Artwork for Hembolia CerebralIn the style of musical groups such as Minor Threat, The Clash and the Dead Kennedys, three young men from Guanacaste punish their instruments and scream lyrics of discontent about how they see Costa Rica in the post-Free Trade Agreement (FTA) era: A socioeconomic model gone wrong. This is Hembolia Cerebral (Brain Aneurysm), a hardcore punk trio from Costa Rica's Gold ...

If you are a single woman traveling to Costa Rica read this previous article about exciting things to do on the Caribbean side of the country. In my travels, I have come across single women around the world who say, “I’d like to travel, but I don’t have anyone to go with.” Having traveled alone, I asked what was stopping them. What I found was a mixture of fears and concerns: Blending In ...

Coming to Costa Rica soon on vacation? Besides planning what you’re going to do, you’re probably already thinking about what to pack. Here are some quick and easy trip tips on what to pack for your Costa Rica vacation. Of course, what you need depends on where you are going and what you will do (check with your travel provider or hotels), but these general guidelines will serve you well. C...

Electronic Dance Music events in Costa Rica are full scale experiencesOn the heels of the extravagant Life in Color electronic dance music (EDM) festival, scenesters are paying close attention to related events in Costa Rica. From the upcoming German DJ Paul Van Dyk's set at Vertigo to the Envision Festival in the Osa Peninsula and from the psychedelic dance rock party at Best Fest to the prolife...

In the shadows behind the bullring in Samara on January 1st 2014, the guys gather around, dressed in blue jeans and the blue and white plaid shirts that distinguish them as members of the professional bull riders known as Los Nicoyanos. Some stand, others kneel on the ground for a group prayer. A couple of them hold a child in their arms. After the prayer, one by one, they draw a name out of a hat...

El Avion Restaurant and Bar, 22 Manuel Antonio Road, Manuel Antonio, Costa RicaGail Harland visits an old cargo plane in Costa Rica, converted into a restaurant, and discovers a Cold War relic involving a tale of political scandal, the CIA, arms trading and the Iran-Contra Affair. When the C-123 was shot down over Nicaragua in 1986 by the Sandinista guerillas, it left behind an American owned ...

Jaco Beach amphitheater under construction, photo by Tim Callahan Over the last few weeks, residents of Jaco Beach have seen construction crews busy at work behind the Johannes Dankers Municipal Recreational Park. They are building a large outdoor structure that was supposed to be part of a development package to host the FIFA Under-17 Women's World Cup, which is still taking place in Costa Ric...

2013 was a great year for tropical Nu-Disco/Dance-Pop band Patterns from San Jose. Their infectious single Sunny Days (video above) received major radio airplay in Costa Rica and around the world, thanks in great part to the song's colorful and surreal video, which saw its debut on the popular website Noisey, part of the Vice online network. Here's a closer look at the masterful production of ...

Artist rendition of El Cadejo in Costa RIcaAs you read this, a young woman in Costa Rica is staring at her smartphone in horror. She is frozen with fear and dreads the moment someone will come up from behind and tap her on the shoulder, a horrifying child covered in sores and who has dead eyes that secrete a festering combination of pus and blood. This ghastly boy skulks around Guanacaste looking...

Source: Flickr CC Equestrian parades in Costa Rica are longstanding holiday traditions that date back several decades; they are known as “topes,” and they are loved by just about everyone who enjoys the sight of magnificently trained horses that elegantly gait and gallop in the expert reins of their riders. After each tope, however, there is an unpleasant task at hand. What happens to all that...

“Competition isn’t for everyone,” emphasized Amber Ryan and Meagen Walsh, who teach dance in Nosara. But for those who do want to challenge themselves as dancers, in addition to the thrill of performing on stage, the two have decided to form a dance company that will compete against other dance companies in San Jose May 30 to June 1 during the JUMP international Dance Tour. Auditions for the...

Naked and Afraid television program on the Discovery Channel, partially filmed episodes in Costa Rica Last year, a 40-year old man found himself naked in a lush rainforest of Costa Rica. He was looking for something to eat when he disrupted the habitat of a large terciopelo (fer-de-lance) snake, which he proceeded to kill with a stick. The killing of the reptile, which you can watch here, was ...

Candice Michelle, the GoDaddy Girl Most foreign men who come to Costa Rica on vacation or business are bound to become enthralled by the sheer number of beautiful women who can be found across the entire country. It is no secret that the human gene pool in Costa Rica tends to favor the female species; this is clearly made evident by actresses such as Madeleine Stowe and Candice Michelle (the G...

The Minister of Health, Daisy Corrales, has issued an order to temporarily close public pools that fail to fulfill the requirements established by the Regulation on Management of Public Pools (Executive Decree Nº 26671-S Reglamento Sobre Manejo de Piscinas Publicas) if changes aren’t made soon. In the canton of Nicoya, health authorities spent the last six months carrying out a general inspecti...

