Preferred weapon of guerrilla fighters. A 29-year old buxom beauty recently left a private hospital in San Jose, where she is alleged to have undergone reconstructive facial surgery after a hitman failed to carry out his lethal contract. Over the last few weeks, Pamela Crespi Guzman has been making headlines in Costa Rica due to her alluring looks and her alleged ties to a dangerous criminal o...

Carlos Arredondo, a native of the inner city neighborhoods of San Jose, has lived an uneasy life. To most of the world, he is known as one of the heroes of the 2013 Boston Marathon terrorist attack, when he valiantly assisted a victim who lost both legs in the bombing. Photographs of Mr. Arredondo's brave and unselfish actions made global headlines, and he was eventually invited to the White Ho...

OIJ agents on a 2012 raid. San Jose, Apr 19 (EFE).- A Mexican businessman kidnapped on April 11 was rescued and three suspects were arrested by police, Costa Rica's OIJ law enforcement agency said. "The rescue was carried out last Friday in Alajuela province outside a dwelling, where they were apparently keeping the victim, and at the moment when a man guarding him brought him out to move h...

Source: Rocio Carranza Facebook A Costa Rican actress who is known for her dedication to social activism is accusing a Canadian man of lewd behavior and obscenity after an unpleasant encounter in San Jose. According to a news report filed by Angie Guerrero of online news daily Costa Rica Hoy, the incident occurred on Thursday afternoon in Curridabat, a municipality in the eastern suburbs of th...

CIMA Hospital in San Jose is often visited by medical tourists A citizen from the United States, who is suspected of having pulled off a spectacular real estate flimflam in Costa Rica, was arrested by the National Police of Nicaragua during Holy Week after a daring escape from a private hospital where he was in custody. According to a news report filed by Fatima Torres Gonzalez of El Nuevo ...

Screenshot of stratusoffshore.com Halifax - The Nova Scotia Securities Commission has issued a temporary cease trade order  (PDF) against Stratus Financial Group International (Stratus), Stratus Offshore, Magnus Torgenson and John Westbrook. The Commission received three complaints from Nova Scotia residents saying they were cold called by the company’s representatives pressuring them to in...

Night vision photograph of the Turrialba eruption. Source: OVSICORI Do you love the smell of sulfur in the morning? It smells like... geology. This morning, residents and tourists in various neighborhoods of the Greater San Jose Metropolitan Area (Spanish initials: GAM) in Costa Rica awoke to an acrid and pungent aroma, which is a common occurrence for the farming communities that lie on the s...

San Sebastian, San Jose, Costa Rica A terrible road traffic accident near the busy roundabout of San Sebastian, located in the outskirts of Costa Rica's capital city, claimed the lives of two young men this past weekend. Jair Blokland, a 22-year old South American expat from Suriname and Jonathan Vargas, a 21-year old native of Costa Rica, were killed almost instantly after their vehicle struc...

Source: Pixabay Commons Last week, agents from the Office of Judicial Investigations (Spanish initials: OIJ) in San Jose conducted a nighttime raid on a cabaret that allegedly provided more than just erotic dancing. According to a press release by the OIJ, the establishment also served as a den of prostitution, and a couple reportedly derived proceeds from each sexual transaction that transpir...

Source: Flickr Commons An expat from the United States is in the intensive care unit of the San Juan de Dios Hospital in San Jose after being gunned down in San Rafael of Escazu, one of the most affluent neighborhoods in Costa Rica. According to a report filed by Angie Guerrero of online news daily Costa Rica Hoy, the incident occurred on Wednesday morning, right after the victim stepped ou...

Source: OIJ Detectives from the Kidnapping and Abductions Unit of the Office of Judicial Investigations (Spanish: OIJ) in Costa Rica have not been able to ascertain whether Canadian expat Ryan Piercy, who went missing from family for more than 30 days before returning home in a taxicab, was actually snatched and held under threat of harm. As previously reported by The Costa Rica Star: On W...

Source: OIJ Although Canadian businessman Ryan Craig Piercy Bate is reportedly back in the safety of his home in Heredia, there seem to be more doubts than conclusions related to his month-long disappearance. Some news sources reporting on this mysterious case in Costa Rica mention the possibility of a kidnapping event which came to an end after a ransom payment was made to alleged captors; ho...

