The tagline of the 5-Star resort La Mansion Inn is “You come as a guest, but leave as a friend.” Dra. Maria Luisa Cedeno Quesada (43), wasn’t even able to leave alive. Three men are in custody for her murder, including the owner of the hotel, Harry J. Bodaan, a longtime fixture on the Manuel Antonio social scene, often referred to as the Ambassador of Quepos. Bodaan (69), was taken into police cus...

Costa Rica is listed as one of 13 Best Gay Friendly Countries to Move to, according to International Living. “The same attributes that make a place attractive to any prospective expat—things like warm weather, a low cost of living, natural beauty, sound healthcare, and plenty to do—these come into important play, no matter what. But in this report, we consider a selection of our top-recommended...

Two women will be the first same sex couple to get married in Costa Rica on May 26 when it will be finally legal in the country. The wedding will be broadcasted live by Trece Costa Rica Televisión (Channel 13) and also through social media. According to Gia Miranda, executive director of the campaign Sí Acepto Costa Rica (I Do Costa Rica), the original idea was to have a big celebration, how...

In August 2018, Costa Rica’s Constitutional Court voted to legalize gay marriage, making Costa Rica the first country in Central America to recognize the right of same sex couples to marry. The ruling is supposed to take effect in ten days on May 26th, a deadline which brought members of the National Liberation Party (PLN) into a brief fist fight on Tuesday. Enrique Sanchez, Costa Rica’s first ...

During almost a year, Diverse Weddings, an LGBTQ+ destination wedding business, has waited for May 26th 2020, the day that same sex couples will be able to celebrate love and a historic moment for Costa Rica! Nowadays, we´re facing an unprecedented global health emergency due to Coronavirus Covid-19, with borders closed and an unforeseen impact in Costa Rica´s tourism industry. Diverse Weddings ...

The beach town of Tamarindo will fill with glitter when it hosts the Glitters Festival November 30th through December 2nd in the first LGBTQ festival in the country. “Glitters Fest is born with the objective on promoting diverse tourism in Guanacaste and open spaces of entertainment for the LGBTQ+ community outside of the Great Metropolitan Area (GAM)”, explained Andrés Alpizar, organizer of t...

Costa Rica will have for the first time, a Wedding Expo directed to the LGBTI population in 2019. The event is organized by Villamil Productions and will take place at the Pedregal Events Center in San Antonio de Belen, Heredia in February, the specific dates have not yet been released but it will extend for three days. Villamil has made available one hundred stands for companies to offer di...

The Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (CIDH) acknowledged the decision of the Constitutional Chamber of the Costa Rican Supreme Court which  declared unconstitutional the article of the Family Code that explicitly prohibits same sex marriage, and the Commission urges the State to advance immediately in the effective implementation of this sentence. The Supreme Court of Costa Rica ordere...

At 11:30 p.m. this August 8th, 2018, the Constitutional Chamber in Costa Rica (Sala Constitucional or Sala IV as it is popularly known) pronounced itself on same sex marriage in the country and domestic partnership between same sex couples. Judge Fernando Castillo was in charge of explaining the decision of the Constitutional Chamber to the press: “These have been two very complex rulings, a...

The LGBTI diversity parade – Pride Costa Rica 2018 takes place this Sunday, July 1st and Government officials as well as several public and private institutions have confirmed their participation in this event and also their commitment to the defense of the rights of the LGBTI community. The Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE), the Costa Rican Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers (AyA), Cost...

The annual LGBTI diversity parade – Pride Costa Rica 2018 will take place July 1 in its ninth consecutive year. The event will start at noon leaving from the Leon Cortes statue in La Sabana and will go through Paseo Colon, 2nd Avenue and will finish at the Plaza de la Democracia. Javier Umaña, coordinator of the event commented that the public will enjoy a colorful event with the participat...

