Santa Ana and Mora counties in the western outskirts of the Greater San José Metropolitan Area will be without water on Tuesday, October 3, according to Costa Rican Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers (AyA, in Spanish). The agency will be carrying out work on a 300 mm water pipe that supplies the areas. Drinking water service will be cut from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the following areas: Lindora...

Tons of garbage clogging the rivers that traverse San José has caused some quite severe flooding in recent weeks with bridge closures, damage to homes, and landslides plastered in the headlines. A recent report estimated that in the San José metropolitan area, there are 136 clandestine trash dumps where residents and companies deposit their waste in open air mounds, according to a report on Cha...

At around 8:30 a.m. this morning, two trains crashed along the single track that runs from Belén, Heredia via Pavas and into the Pacific train station near the Bíblica Hospital in downtown San José, said reports in local media. Preliminary reports by eyewitnesses indicate that two trains were traveling in the same direction when a vehicle impulsively crossed the train track as the first train w...

A public-private partnership led by the multinational company Cuestamoras aims to make the urban areas of Heredia, Costa Rica greener, and more livable for residents, with a big reforestation effort. The Costa Rican National Institute of Biodiversity (INBio), with headquarters in Santo Domingo de Heredia, has determined that the city of Heredia has the least amount of green space per inhabitant...

Diners at McDonalds along the main drag in San Rafael de Escazú, an upscale district west of San José, were in for more than they bargained for when they went out for a bite last night. At around 9:40 p.m., two armed men entered the locale and robbed all customers and cash registers at gun point, reported police. No one was physically harmed in the hold up, but customers and workers were lef...

Traffic police and municipal governments in 16 of Costa Rica's counties are joining forces to bolster monitoring at specific areas with high car accident rates, such as Jaco beach said the Ministry of Public Works and Transport this week. The effort comes as the calendar approaches the end of the year, a time when car accidents historically spike in Costa Rica. "We want to focus on areas that ...

The eastern San José suburb of Curridabat is the planned site of a 25-story innovative residential tower to be undertaken by Civitar Desarrolladores, together with Constructora Volio & Trejos and Grupo Pijao. Civitas Desarrolladores has built several recent unique towers in Costa Rica, many in conjunction with Constructora Volio & Trejos, including iFreses, Ü Nunciatura, and Nunciatura ...

The Costa Rica National Theater is a historical building that this October will celebrate 120 years of existence; it holds an important place in the heart and history of the country, and many times it gets overlooked. Impressive paintings, one of the most important ones being Alegoría del comercio y la agricultura de Costa Rica (Allegory of commerce and agriculture of Costa Rica) by Italian ar...

The third edition of the Urbana Fashion Street Art 2017 promoted by Traffic Communications filled the Plaza de la Cultura in San José with beautifully decorated sculptures in the shape of mouths. This cultural initiative has the goal of bringing people close to different manifestations of art in unconventional formats. The past editions featured the essence of eight Costa Rican historic neighbo...

The Central Market (Mercado Central), the Borbón and the market located in the area known as the “Coca Cola Terminal” in downtown San José are historic landmarks, the Central Market for instance was established in 1880; these markets offer visitors an example of the Costa Rica of the past, and have a variety of handmade crafts, souvenirs and local products at great prices that attract local and in...

With criminal proceedings underway on a human organ trafficking case involving the trial of four Costa Rican doctors and their alleged accomplices, many interesting details are coming to light. Intersecting forces of greed, corruption and international black markets are being identified and dissected as evidence is presented in this first of a kind trial in Costa Rica. More details will be fort...

It’s been one year since seven Costa Ricans joined efforts to start a project that would truly have an impact on the quality of life of Ticos and the image of the city of San José; after a year of long work, the first kilometer of Rutas Naturbanas is designed and has the necessary funding to make this first step of the project a reality. Rutas Naturbanas seeks to connect people to the city thro...

The Costa Rican National Emergency Commission (CNE, in Spanish) and the Municipality of San José are organizing an earthquake drill today, Tuesday, September 12, as part of preventive measures in this country with high seismic activity. More than 60,000 people are expected to participate, which will include employees and customers/clients at 43 public and private entities located in 132 buildin...

