Tractor trailer took down four utility posts and damaged 3 others this Thursday morning, forcing the closure of a major alternate to the Circunvalación.
“Complicado y interrumpido” (complicated and disrupted) were the words of one television commentator this morning in describing traffic on the west side of San José.
Tractor trailer took down four utility posts and damaged 3 others this Thursday morning, forcing the closure of a major alternate to the Circunvalación.
In reality it affects the entire city as a whole.
This is the second morning of another 60 or so that will be the normal for drivers of the Circunvalación. It is also the second day when a tractor trailer, weaving through the narrow and congested streets of La Sabana Sur met up with power lines.
In this morning’s accident, the truck took down four utility posts and damaged three others, forcing the closure (for the good part of the day today) of the direct route called Calle Morenos, from the Circunvalación in Hatillo to La Sabana Sur to reconnect to the Circunvalación in Pavas.
With the “mess” in La Sabana Sur, the , the Policia de Transito (traffic police) is asking drivers from the east to use routes through San José centre to get to the west. The same applies for drivers from the west heading to the east.
This means that La Uruca will be even more congested that normal. Way more.
And if you add to this all of this that most drivers don’t know their way through the alternates routes and the many one way streets of San José streets or even know where they will end up.
Taking public transportation, like the bus, is not much of an alternative since the buses get stuck in the same congestion, made worse by illegal parking on both sides of most streets.
The train could be an ally in all of this, but…for instance, there are only three trains from the Pacific station (downtown San José) to Pavas/Belén, running only during morning and afternoon rush hours. And, the San José train does not meet up with the Heredia centre train. Many users of the Circunvalación come from Alajuela and Heredia. If the trains…
In conclusion, the reality today and for the next two months (or maybe more), life in San José has gotten more complicated. And disrupted.
riving in San José is now a nightmare and soon will we have added a guessing game, with changes to the rules for the vehicular restrictions to lessen traffic congestion due to the closure of the Circunvalación between Hatillo 8 and Pavas.
Here is the situation, before heading check the calendar for the day of the week and the clock for the time of day if a proposal y the Ministerio de Transportes (MOPT) is adopted.
The plan would keep the regular vehicular restriction, and add a second restriction for morning and afternoon rush hours.
As an example, the complete day restrictions would continue the same: from 6am to 7pm for plates ending in 1 and 2 on Mondays, 3 and 4 on Tuesday, 5 and 6 on Wednesdays, 7 and 8 on Thurdays and 9 and 0 on Fridays.
In addition, the partial restrictions are from 6am to 8am and 4pm to 7pm, for plates ending in 3 and 4 on Mondays, 5 and 6 on Tuesdays, 7 and 8 on Wednesdays, 9 and 0 on Thurdays and 1 and 2 on Fridays.
Confused?
The expanded vehicular restrictions take effect on Monday September 16.
La Nacion has prepared a detailed map of the alternate routes to the Circunvalación
The leading Costa Rican presidential candidate in the polls would prefer state run companies to control the energy market.
Johnny Araya Monge, who was a former mayor of the capital San Jose for many years and is now presidential candidate for the ruling Partido Liberación Nacional (PLN), is the candidate with the highest number of voter intentions in recent polls.
In the interview he gave with Mercedes Agüero in Nación.com, Araya stated his statist inclination, saying “I do not agree with the market opening. I think any reform that is done must keep the ICE as the major player in the electricity market. ”
“… I do not think you have to set limits [to the participation of private enterprise in the (electricity) market]. In addition, there are a number of alternative public-private partnerships that could serve the country more and also help the ICE to develop large projects. ”
“… Costa Rica should not give up natural gas exploration, as long as it is done either by ICE or the Costa Rican Oil Refinery (Recope). ”
Pupusa: a traditional Salvadorean dish made of a thick, handmade corn tortilla filled cheese, cooked meat or refried beans.
Pupusa: a traditional Salvadorean dish made of a thick, handmade corn tortilla filled cheese, cooked meat or refried beans.
With all of the attention Miami Spice, the restaurant promotion showcasing the very best of Miami cuisine, gets this time of year, you probably had no idea that the 6th annual Taste of Central America at the Intercontinental Hotel in Doral right now.