In the frame of the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, the Executive Branch announced the naming of attorney Luis Eduardo Salazar Muñoz as the Commissioner for Matters Relating the LGBTI population. “One of the biggest challenges of the Bicentennial Government will be to deepen the culture of respect and non-discrimination, as well as the understanding and the cons...

The Costa Rica Supreme Electoral Court (TSE in Spanish) announced this Monday that citizens will now be able to change their name according to their gender identity and it will be shown this way in their ID cards. The decision was made in session number 49-2018 in which the members of the TSE analyzed the advisory opinions given by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights regarding gay marriage...

Costa Rica’s Attorney General of the Republic (Procuraduría General) responded yesterday to the questions set out by the Constitutional Chamber (Sala IV) on whether or not the advisory opinions given by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights are binding regarding gay marriage. The Constitutional Chamber submitted the consultation to the Attorney General of the Republic regarding an unconstitu...

Costa Rica’s President elect Carlos Alvarado will name a commissionaire that will be in charge of promoting the LGBTI agenda during the four year presidential term. The president will choose the commissionaire between the candidates proposed by organizations that defend the rights of the LGBTI population. The commissionaire will serve as a link with the Legislative Assembly in the discussion...

Costa Rica will host the first lesbian event in the Central American region, the Ella International Lesbian Festival, an event that will put Costa Rica on the map as a tourism destination for the lesbian and LGBTQ population. The activity which this year celebrates its 6th edition in Mallorca, Spain, is a culture, music, art and sports Festival “thought for the modern lesbian woman” where more ...

The Latin American Center of Competitiveness and Sustainable Development of the Incae Business School conducted a study for the Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT), the Index of Social Progress of Tourist Centers in Costa Rica, which measures environmental and social indicators in ten regions. Three indicators are divided in four aspects and each is assigned a grade between 0 and 100. One of the...

The National Tourism Chamber (Canatur) highlighted the importance for the country to respect the rights of the LGBTI population to prevent a decrease in the number of visitors to the country. Sary Valverde, president of Canatur, affirmed that this doesn’t just affect the interest of LGBTI tourists, which represent a 10% of the total number of foreigners visiting the country, to visit the countr...

Francisco Prendas is the candidate for the vice-presidency of Costa Rica representing the National Restoration Party (PRN) whose presidential candidate is Fabricio Alvarado. Francisco stated that their party would much rather choose heterosexuals as members of his government (ministers or executive presidents in public institutions) than a homosexual person, to avoid “offending the majority of Cos...

The Superior Notarial Council in Costa Rica has agreed that for now all public notaries in the country are forbidden from celebrating same-sex marriages, despite the resolution of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights until a legislative reform is made or a constitutional annulment sentence is emitted regarding the norms that regulate marriage in Costa Rica. The Council refers in particular ...

After the resolution of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights which established that same-sex couples should be recognized and guaranteed all the rights including the right to marriage, a same-sex couple will be celebrating their marriage for the first time in Costa Rica this Saturday, January 20, announced daily La Nacion. The couple is formed by Mario Arias ( Costa Rican) and Robeth Castil...

The Vice-President of Costa Rica Ana Helena Chacón Echeverría along with Marvin Carvajal, Legal Director for the Presidency and Eugenia Gutierrez, Legal Director for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, had requested back in May 18, 2016 and advisory opinion to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights regarding same-sex marriage and transgender rights; today he Government received the official ruling....

Costa Rica has been hosting since November 8 the Latin American Congress for Equal Marriage, the event comes to an end today, it is the first event of its kind in the region. HDuarte-Lex, Igualitos Foundation, Citizen Asociation (ACCEDER) and the Costa Rican Association of International Law are the organizers of this event that was celebrated with the objective of opening a legal and constituti...

LGBTI tourism continues to grow at a faster pace than the regular market reaching 10.7% in 2016. According to information released at the London World Travel Market in November of 2016 the global value of the LGBT travel market is worth over USD$211 billion in consumer spending; this is the market that many Costa Rican companies are now targeting. Targeting the LGBTI market has proven to be ...

