Sonia Marta Mora. She announced this week the creation of a new subject to be offered for all 10th graders in the 2018 Feb. - Dec. school year. The sexuality and affectivity class will be led...

The video below, “Calling on Costa Rica”, was produced by Metro Golden Mayer and narrated by James A. FitzPatrick, and it showcases the Costa Rica of 70 years ago, the Costa Rica of 1947. Back in 1947 things were very different in Costa Rica, the video even mentions the country had some of the best roads! Imagine that! But behind the beauty and apparent calm that is shown in the video, the c...

Whether you are looking for souvenirs, unique articles to decorate your home or you just want to admire some Costa Rican crafts. The National Park in San Jose and the first floor of Casa del Cuño in “La Antigua Aduana”, Barrio La California are the spaces where you can find 69 and 59 stands respectively that showcase a wide variety of Costa Rican crafts . The talent of local artists can be foun...

Foreigners that live in Costa Rica have learned that knowing Spanish is sometimes not enough to understand or communicate properly in the country. Costa Ricans seem to always have a nickname for things and places, there are also a lot of phrases used by “ticos” that can be both funny and confusing. For those foreigners that have spent enough time in Costa Rica and are already familiar with the ...

The Costa Rica International Festival of the Arts – FIA 2017 kicks off tomorrow Thursday, June 29th and will fill the capital city with different art, music and theater shows. The Municipality of San José has confirmed all international and national events, the majority of which will be held indoors in 14 different sites, among them the National Theater, the Dance Theater, Theater 1887 and the Me...

The Costa Rican government announced a new nationwide multi-institutional approach to preventing and combating violence against women, said the presidency this week. The focus is on prevention, redefining masculinity, and changing cultural gender norms. The policy envisions involving 22 state entities over the next 15 years to reduce violence against women in a country where over 13o women p...

The Costa Rica Ministry of Culture confirmed the dates for this year’s book fair that will take place August 25 through September 3. This is the 20th edition of the event as an international fair and to commemorate this the Ministry of Culture and the Costa Rica College (organism in charge of this year’s edition) will open a calling for editorials, authors, and any interested party so they can ...

August 22 and 23 in the Melico Salazar Theater in San José The Virtuous Children of Caucasus will be presenting their show for the first time in Costa Rica. Dance, acrobatics in the air and incredible spins are part of the abilities this group of thirty talented children - whose ages range from 6 to 14 years - and originating from Georgia (Eurasia), will showcase in Costa Rica. Inheritors of...

Leonora Jimenez, director of Traffic magazine and organizer of the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week San José (MBFW) has confirmed the names of five of the ten international designers that will participate in the fifth edition of the event that is scheduled for August 2-5 at the Real Intercontinental Hotel in Escazú. Shantall Lacayo from Nicaragua, Kris Goyri and Alfredo Martínez from Mexico, Karen Da...

Miss Costa Rica 2016's first runner-up, Elena Correa Usuga, was named this week to represent Costa Rica at the 2017 Miss Universe pageant to be held later this year. The Costa Rica pageant director, where candidates are normally judged and a winner selected, announced that no pageant would be held this year, reported Channel 7 TV Teletica. The formal crowning of Correa as Costa Rica's repres...

Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solis will visit the southern Pacific region of Osa tomorrow, June 15, and local residents said they will hold a protest in "defense of the rights of nature and the right of future generations," reported local media today. The peaceful march will begin at 8:30 a.m. leaving the old South Pacific Lyceum and arriving at the Municipality of Osa. The motto of the...

The International Labor Organization (ILO) places Costa Rica first in the region in reducing labor among children between 5 and 14 years. The 2016 National Household Survey shows 12 thousand fewer underage workers. Costa Rica is committed to continue working to strengthen public policy to decrease child labor and is committed to remaining a regional leader by having the lowest index (1.1 percent)...

To celebrate the recent passage of legislation in Costa Rica regulating humane treatment of animals, the national government together with the municipality of San José held a block party with live music and plenty of fun yesterday on the main Paseo Colón in the capital's downtown. Pets had swimming pools to splash in, their own playground, hydration stations, food bags and snacks, as well as de...

An engaging exposé on first sexual experiences was recently published in Costa Rica's northern regional bilingual news source, La Voz de Guanacaste - The Voice of Guanacaste. The story consists of short, poignant vignettes with sensual photos from a range of voices, including a elderly woman, a rape survivor, a gay man, and others who discuss the sexual taboos they grew up with, and their exper...

The cultural project “Your City, Your Canvas” (Tu Ciudad, Tu Lienzo) which this year chose the Casa del Parque Hostel in San José as the canvas to display urban art, has already selected ten proposals as the finalists for this project. “After an intense analysis process, and with the complexity of having to consider the criteria of all the different advisers of the visual arts project from the ...

- United States Embassy in Costa Rica celebrates sexual diversity month with rainbow flag. "In previous years we have displayed this flag at the entrance to our embassy, ​​but starting last year, we hoisted it along with the United States flag, so that Costa Rica can see this powerful and symbolic demonstration of our commitment to tolerance, acceptance and equal rights for all citizens, regard...

The National Symphonic Orchestra will give a free concert this Friday, May 26th at the Santa Ana catholic church starting at 7 p.m. This is not the first time that a concert of this type is held at the Santa Ana Church, this community has organized several times before the Baroque Music Festival in this same site. This time Directed by Bruno Procopio, the Symphonic Orchestra will present a repe...

The Costa Rican government celebrated yesterday the National Culture Awards ceremony at the National Theater. These awards are given every year and they recognize the work, effort, achievements and excellence of individuals or cultural-artistic groups in different cultural disciplines such as visual arts, audiovisuals, dance music, theater, literature, cultural research, culture promotion, to n...