A world of cuisine will be prepared from Costa Rica prepared by chef Marcial Cañas, who’s being flown in from Costa Rica to be in Miami on September 11-15. Cañas will also be preparing dishes from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.
The chef will feature dishes such as pacayas from Guatemala, pejibaye with mayonnaise and onion from Costa Rica, baleadas from Honduras, pupusas from El Salvador, and guiso de pipian from Nicaragua.
The smorgasbord of Central American eats will await you at the Armillary Grill. There a special lunch buffet ($20.95 for adults, $12.95 for kids) served til Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. A four-course dinner ($23.95 adults/$13.95 kids) is happening on Saturday the 14th from 5-11, and the Central American Independence Day on Sunday will see a brunch ($26.95 adults/$14.95 kids) from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Reservations are highly recommended.
This event is particularly meaningful for the hotel because it is joining forces with Avianca and WorldCity to benefit Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos USA, a global organization whose mission is to provide a permanent family and home for orphaned, abandoned, and at-risk children who live in conditions of extreme poverty. NPH has orphanages in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, among other locations.
Last Sunday morning, neighbors of La Fortuna in the northwest region of the Alajuela province, woke up to an eruption of monetary anticipation. The Arenal Volcano, one of Costa Rica’s most iconic tourist spots, finally came alive after two years of sheer inactivity with a spectacular steam column and lingering vapor plumes.
Photo credit: Facebook/OVSICORI
Whereas many residents saw a typical reaction by the colossus to the heavy accumulation of rainwater over the last few weeks, others saw nothing but dollar signs dancing around the mists. Business owners who operate hotels, lodges, restaurants, shops, tours, and other hospitality and tourism enterprises in the region are very happy to see the Arenal stir.
Daily tabloid La Teja published a couple of interviews with tourism business operators whose establishments are located around the skirts of the Arenal Volcano, and they described their joy as very palpable. Here are the words of a restaurant administrator:
“I fully expect that these volcanic emissions will continue. Since they began, reports on online social networks have turned into phone calls from foreigners who are calling me asking for details. A caller from the United States told me he was willing to travel immediately from Miami.”
Indeed, the allure of visiting a semi-dormant or active volcano is too strong to resists for some adventure-seeking tourists. Mauricio Murillo, organizer of tour agency Red Lava, told La Teja that he has been impressed by the positive reaction to the recent surface water eruptions, which have been the object of inquiry of many emails sent by people in Costa Rica and Europe.
A chef from La Fortuna added:
“We have become aware, during the tourism downturn caused by the global financial crisis, that we have a treasure in the volcano, and that we have neglected the importance of its activity.”
Volcano geotourism is a major draw among people who visit Costa Rica, although travelers should exercise caution. According to a 2012 article in Earth Magazine:
In November 2000, rangers at Hawaii Volcanoes National Park made a gruesome discovery. The bodies of a man and a woman, in an advanced state of decomposition, were found near the site where lava from the Kilauea eruption flows into the sea, sending up plumes of scalding white steam.
Between 1992 and 2002, there were 40 fatalities, 45 serious injuries and 53 minor injuries reported within Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Each year, tourists are injured, not just by volcanic laze, but by a variety of hazards — some mundane and predictable, others bizarre and unexpected.
For the most part, volcanoes in Costa Rica are safe to visit, although tourists should always inquire about the status of our colossi. In 2012, the Costa Rica Star published warnings related to dangerous volcanic activity in our Poas and Rincon de la Vieja volcanoes.
Although the Arenal is a stratovolcano that features lava domes as well as a recent (2010) eruption, its period of major activity in Costa Rica ended in 2011. If anything, geologists from the National University’s Volcanic and Seismic Observatory (Spanish acronym: OVSICORI) have confirmed that they were expecting these water plumes, and that everything is normal. In the past, water used to run down the sides of hot surface rocks, which was quite a sight. Still, the Arenal Volcano and La Fortuna are still great places to visit in Costa Rica.
Plans for the 192nd anniversary of Independence Day for Costa Rica are nearly solidified, at least for San José. School children from the 16 elementary schools and high schools chosen to march Sept. 15 will get the day after off to compensate for being required to observe the holiday.