Basel, Switzerland The Embassy of Costa Rica in Switzerland reports high interest in our country at a recent Travel and Tourism Expo in the large city of Basel, which is strategically located right on the border with France and Germany. According to an institutional communiqué issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Costa Rica was represented along with the Embassies of Chile, Peru and Vene...

Costa Rica Beerfest 2015 Lovers of craft beer and microbrewery creations in Costa Rica will be able to enjoy their first festival of the year this coming Saturday, March 7th in San Jose; this is when Beerfest 2015 will take place at La Sabana Metropolitan Park, close to the Scotiabank branch. For this year's Beerfest, attendees will be treated to more than just craft beers proudly made in C...

Source: Wikimedia Commons The relentless and protracted fight by the United States Justice Department against sports wagering operations based in Costa Rica shows no signs of slowing down. Even as various jurisdictions in that North American nation are considering legalizing and regulating this industry, U.S. prosecutors and law enforcement agents continue to pursue those involved in operating...

An alleged fraudster from the United States has reportedly spent the last nine months in the prestigious CIMA Hospital near San Jose, where he is supposed to be in the custody of officers from Fuerza Pública, the national police force of Costa Rica. The suspect was remanded to a correctional center by a criminal court back in May of 2014. Cyrus Anoushirvan Sepher, a 51-year old male with Irania...

U.S. State Department The most recent batch of nominations sent to the United States Senate by the White House was announced yesterday. These nominations include posts in the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Transportation Safety Board; furthermore, within the nominations we find the future U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica. The Costa Rica Star herewith includes the bio ...

Source: Maria Jose Trejos A very stylish and highly sustainable residential housing solution in Costa Rica was designed by architect Maria Jose Trejos on a spec assignment from a client who works as a professional photographer. The idea was to gain inspiration from the work/play philosophy practiced by tech companies such as Google; in essence, to create a space to foster creativity and indust...

Partial Endocrine System February 02, 2015 12:21 PM - JACKSONVILLE, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) will convene the first-ever, Pan-American Scientific Symposium: Clinical Endocrinology in Latin America on February 26-28 in San Jose, Costa Rica. “It’s a transcultural opportunity for us to share and adapt our AACE guidelines and educationa...

Source: Johnny Rockets A new Johnny Rockets restaurant opened in Costa Rica during January, and the California fast-food chain is not planning to slow down its expansion in our country. The new franchise location is situated in the heart of Downtown San Jose, precisely in the Plaza Universal food court on the Avenida Central pedestrian boulevard. According to a news report filed by Nancy Al...

Source: CELAC The Third Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), a burgeoning and powerful bloc of nations from the Americas that excludes Canada, the United States, and the European territories in the Caribbean, has been -for the most part- flowing smoothly in Costa Rica. The CELAC 2015 Summit is being held at the Pedregal Convention Center, located in the mu...

Many of the roller coaster attractions at the Parque Nacional de Diversiones (National Amusement Park) in Costa Rica have already thrilled and entertained thousands of riders in other countries. Such is the case of Boomerang, a thrilling roller coaster designed and built by the dependable Dutch firm Vekoma. Boomerang was rescued from Playcenter, a Brazilian amusement park located in the outskir...

Source: Gurpo Faro The latest trend in luxury real estate solutions in Costa Rica is no longer confined to the Central Pacific Coast or the western portion of the Greater San Jose Metropolitan Area (Spanish initials: GAM). The city of Alajuela and its surrounding communities are the new destinations for well-to-do Ticos and expats who are in the market for upscale homes. According to a new ...

RCMP crest On Wednesday, January 21st, the Office of Judicial Investigations (Spanish initials: OIJ) began looking into the disappearance of Canadian businessman Ryan Craig Piercy, who is believed to have been taken hostage by captors demanding 272 million colones as ransom payment, which is more than $500K in today's currency exchange rate. Yesterday, daily tabloid Diario Extra reported th...

Source: Flickr Commons SAN JOSE, Costa Rica, Jan. 20, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Tyrexpo2015, which is poised to become among the Western Hemisphere's most important trade shows, is just 15 weeks away! The three-day event runs fromApril 29 through May 1, 2015 at the Pedregal Convention Center in San Jose, Costa Rica. Anticipation is mounting: The premiere exhibition of Tyrexpo2015 promises to be an ...