Carlos Ceciliano Lugo, Food and Beverage Manager for Croc's Casino Resort in Jaco Beach Costa RicaAccording to the great Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw, there is no love sincerer than the love of food. In Costa Rica, food is a fresh, yet mostly utilitarian experience. This is something that Carlos Ceciliano, the new Food and Beverage Manager at Croc’s Casino Resort in Jaco Beach, is sworn t...

The 32nd edition of the annual Culture Week event is taking place now in Santa Cruz, province of Guanacaste. The event started on January 4th at the Carlos Rodriguez amphitheater, located in the Bernabela Ramos Park. This week-long celebration of local culture and tradition is believed to be the oldest continuous cultural event in Costa Rica. Culture Week in Santa Cruz is made possible by the C...

Tourists posing for a photo at Cavernas el Venado La Fortuna is known for three major natural attractions and a variety of adrenalin packed adventures. It starts with the picture-perfect cone shaped Arenal Volcano, continues with a 26 mile-long sapphire blue lake that contrasts magically with the surrounding vibrant green hills, and finally the volcanic hot springs are found throughout the com...

From Catholic feasts to independence day and from Christmas to New Year's Eve, fireworks are a major part of holiday celebrations in Costa Rica. The 2013 holiday season, however, has been marked by a strict crackdown on unsafe fireworks by law enforcement agencies and public health officials. Now even the iconic Zapote fairgrounds will be devoid of fireworks. As reported on Christmas Eve by Lad...

December 29, 2013 Jaco, Costa Rica -- Slightly Stoopid, the Ocean Beach/San Diego, CA group led by multi-instrumentalists and founding members, Miles Doughty and Kyle McDonald, will headline Jungle Jam IV January 16-19, 2014 in Jaco, Costa Rica. Slightly Stoopid will be joined by special guest Don Carlos of Black Uhuru. Featuring four days of continuous music, this year’s party in the jungle...

Taiwanese man born in Costa Rica, Ken "Chino" ChuThis article is for entertainment purposes only and is not factual, originally posted on ElPeji.com. Belen, Costa Rica — A local Costa Rican man born to Taiwanese immigrants is threatening to pack up and move to Taiwan though he’s never actually been there before. Ken Chu, 28, who was born in Belen to Taiwanese immigrants, says his reasons f...

Tope Nacional in San Jose Costa RicaIf you are big fan of the “Tope”, today Thursday December 26 is your day, as the annual Tope Nacional, with more than 5,000 horseback riders, takes over the main streets of downtown San Jose Costa Rica. The horseback riders and their horses will gather on the east side of La Sabana and start making their way along Paseo Colón and onto Avenida Segunda after 1...

Photo of the Bandidos Motorcycle Club members with their Harley Davidson MotorcyclesThe Costa Rica Star previously published an article about a company that produces custom made choppers and hot rods in Costa Rica. It all started with the Bandidos Motorcycle Club from Texas opening a chapter in Costa Rica in 2004. These days, there are the Gitanos, Coyotes and other two-wheeled syndicates whose...

Santa Clause reading a letter from a child somewhere in the worldDespite Santa Claus not being a major figure in the folkloric Christmas traditions of Costa Rica, a few children are still taking time to address letters to his magical residence and massive toy workshop in the North Pole. According to a recent news article by Fernanda Matarrita of online news daily CRHoy.com, the main post office i...

Source: Overseas Radio Network This Week in Costa Rica, a podcast/radio program produced 52 times a year by a Canadian expatriate, is looking forward to bringing more reliable, useful and entertaining information to listeners in 2014. This radio program, which is also available as a podcast, is currently an exclusive feature of the Overseas Radio Network, the online radio station created by ex...

Delicious breakfast with an amazing ocean view of the Gulf of Papagayo, at Hotel ChantelHotel Chantel, an ocean view boutique hotel in Guanacaste that offers the best 360-degree panoramic view of Playas del Coco, is pleased to announce the inauguration of its scenic rooftop restaurant. This new restaurant will be for the exclusive enjoyment of Hotel Chantel's guests; however, the hotel management...

Just in time to beat the winter blues, Costa Rica’s summer season is beginning, offering affordable winter vacation destinations for northern travelers. Costa Rica is a fun and easy tropical adventure for winter sun-seekers. Miles of beaches on both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts make for great beach vacations. Rainforests, cloud forests and active volcanoes give you thrilling jungle adventur...

When is beer and chocolate a good combination? When it takes place as part of the holiday festivities in Costa Rica. From December 20th to 22nd, the Caribbean town of Puerto Viejo, province of Limon, will be home to the 2nd Annual Chocolate Festival to be held at the Koki Beach Park. Craft beer will be one of the highlights of this festival, which will feature the introduction of a special brew th...