U.S. conductor, Arthur Fagen, will lead six functions in Costa Rica of "La Traviata" (literally, The Fallen Woman), the most performed opera in the world. The 3-act opera by Italian composer Giuseppe Verdi, with libretto by Francesco Maria Piave, will be performed by the Costa Rican National Lyric Company (CLN) at the Melico Salazar Theater in downtown San José in July. Fagen serves as the p...

Believed to have been written in 1599 “As You Like It” is one of William Shakespeare’s most famous romantic comedies and the Georgian theater group Marjanishvili will be presenting its version at the Costa Rica’s National Theater in association with Teatro Espressivo. This show is part of “The Best of the World 2017” series of presentations, organized by Espressivo Theater. This rendition of "...

To celebrate the International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (May 17th), the Costa Rican National University (UNA, in Spanish) Student Federation organized a special event. Starting May 15 at the UNA Sarapiquí campus, and conclude on May 26 in Nicoya and Liberia, the sexual diversity caravan (CaravanaDeLaDiversidadSexual) emphasizes love and respect, and will highlight demons...

“Two Mundos” is the name of the exhibit that will be inaugurated in New York’s exclusive gallery reGeneration Furniture and that will be inaugurated Monday, May 22 and will be open to the public through June 15. This exhibit will showcase the talent of Costa Rican Gabriela Valenzuela-Hirsh and works by a group of Costa Rican designers and some foreigners with many years of living in the country...

When the La Cruz elementary school director decided to allow Nicaragua students to join her Costa Rican classes, things started to change. La Cruz, Upala, at Alajuela province's northernmost point, is on the border with Nicaragua. Under the guidance of creative designers and communicators from J. Walter Thompson and with the commitment of Costa Rica's leading TV station, Teletica, the children ...

“Sí vos no pisas majé, sos marica! Así pensamos nosotros,” said a friend of Ben Anson's during his stay on Honduras' northern Caribbean coast. Which translates to, “If you don’t f*** man, you’re a faggot. That’s how we think.” This, and many other incidents experienced by the young and girlfriend-less Brit, drove Anson to write up his thoughts on masculinity, and publish them this week in Hondu...

As we celebrate the Holy Week, we invite you to visit some of Costa Rica’s most beautiful churches, being for the most part a catholic country, you are sure to find a church in every community, but some are certainly worth visiting even if you are not a religious person, as their architecture makes them stand out. Basílica Nuestra Señora de Los Angeles: This is Costa Rica’s most popular chur...

Albert and Keith Toney may seem like an ordinary gay couple. But when the Massachusetts men moved to Costa Rica’s northern Pacific coast, their new cultural surroundings held some surprises. While being interviewed and photographed recently by the regional newspaper La Voz de Guanacaste, the couple garnered reactions from passersby that spanned the spectrum from shock to warmth. “Not five...

 - Researchers and teachers throughout the country are developing a tool to prevent, detect and eradicate racist practices in Costa Rica's classrooms. An initiative called "Racial-Discrimination-Free Educational Centers," is under development with workshops being held in the country's different provinces with over 200 teachers to gather input on the cirruclum and discuss its importance. The ef...

AOC, the world leader in display technologies, announced the availability in Costa Rica of the G2460PQU, a super professional 24-inch monitor designed especially for gamers who want accurate colors, striking graphics, and a fluid gaming experience. The AOC G2460PQU provides a refresh rate of 144 Hz and a 1 ms response time that allows gamers to enjoy super fast action without distorted images w...

By Charles Austin Boll Sardinal Defeats San Juan de Abangares 5-4 to Win the Campeonato de Fútbol San Luis Every Sunday, this small town of 500 ticos will pause - for soccer. San Luis de Monteverde hosts club teams that travel from surrounding areas to participate in the Campeonato de Fútbol San Luis. This weekend brought together an unusually large crowd to enjoy the final match and cele...

Costa Rica’s Short Film Festival invites local producers to submit their works from now until Saturday, March 25. Costa Rican nationals and residents alike are invited to submit their short films to the event which is quickly growing in popularity. The festival’s second edition will hold screenings from June 23-25 at the Costa Rican Journalists Association office across from Parque La Sabana an...

Friday, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) published an article on a 21-year-old woman from Corner Brook, Newfoundland who was declared missing by her family in early March. After the young woman, Kayla Jean Reid, had allegedly gone to a church retreat at the end of February and never returned home, her family contacted the Newfoundland police. As her family scoured the Internet for po...

An iconic portrait of China's Communist leader Mao Zedong by Andy Warhol will be up for auction for the first time in China on April 1 at Sotheby's in Hong Kong. The portrait, dating back to 1973, is expected to fetch between $12 million and $15 million. "It is the most expensive painting from a western artist in Sotheby's Hong Kong," the auction house's Asia head Isaure de Viel Castel said ...

So, you came to Costa Rica on vacation and you want to take something back with you as a reminder of your fun time here, or maybe you live here and you need to take souvenirs back to your family abroad. The thing is, sometimes it is difficult to know where to get nice souvenirs at a good price, and more often than we’d like we end up buying them at the airport on our way out of the country, and le...

The last Sunday of each month, starting at 11 a.m., the National Museum in downtown San José fills with music that captivates crowds of up to 300 people. This is the 10th year that the San José Concert Band will offer concerts on the last Sunday of each month. Seating is limited, and you must arrive early to reserve a seat. Locals enter free (with id) and foreign visitors must pay the museum ad...

March 17th through March 19th more than 150 artistic shows will take over San Jose, in the 13th edition of Transitarte Summer Festival. Transitarte is part of the initiatives of the San José Municipality to provide artistic and cultural events to the population and part of the efforts to recover the use of public spaces, it is also an option for foreign visitors to get to know the Costa Rican c...