Source: Cruz Roja Costarricense James Michael Lindsay was 67 years old when he tragically passed away in Costa Rica. He was standing in line at an airline counter of the Juan Santamaria International Airport (SJO) when he felt ill and asked for help. Red Cross rescuers on duty at SJO determined that Mr. Lindsay suffered a cardiac arrest and started basic, and later advanced, lifesaving procedu...

Source: Kirebe.com In keeping with the ongoing trend of upscale and luxury residential neighborhoods in Costa Rica, a renowned developer recently announced a new project that seeks to attract expats and locals who enjoy a safe and pampered, maintenance-free lifestyle. To this effect, residential development firm has acquire 33 hectares of land in a scenic area located 300 meters northwest of t...

Overall good weather will be enjoyed by families and tourists in Costa Rica over the holidays. According to a weather forecast reported by national television network Repretel, sunny skies and moderate breeze will be predominant during Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Average daytime temperatures will fluctuate between 22 and 24 degrees Celsius (71 to 72 Fahrenheit). After the sunset, however, a s...

Source: Bandcamp Since 2004, alternative rock band The Movement in Codes has mostly been playing and recording hardcore punk. Most of the songs crafted by this band from Costa Rica are written in English, and in 2008 they were very close to landing a spot in the Lollapalooza Festival in Chicago: They entered a contest to play the festival as an audience favorite, but in the end they were not c...

Coca Cola fashion is slowly making its way into Costa Rica by means of select distributors. Not long ago, The Costa Rica Star reported on the opening of a second OPI Nail Bar in Costa Rica, specifically in Curridabat:   OPI is a fashion nail giant that is known for its innovative products, interesting polishes and attractive lacquers. Its Coca Cola collection of lacquers, for example, is ...

The unexpected rains that fell on the Central Valley and parts of the Caribbean region of Costa Rica earlier today were a presage of the dry season that will officially begin this weekend. Such was the assessment of the National Meteorology Institute (Spanish initials: IMN), which is forecasting a very dry season that will exacerbate drought conditions in parts of Guanacaste and Puntarenas. &nb...

The governments and civil society of Costa Rica and Mexico are pleased to announce that the Open Government Partnership (OGP) Regional Meeting for the Americas will take place in San José, Costa Rica on 18-19 November 2014. This meeting will be preceded by a Civil Society Day, which will take place on November 17. The Open Government Partnership currently includes 17 participant countries from ...

In the late 20th century, the lovable city of San Jose was graced by Memories of Flight, a multi-media installation made of welded steel, aluminum mesh, slide projectors, and computer parts. It was a large and ghostly sculpture in four sections ranging in size from six feet to fifteen feet tall, ten feet wide. This sculpture by Marta Thoma Hall was commissioned by the National Museum of Art in Cos...

The upscale and vibrant Municipality of Escazú is home to some of the most affluent and luxurious residential communities in the Greater San Jose Metropolitan Area (Spanish acronym: GAM). Unfortunately, Escazú is also home to a significant number of overweight residents. With nearly 20 percent of the population of Escazú significantly overweight or morbidly obese, municipal, educational and health...

Although Costa Rica is considered by many cash-strapped expats to be the most expensive country in Latin America, data compiled by popular online travel site TripAdvisor indicates that the lovable city of San Jose is a bargain for tourists. Even when compared to Managua, the populous capital city of Nicaragua, San Jose still comes up cheaper. How did TripAdvisor arrive to this peculiar conclusion?...

Source: Heineken The capital city of Costa Rica is now on a level similar to New York, Shanghai, Berlin, Amsterdam, London, and Rio de Janeiro, at least according to the emblematic Dutch beer Heineken. From now until late October, beer lovers and collectors of neat promotional items can pick up a special edition bottle of Heineken emblazoned with San José under the current big red star logo. T...

Updated January 2017 Costa Rica is a top world travel destination because it has something for everyone: tropical rainforest, green mountains, spectacular beaches, active volcanoes, wild rivers and lakes, and charming towns. The dry tropical forest and wide savannas of the north Pacific are as varied as the dense, steamy jungle of the south Pacific, the misty cool cloud forest high in the centr...

Painting by Willy Flores Starting in late January, the lovable city of San Jose will welcome more dogs than usual. These dogs, however, are not part of the million stray and community dogs that roam Costa Rica; these canines are an important part of the body of work of Willy Flores, and they are currently on display at the Sophia Wanamaker art gallery of the Centro Cultural in San Pedro. Mr...

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...

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...