Spending your Christmas holidays in Costa Rica and wondering what to do? The capital city of San José has a lot going on. So get your Santa hat and festive cheer ready, and let the rhythm of Christmas in Latin America dash you away! Christmas in San José, Costa Rica, is a lively, fun time. The city is ablaze with huge lighted Christmas trees adorning the front of the Children’s Hospital on Pase...

Source: The Costa Rica Star Facebook Beyonce Knowles and Shawn Corey Carter, better known as Beyonce and Jay-Z (or hip-hop music's ruling couple), were recently spotted in Costa Rica. Through official reports from the Directorate of Immigration we know that they landed at the Daniel Oduber Quiros International Airport in Liberia (LIR). We also know that they arrived on a private jet for their ...

For the past nine years, downtown Nicoya has been lit up during the month of December with the Festival of Light celebration. The main day of this year’s festival, Nicoya Shines 2013, will be on Saturday, December 7th. On that date, the program includes the presentation of 15 bands from Costa Rica and Panama to commemorate the 165th anniversary of the Canton of Nicoya, which was established as ...

If you were tuned in to ADN Radio 90.7 FM or Teletica Channel 7 in Costa Rica yesterday morning, you probably witnessed Mayor Luis Gerardo Castaneda of Liberia mention that the Disney conglomerate planned to develop a massive theme park in the 7,000 hectares of land located near the Daniel Oduber Quiros International Airport (LIR). You may have seen the news on the websites of La Nacion, CRHoy.com...

The ashes of one of Mexico's most cherished singers will be spread among the sand, ocean and pleasant breeze of Playas del Coco, province of Guanacaste. Isabel Vargas Lizano, better known as “The Voice of Mexico” or Chavela, passed away on August 5th, 2012. Part of her ashes have already been spread in the surf off Veracruz, a Mexican coastal town that Chavela loved as much as her native Costa Ric...

Prior to the 1970s, paranormal activity in Costa Rica was mostly the stuff of folklore passed from generations dating back to the times when Conquistadors were busy claiming the newfound Americas for the Spanish Crown. Some scary tales actually originated before Columbus arrived; they were told by the indigenous people of Costa Rica, who in some way descended from the Mayas. When a former mental h...

Now in its fourth year, the magic and wonder of previous incarnations of Envision Festival have driven anticipation for the transformational excursion on the beaches and in the jungles of Costa Rica each February. With a new location and a much higher profile for the annual blending of conscious music, visionary art, and spiritual enlightenment, this year's lineup has been the subject of much ...

There is no better way to relax – especially recently arrived on vacation – than with a massage. It really is amazing what 60 or 90 minutes of a professional therapist making your muscles and body unwind will do to produce feelings of bliss and well-being. Massage therapy benefits you by relaxing tight muscles, increasing circulation, releasing toxins, easing stress, and benefiting your whole b...

Zip line and aerial jungle canopy tours are among the most popular tourist attractions in Costa Rica, and those who overcome their fear of heights and surrender to their sense of adventure will have only fond memories of their time spent gliding from one section of the forest to another. Such are the memories a 90-year old woman from Texas now has to enjoy from her recent visit to Costa Rica. D...

Music fans who were disappointed by the announcement that the Caricaco Music Festival would not be held in 2013 will be delighted to know that it is being planned, bigger and better, for March of 2014. Alejandro Gutierrez, producer of the festival, let the Voice of Guanacaste know that the festival will be moved to a new open-air venue at Finca Austria, in Nosara across the river, with the goal...

Nosara will enjoy the third season of the Fish Bar Live Music Sessions, beginning this season on Saturday November 16th starting with dinner at 7:00pm and live music at 7:30pm at Pacifico Azul Guiones. We will be beginning this 2013-2014 season with Thicker Than Thieves, who are on a concert tour through Costa Rica presenting their new album “Storm Will Pass”. This band has a fusion of rock, r...

Captain Daniel Espinoza on the 42ft Spanish Fly knows how to catch Dorado in volume! The Dorado are here! Not only is the Dorado – which most non-anglers will know as Mahi-Mahi – a tasty and popular item on the seafood menu; it is also a fierce and prized saltwater offshore gamefish, pound for pound one of the toughest to be found. Costa Rica’s Pacific coast is considered one of the world’s ...

New owner of La Vida Loca Bar in Playas del Coco, Zack Voelker. Pura Vida! If you come to Playas del Coco, you might be slightly surprised at how lively and busy this little beach town can get at night. Don’t underestimate the one main road going through downtown Coco, there are actually plenty of spots around Coco where you can have a night full of laughing, dancing, cold drinks, and celebrat...