U.S. citizen, Randall Lindner, who was also a resident of Costa Rica, was the second person to die in an airplane accident this morning, Tuesday, September 5, in the western San José, Costa Rica district of Pavas. His death was registered at the San José Calderón Guardia Hospital this afternoon, said the Costa Rican Social Security Agency (CCSS) which runs the country's national hospital and cl...

More details are starting to become available on the deadly small aircraft crash early this morning near the Pavas, San José airport which affected six individuals. However, Nature Air, who operated the flight, said they were not making public statements on the event due to the fact that the crash is under investigation by the Civil Aviation Department. A woman identified as Costa Rican Marí...

A plane operated by NatureAir with five passengers plus a pilot on board crashed into a river in Pavas, a western sector of San José, Costa Rica early this morning which were confirmed by the airline. It is confirmed that five passengers were on board, and one of them, a woman estimated to be 40 years old, died as a result of the crash. Information on the identities and nationalities of the pas...

Listeria may not be part of your daily lexicon, but if you've ever been pregnant it probably was once on your radar. The bacteria can be spread by contaminated food, and can cause a rare infection that can be deadly in 20-30 percent of infections. Pregnant women are 10 times more likely than other people to get a Listeria infection, according to the United States Centers for Disease Control. ...

Many in the San José metropolitan area snoozed through the 5:28 quake that rocked Pavones in southern Costa Rica, but most were rocked by the lesser magnitude one that occurred half an hour later. At 5:50 a.m., a 3.2 tremor was registered 7 kms southeast of Ciudad Colón, a small city west of the capital city. Initial reports from the National  University's Volcanology and Seismology Obnsevatory...

The mayor of San José, Costa Rica, Johnny Araya, is promoting the creation of a hi-tech city that would not only generate foreign investment but also organizational linkages and the promotion of “start-ups” with great potential. The project, which is just in the beginning stages, could be ready in the next five years,”We have already been working since over a year ago in promoting San José as a...

Costa Rica has many beautiful places and wonderful tourist attractions, but certainly downtown San José is usually not considered among them, the traffic, the problems with infrastructure, areas that present security problems, and many times just the erroneous concept that “There is nothing worth doing or seeing in San José” keeps national and foreign tourists away from the capital city. It was...

The heavy rains that soaked much of Costa Rica Tuesday night, August 29, caused 58 people to be evacuated to shelters due to flooding in their homes. In total, the National Emergency Commission (CNE) handled 50 different incidents in 22 cantons in eight regions of the country. Meteorologists have warned that tropical systems off of the country's coasts will be bringing heavy rains in the upcomi...

Today, Sunday, August 26 is the final day of the 3-day ExpoKids event at Mutliplaza Oeste in Escazú, a western district of San José. The free event is focused on moms and babies this year, and has information relevant to caregivers and parents of young ones, said the event's Facebook page. Next weekend, from September 1-3, the event will repeat on the eastern side of San José at the Curridab...

For the first time, Costa Rica will present a concert of electronic, experimental and synthesizer music, as well as a workshop on creating such sounds, for children, announced the San José-based Alianza Francesa, or French Alliance, the French government's cultural center. The event organizers describe the event as involving "two semi-human and semi-plant characters will give a concert in the f...

The case of four medical doctors and a Greek businessman suspected of running an illegal organ trafficking operation out of Costa Rica is moving forward. The Office of the Prosecutor Against Organized Crime (FACDO, its initials in Spanish) cited 25 witnesses to appear in court to testify in the case. The Costa Rican Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) and Public Security Ministry uncovered t...

An as yet unidentified substance was used by an unidentified individual to color water in a large downtown San José, Costa Rica decorative fountain as a means of protest against environmental contamination, reported the Costa Rican digital news service Amelia Rueda this week. The act was described on social media as a protest against pollution caused by pineapple production in Costa Rica. Th...

Costa Rica's Amazon Support Services announced today it plans to hire 2,500 people in the second half of the year, according to a press release from the Foreign Trade Ministry, COMEX. New positions require mastery of at least two languages; in addition to Spanish, applicants should speak either English, Portuguese, Italian and/or French. In addition to customer service, Amazon offers positio...

