Wikimedia Commons An unusual legislative proposal by a group of female legislators in Costa Rica would send an adult five years older than his or her sex partner to jail. According to a recent news report filed by Bharley Quiros, a reporter covering the Legislative Assembly beat for La Prensa Libre (the oldest news publication in operation in Costa Rica), the proposal seeks to amend the Cri...

Early Monteverde community diner., Source: John Campbell by Jody Jenkins How far would you go for your beliefs? It’s a question more pertinent than ever in today’s globalized world brimming with moral issues easily accessible with the swipe of a fingertip on any smartphone. In a virtual age where tapping a “donate” button equates to activism, how do we decide which causes are really worth ri...

President Solis President Luis Guillermo Solis fell on his backside during a cultural celebration commemorating the Annexation of Nicoya to Costa Rica. The spill took place during the performance of El Torito, a traditional dance that symbolizes the cultural heritage of the Guanacaste province. President Solis was in Nicoya on this national holiday to report on the little progress made by h...

By Jack Donnelly Mexico and Central America gained their independence from Spain on September 15, 1821. The news did not reach Costa Rica until October 11th, but Independence Day is still celebrated here on September 15th. Actually, there is a small movement to change the date, but the 15th is still the official holiday.   It took some time for the Central American countries to sort ...

Wikimedia Commons Bolivian writer Oswaldo Calatayud, the winner of his country's 17th National Novel Prize for his work "La Guerra del Papel" (The Paper War), says that the "ultra-tech" world has reinforced human loneliness. In an interview with EFE, the author explained that nowadays "there is little contact between people because technology intercedes in everything. Being on the cellphone...

By Wendy Anders Since 2009, Costa Rica’s gay, lesbian, bi-sexual, and trans-gender movement has shown its colorful pride on the city’s streets. Today, march organizers on their Facebook site estimated 45,000 flocked downtown to celebrate an increasingly supportive climate in the socially and culturally conservative Catholic nation. In advance of the march, Costa Rica’s Labor and Social Se...

Wikimedia Commons Morelia, Mexico, Jun 4 (EFE).- Legislators of the southwestern Mexican state of Michoacan have awarded a medal to the traditional music group "Jimenez Brothers and their Harp" which plays "narcocorridos" (narcotics + the traditional Mexican ballads known as "corridos") that glorify drug traffickers. At a solemn session held Friday night at the Legislative Palace of Morelia...

Flickr Commons Easy access to online social networks, themes portrayed in modern Latin American soap operas and the open discussion of family finances are causal factors driving young girls to prostitute themselves in Costa Rica. In mid-March, the incident of a 40-year old man reportedly sought to pay a 13-year old girl 150,000 colones (about $300) in exchange for a sexual session was repor...

Photo by Bill Damon, Flickr Commons Lima, May 30 (EFE).- A group of Peruvian shamans faced off Monday in a duel of rituals to bring an election victory either to Keiko Fujimori or to rival Pedro Pablo Kuczynski in the June 5 presidential runoff. The rituals were celebrated by six shamans, four in favor of Fujimori and two supporting Kuczynski, outside Lima's National Stadium. Empowered b...

The United States today celebrates Memorial Day, and in Costa Rica the expat community often gathers to observe the men and women who gave their lives while serving in the dear Armed Forces of their country. Author’s Note: The use of the noun and adjective “American” in this Article conforms to the definition in Princeton’s WordNet: (A native or inhabitant of the United States), and the recomme...

Costa Rica National Theater Mural. Wikimedia Commons San Jose, May 29 (EFE).- Latin American cultural expression is being threatened by globalization and new technologies, which have serious consequences in that peoples are beginning to lose their separate identities, Silvia Rosa Martinez, a Peruvian expert in Intangible Cultural Heritage said. In an interview with EFE, the executive direct...

Monument at Punta Querandí, Wikimedia Commons Buenos Aires, May 22 (EFE).- A small patch of land is the epicenter of a conflict to defend the rights of Argentina's original inhabitants against construction firms. Punta Querandi, a little "peninsula" in a river in the Buenos Aires provincial town of Dique Lujan, was isolated by the collapse of its only bridge and by the private neighborhoods...

Photo by Jack Donnelly By Jack Donnelly Malacrianza killed two people and is much loved for it. Malacrianza (bad upbringing, badly raised) is Costa Rica’s most famous bull. He killed two of his riders—a huge career boost—during his time on the circuit. He performed for the last time in 2013 and was found dead in his pasture in March of 2015. He came from Hacienda La Nueva Esperanza in...