The second edition of the International Trade Mission Costa Rica LGBTI event will take place September 4 and 5 at the Radisson Hotel in San José and will have the participation of the LGBTI Chambers of Commerce of Costa Rica, Canada and the United States. The goal of the Trade Mission event is to bring the attention over Costa Rica as an inclusive and respectful destination for the LGBTI popul...

Diplomatic delegations from several embassies in Costa Rica have confirmed their participation in today’s LGBTI Diversity March which has as a slogan “Human Rights for Everyone”. The confirmed embassies include: USA, Bolivia, Canada, Colombia, Chile, France, UK, Netherlands, Israel, Mexico, Spain and EU as well as the UN System and its agencies. This is the eight edition of the Diversity Mar...

The LGBTI diversity march will take place June 25 in Costa Rica; this event has been taking place for 8 years and it’s a space to celebrate and promote the rights of the LGBTI community. Bands, floats, dancing, shows and other attractions are part of the march that starts at Paseo Colón and finishes in the Plaza de las Garantías Sociales in San José. The organization of the event has already...

- 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...

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...

The National University (UNA) and the Latin America University of Science and Technology (ULACIT) have announced a series of activities to raise awareness and celebrate the rights of the LGBTI community. ULACIT will kick off the activities with the conference by American activist John Corvino, author of the books Debating Same-Sex Marriage and What's Wrong With Homosexuality?; scheduled for Wed...

Hotels.com published the list of winners of their yearly Loved by Guests Awards, which recognize hotels all around the world that receive the best scores by their clients in nine different categories: beach, boutique, business, family, LGBT, luxury, newcomer, spa and gold. To receive a gold award, properties must have received an average customer review score of 4.7 or higher, based on a minimum o...

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...

US President Donald Trump will keep an executive order issued by his predecessor, Barack Obama, banning private companies doing business with the federal government from discriminating against homosexual, bisexual and transgender employees, the White House said Tuesday. Trump "is determined to protect the rights of all Americans, including the LGBTQ community," the White House said in a stateme...

By Wendy Anders Source: Flickr CC Halloween got a bit ghastlier for the lesbian, gay, and trans community in Costa Rica last week when some members reported receiving threats via WhatsApp of planned attacks on gay bars and clubs. Thursday high government officials met to discuss the threat, and to plan extra security measures in coordination with bar owners, reported ElMundo.cr, a Costa ...

Mexico City, Sep 11 (EFE).- Thousands of people took to the streets in 120 cities across Mexico this weekend to protest President Enrique Peña Nieto's plan to amend the constitution to recognize same-sex marriages. The National Front for the Family organized marches Saturday in 29 Mexican states to express opposition to the same-sex marriage proposal unveiled by President Peña Nieto in May and ba...

Costa Rica has always stood by the defense of human rights, promoting an inclusive and tolerant society; and even though this is still a work in progress, there is a big sector of the population that is not only respectful of the LGBTI community but in fact they understand the big potential behind this market, the tourism sector. Costa Rica’s Diverse Chamber of Commerce also known as Costa Rica...

Washington, D.C. - The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) welcomes the progress made in recent months with regard to the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and intersex persons (LGBTI), particularly in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, the United States, and Uruguay. With regard to non-discrimination within the family s...

By Wendy Anders Many suspects awaiting trial are housed alongside convicted criminal in Costa Rica's La Reforma Prison, pictured. (ICR/CRS Archive) La Reforma Prison in La Guácima, Alajuela was ordered this week by the Costa Rican Constitutional Court to ensure clothing requested by and sent to an inmate be provided. The inmate submitted an appeal to the court alleging guards at La Refor...

By Wendy Anders Costa Rica became a signatory to the new global Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS at the 2016 High Level Meeting on Ending AIDS held in New York, June 8-10. With this, the country committed to increase AIDS prevention activities to significantly reduce transmission over the next five years, and to become the second country in Latin America after Cuba to eliminate mother-to-ch...

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...