HP Omen is hosting the fourth edition of the Connecturday gamers' tournament this weekend in Costa Rica, according to a report in Central America's Summa business magazine The event, taking place at the National Children's Museum in downtown San José, offers players some 48 different video game tournaments in which to participate Saturday and Sunday, August 12-13. A special one-on-one tourna...

Chatwoods S.A. announced the opening of Hooters of Alajuela in Costa Rica's City Mall - Central America's largest mall which opened just two years ago. The 400-square meter location, adjacent to Alajuela's Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO), seats 130 guests inside, and accommodates up to 18 guests on its outdoor patio. "City Mall is an exceptional venue for attracting locals and tour...

The Municipality of Escazú will be fumigating and collecting non-traditional waste to prevent the spread of dengue and zika. The campaign started Friday, July 28 and will tun until August 18, said the Ministry of Health in a statement. The neighborhoods of Los Anonos, El Carmen, San Francisco, Corazón de Jesús, and Bello Horizonte were chosen for the campaign based on Ministry of Health recomme...

The first Crate & Barrel in the Central American region opens today, Friday, July 28, at Avenida Escazú, a trendy, upscale commercial and residential complex just west of San José, Costa Rica. The store involved an investment of US$4 million, has an extension of 2,200m2, and will employ an estimated 40 people for ​​sales, cashier, exhibition, and other work. Crate & Barrel offers its...

The Constitutional Chamber of Costa Rica, the country's highest court, has given the Ministry of Education four months to establish an "inclusive education system" for people with autism and other disabilities, according to a sentence issued June 17 and published today. The court accepted an appeal presented by a 14-year-old child with autism spectrum disorder against Monterrey High School (Col...

Did you know that Costa Rica is one of three Latin America country to have a piece of the infamous Berlin Wall on exhibit, along with Mexico and Argentina? The 3-meter tall slab is on display inside the Costa Rican Foreign Ministry on Street 13 in downtown San José's Otoya neighborhood. The beautiful historic building is commonly known as the "Casa Amarilla." After the wall fell on November ...

San José has many hidden jewels, many places that are unknown to foreigners and even to locals that don’t take the time to discover this city; you will be surprised to find some great restaurants and bars in downtown San José, and here we give you six awesome restaurants right in Costa Rica’s capital city that you should definitely take the time to try: 1) Coconut: Many people complain about ho...

The Government of Japan delivered a several devices that will strengthen the diagnostic and treatment capacity of urology services at Costa Rica's National Rehabilitation Center (CENARE), said the Costa Rican government in a statement. "This donation from the Government of Japan allows us to carry out high technology procedures, thereby reducing risks and optimizing care. At the same time, they...

Many foreigners visit Costa Rica every year in business trips, some just stay a few days and therefore look for good hotel options, while others come in for several months and require something a bit different from a hotel. Furnished apartments available for short term rent are usually the preferred option for those that come to Costa Rica for work and need to stay for two weeks or longer; hote...

Shared work between humans and robots is on the horizon as a way to potentially reduce costs and errors, and to improve productivity and quality. Are service centers in Latin America ready to make this leap? This is one of the central themes being discussed at a regional meeting this week in San José of Latin American shared services center leaders. The event, organized for the fifth cons...

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...

  A 22-year-old Colombian man who threatened an attack on an Ariana Grande performance July 9 at Parque Viva in Costa Rica got a big surprise - as did his family - when police stormed his house early Sunday morning in advance of the event. After police received reports Saturday about a message sent via social media to one of the event organizers, the search began, and security for the e...

A husband-and-wife veterinarian team has transformed their farm in Tarbaca de Aserrí, in the hills south of San José, into a refuge for abandoned and injured animals. When their good intentions of helping a few stray animals started to burgeon into a serious undertaking they formed a non-profit association called the Costa Rican Association for Animal Welfare (Acoproba, in Spanish). With the...

Want to see what's happening in the world of chocolate in Costa Rica? From July 14-16 the country's main chocolate trade fair takes place in downtown San José at the former customs building, also known as the Antigua Aduana. Entrance is 2,000 colones for adults, and children are free. If you want to be guaranteed a spot at the popular event, tickets can even be purchased in advance starting ...