Jairo Zelaya - Pixabay Commons CURRIDABAT, COSTA RICA, May 12, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Costa Rican Trip has partnered with the Instituto Para Estudiantes Extranjeros (www.IPEE.com) as one to provide premium immersion Spanish language education, adding another facet to your vacation in Costa Rica. This education process is typically continued and enhanced online after your stay. For over ...

Van Gogh - Starry Night. Google Cultural Institute Medellin, Colombia, May 13 (EFE).- The inauguration in this northwestern Colombian city of the multisensory exhibition "Van Gogh Alive: The Experience" will serve to immerse art lovers in the Dutch post-Impressionist painter's visionary "madness." Installed at the Plaza Mayor until June 28, when it will be taken to Bogota, the exhibition co...

Black Star Line before the fire. Wikimedia Commons Late April was an unkind time for Afro Caribbean culture in Costa Rica. On April 29, a structural fire consumed the Black Star Line building in Limón, destroying an important symbol of the legacy left by Marcus Garvey in our country. Starting today, the good people of Limón will conduct a series of cultural and family events for the purpose...

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) May 11, 2016 - In a recent Bird-X blog post, the company explains how it helped preserve history at the National Theatre of Costa Rica with the installation of its bird shock track system, Avishock™. In April, Fuera Aves PRO, part of the JAMUVI Group of companies, installed 300 meters of Avishock™, on the theatre’s rooftop ledges to stop birds from landing and defecating on ...

YouTube Commons Lima, May 9 (EFE).- The Cuzco Decentralized Culture Directorate reported Monday that vandals had painted eight graffiti with aerosols on five streets of the historic center of that ancient Inca city, which they called a crime against culture. The graffiti were sprayed on the stone walls with black paint to form the word "KOYOS 16," at a height of approximately 40 centimeters...

Photos by Bryan Fabio Herrera "If there's no chocolate in heaven, I'm not going." -- Jane Seabrook There have been dire predictions recently from the International Cocoa Organization (ICCO), and others, that the world is running out of chocolate. Said the Washington Post, “We are in the midst of what may be the longest streak of consecutive chocolate deficits in more than 50 years.” Experts...

Wikimedia Commons By Britt Nelson Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff. Trump, Clinton and Sanders – what a nice ménage à trois. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders refuses to quit the Democratic presidential race, causing much frustration within the campaign of former Secretary of State Hillary ...

Source; EFE file photo How do you use the Internet? Do you browse the Web to get a quick answer or to complete a certain task without leaving comments or opinions about your experience? Are you concerned about revealing your identity online? If you answer the questions above in an affirmative manner, you may be a digital visitor. If you, on the other hand, live out your life openly on the I...

The National Museum of Costa Rica, in conjunction with the community development associations of the Osa, Palmar and the Diquis Delta region, invite you to the 11th Festival of the Stone Spheres from May 13th to the 15th . The Annual Festival of the Stone Spheres is a cultural and festive event that celebrated the magnificent National Park of the Stone Spheres of Costa Rica, which is a UNESCO W...

Photo by Jack Donnelly By Jack Donnelly Yuca is not yucca and it’s not at all yucky. Yuca is cassava in English. It is one of a number of starchy roots important to the tropical diet. It is often sold protected with a layer of paraffin, like rutabagas in the United States. Yucca is common in drier areas of the Americas and the Caribbean and is often used as an ornamental plant. The only ...

Flickr Commons The 2016 World Press Freedom Index reflects the intensity of the attacks on journalistic freedom and independence by governments, ideologies and private-sector interests during the past year. Thankfully, Costa Rica enjoys a great degree of press freedom; for this reason, Reporters Without Borders ranks our country as number six on the Index. Seen as a benchmark throughout the...

Source: A Small Section of the World ATLANTA, GA--(Marketwired - April 14, 2016) - Illy, a global leader in direct trade with coffee growers, and an industry innovator in sustainability and technology spanning eight decades, will mark key milestones in its storied history, and set the stage for what's next in coffee culture, at the annual Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA) Expo, Ap...

(Wikimedia Commons) Chicago, Apr 15 (EFE).- The anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim rhetoric of Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump has invaded schools and universities across the United States, where the magnate's followers shout his name to intimidate Latinos and other people of color. "Trump has become a synonym for hate and his name is used to threaten minorities," the Midwest regional...

(ICR-CRS archive/stock) Cannabis has overtaken tobacco as one of the recreational substances of choice among high school students in Costa Rica. Such was the conclusion reached by the Institute on Liquor and Substance Abuse Research (Spanish acronym: IAFA) following its Fourth National Survey in secondary schools. The longitudinal survey, which was conducted in 2015, has been put through va...

Wikimedia Commons By Carlota Ciudad Rio de Janeiro, Apr 11 (EFE).- Stable sexual relationships in which more than two people are involved, or "polylove" as its participants call it, is gradually gaining ground in Brazil by making use of a loophole in the laws of the country, where more and more unions of this kind are in evidence. Though the number of such cases has grown in recent years...

The late Mr. Herrera, on the left. Facebook Former police officer and self-confessed neo-nazi Ronald Javier Herrera Borges took his own life on Saturday. Mr. Herrera was found in his home located in the neighborhood of La Capri, part of the populous Desamparados canton of the San Jose province. The suicide note posted on Facebook by Mr. Herrera asks for forgiveness while labeling himself a ...

Turismo Miramar Buenos Aires, Mar 27 (EFE). - Residents of Miramar, a coastal city in Argentina's Buenos Aires province, have built the world's tallest chocolate Easter Bunny, a creation that stands 5.2 meters (just over 17 feet) tall and weighs 3,000 kilos (3.3 tons), city officials told EFE on Sunday. "In the past six years, around this time, we have made giant Easter eggs, but since othe...

Source: Rolling Stones Twitter By Sara Gomez Armas Havana, Mar 26 (EFE).- A sea of cellphones lit up the night in this capital's Coliseo de la Ciudad Deportiva sports complex from the first chords of "Jumpin' Jack Flash," with many in attendance eager to capture an image of The Rolling Stones taking the stage for their much-anticipated free concert in Cuba. "We know that years back it wa...

Mabel Flores, Flickr Commons More than 70 Fire Departments across Costa Rica will be very vigilant from now until the early hours of Easter Sunday as communities engage in the traditional burning of the Judas Iscariot effigy. The burning of Judas begins with the hanging of the effigy, which happens on Good Friday and is followed by burning on the night of Holy Satruday. This religious tradi...

"Rolling Stones 26" by Gorupdebesanez - Own work. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Commons By Yeny Garcia Havana, Mar 25 (EFE).- The legendary Rolling Stones spent their first night in Cuba getting to know the island's celebs from the realms of art and culture, who did not disguise their enthusiasm at meeting their "Satanic Majesties" after the rock band landed in Havana to give a historic f...

Source: International News Safety Institute Mexico City, Mar 17 (EFE).- Attacks on the press rose 21.8 percent in Mexico last year, compared to 2014, with seven members of the media murdered and 397 cases, or one every 22 hours, registered, the Articulo 19 press rights organization said in a report. Public officials were involved in 41.5 percent of the cases, the press rights group said. ...

Art City Tour San Jose, Costa Rica San Jose, March 8, 2016 - The second edition of Art City Tour 2016 will take place Under the slogan "San Jose Dreams, San Jose Designs." The Tour will welcome the International Design Festival (FID), and it aims to connect the cultural center of San José to La Sabana. More than 2,500 people are expected to take advantage of the free bus rides departing fro...

By Carol Blair Vaughn John Ward Flickr Commons The Godfather of Email Has Died Ray Tomlinson, known worldwide as the inventor of email, has died of a reported heart attack at the age of 74.  Tomlinson leaves behind a wife and two children – but more famously – a method for all of us living outside our home countries to communicate with each other any time, day or night: email.   ...

Scientology objects of faith. Wikimedia Commons SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica, March 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- On a typically glorious Costa Rican afternoon in February, hundreds of guests assembled to welcome the Scientology Volunteer Ministers Latin American Goodwill Tour to San Jose. The celebration signaled the opening of the Volunteer Ministers bright yellow pavilion in the nation's capital. Here, v...

Gallito de arracache in Costa Rica. Jack Donnelly By Jack Donnelly   Eat like an Inca! You can enjoy one of the culinary delights of the ancient Incas of Peru right here in modern Costa Rica. It’s a dish that still thrills my palate.   It is called arracacha in English and arracache in Costa Rican Spanish. In fact, in Quechua (the Inca language, still widely spoken in Per...

Source: US Embassy United States Ambassador S. Fitzgerald Haney awarded an AFS Scholarship to Jesús Vallejos, a student at the Science High School in Limón, during the opening ceremony of the National System of Science and Technology High Schools class of 2016. This brilliant student will travel to the United States for a year of studies. Author’s Note: The use of the noun and adjective “Am...

Source: Dourone A talented muralist from Spain whose work can be enjoyed from Madrid to Paris and from Miami to Amsterdam has chosen Jaco Beach in Costa Rica as his latest canvas. Residents and tourists in Jaco Beach can appreciate the mural painted by Dourone and his partner  Elodieloll on Pastor Diaz Street, across from the KFC restaurant. Dourone is a visual artist who started with gr...