Route of the march will extend from Parque Merced on Second Avenue to the CCSS (Caja) building). “Each school will organize their own march of lanterns and other observances during the month,” said Giselle Cruz, coordinator of the patriotic festival commission.
Costa Rica was far from the center of action in Guatemala when Central Americans decided to follow their cousins to the south in separating from the tottering Spanish Empire in 1821 at a series of meetings in Guatemala. To symbolize this late arrival of the news, a torch is carried through Central America.
The passage of the torch is reminiscent of the Olympic Games torch’s journey. Education Minister Leonardo Garnier will be on hand at the northern border station of Peñas Blancas to receive it and send it on its last leg of the 376 kilometer journey to Cartago, the old capital of the country.
This is the official kickoff of the celebration Sept. 13. President Laura Chinchilla will receive the torch at Cartago and lead the country in the singing of the national anthem at 6 p.m. The route of the torch will take 36 hours with the participation of some 20,000 persons including the Red Cross and the Traffic Police.
Both students and teachers are required to march in parades — student losing points on their conduct section of their report cards and teachers a reprimand for an unexcused absence on a workday. (Some San Jose area school principals consider this unwise because they told La Nacion that the day should be one of celebration and not obligatory.)
Showing that this country is still conservative, girls involved in the marches are prohibited from wearing miniskirts as they wield their batons. In this, they differ from U.S. high school marching formations at civic celebrations.
Foreigners attending these marches should be warned: They tend to be tedious and sometimes poorly coordinated, being more that of school kids standing around waiting for things to get going than marching. Indeed, most of the observers lining the routes have children or relatives marching. At times it is a case of, “Oh, look! Everyone’s out of step except my boy!”
The evening of Sept. 13 the marchers are children carrying lanterns. When this tradition first started, the lanterns were homemade of paper with a candle inside. They usually caught fire before completing the parade route.
In latter years, they are bought ready made, safer but less imaginative in design. A later tradition, begun in the late 1970s after Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza threatened to invade this country, is the singing of the national anthem in the evening. When it first began, people stopped their cars on the streets, got out and sang to each other, accompanied by their car radios.
Standing in line (or queuing up) for long periods of time is a staple of life in Costa Rica, but not everyone is willing to readily accept this social convention. Complaining about the inefficiency of services offered by Costa Rica’s public and private sectors is a national pastime, which is actually better enjoyed at while standing in a long and serpentine line, but there a few time-management mavens who have little patience for such mundane endeavors.
Cutting in line is the ultimate kiss-off to the queuing phenomenon, which by all means should not exist in the 21st century. It is clearly anti-social behavior commonly associated with miscreants and scoundrels, but the several levels of sophistication involved offer a fascinating glimpse into the human psyche. In Costa Rica, line cutters and queue jumpers may not be simply motivated by the convenience of avoiding wasted time; there may be issues of narcissism, as well as an affinity for demeanor that challenges social convention.
The Costa Rica Star does not advocate cutting in line; however, looking at the research performed by social scientists in this regard is fascinating.
Elaborate Line-Cutting Mechanisms
Jumping ahead of others in line often requires artifice. Some people resort to props such as wheelchairs, crutches and walking canes for the despicable act of faking a disability. Others reportedly “borrow” babies and toddlers to take advantage of social fairness norms in Costa Rica that can get them to the front of the line.
Aside from the slimy acts of fakery described above, some people may seek to take advantage of sociological flim-flams to achieve their wicked queue jumping. Attractive women may flirt with male security guards or employees, and others may use their influence as relatives and close associates of line controllers to prearrange being escorted to the front of the line as VIPs.
As recently reported in the Costa Rica Star, the phenomenon of standing in line has drawn the interest of sociologists, psychologists and behavioral economics researchers around the world. To think that long lines actually exist in other countries (we’re looking at you, United States of America -your lines at unemployment offices and Starbucks are worthy of research, and let’s not get started on Germany) does not bring any comfort to Costa Rica.
It is quite unusual for someone to actually express enjoyment at the opportunity to queue up; but we can assume that such persons exists and that Costa Rica will warmly welcome them with long lines. For everyone else, however, there are certain methods that allow jumping to the front of the line without having to resort to the previously mentioned deceit.
Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer carried out a study demonstrating the power of language – adding one word to a simple request increased compliance rates by 33%.
Langer wanted to demonstrate how changing the structure of a sentence can influence others more effectively. The situation involved a waiting line to use a copy machine, and the researcher acting as someone who needed to cut the line.
The examples provided indicated that using the conjunction “because” followed a simply declarative sentence was likely to convince people to allow queue jumping. To adapt this persuasive speech maneuver to long lines in Costa Rica, a healthy dose of courtesy and complimentary language can be added for maximum effect.
Greasing Palms for a Place in Line
Bribes are the infringements that fuel a culture of corruption and underground dealings in Costa Rica. Bribes are called “chorizos” (country sausages) in the local slang vernacular, and they may work wonders with regard to line-cutting.
A 2006 research study led by Harvard Business School Professor Felix Oberholzer-Gee pondered whether a market for time could emerge from queue jumping.
[…]a team of experimenters equipped with small bills approached 500 people in lines and offered a cash payment of up to $10 to cut in. Would the bribe be accepted? How much would it take to jump the queue? And how would social norms and a sense of fairness play out along the line?
As might be expected, the higher the amount of payment offered, the more likely individuals were to allow a stranger to cut ahead of them. The surprise? The line-holders allowed the person to cut in but most wouldn’t accept the money in return. (Students and women were more likely to pocket the cash.) Oberholzer-Gee took this to mean that people will allow cuts if they perceive the queue jumper has a real need to save time, though most people felt it inappropriate to cash in on that need.
Would this social breaching experiment work in Costa Rica for the purpose of cutting in line? The Costa Rica Star does not encourage anyone to try it, but there is a chance that the results would be similar given the generally positive attitude of Ticos with regard to helping others.
Here’s Professor Oberholzer-Gee’s explaining his research findings:
So first I thought that this was not an example of a missing-markets problem at all. But I was wrong. You can “purchase” a position in the line, but the people who let you cut in will not accept your money. Their behavior is motivated by a norm that says you should help others when they are in need, but you must not exploit this situation.
The reason is that the helping norm applies to unusual circumstances. Other research shows that individuals are more likely to help if the person in need bears no responsibility for his situation. But what I did is clearly different. Arriving late at a train station and banking on others’ willingness to help me cut in line violates the norm. From a social point of view, this is quite ingenious. In groups with helping norms, there will always be some people who try to exploit the friendliness of others.
5:43pm – If you live, visit, work, travel or move from one side to the other side of San José get ready for traffic congestion galore, as the Circunvalación will be closed between Pavas and Hatillo 8 for the next two months.
That is the word from the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes (Mopt) and the Consejo Nacional de Vialidad (Conavi) this afternoon after evaluating the risk of the slopes and the solutions.
At least 100 officials from the Fuerza Publica (police) and the Policia de Transito (traffic police) will be on duty around the clock to guide drivers through the maze of La Sabana and the Hatillos.
As a permanent solution, the MOPT will be removing the hastily erected four Bailey bridges and construct a vaulted sewer. The Bailey did not fail, rather it was the slopes that they were sitting on that began to give away under the accumulation of water from the heavy rains of the past week.
The problem began on August 25 when the force of the water of the Maria Aguilar river below was partially dammed by debris plugging up the two steel tubes to move the river. When the Circunvalación was built two decades earlier, engineers opted for the tubes rather than build a bridge. Lack of maintenace and neglect by Transport officials, over the years, led to the deterioration of the tubes, causing the water to loosen the soil supporing the road above.
Pedro Castro, minister of Transportes, during the afternoon news conference defended the decision to erect the Baileys as a temporary solution, saying that the structures save the country more than ¢600 million colones during the 9 days of operation. He was short on details on the savings.
Castro blamed the rising waters from the constant heavy rains of the past week.
Although the road is expected re-opened in about two months, minister Castro noted that the complete repair work will take about six months.
Analysis
The closure of the Circunvalación, a road that has a daily traffic volume of more than 50.000 vehicles that skirts the downtown area of San José to move to and from areas like Desamparados, Alajuelita, San Pedr and Escazú/Santa Ana to the west, with mean a change of routine for drivers and a change in lifestyle for many.
There is no escaping it, traffic moving from one side of the city must now weave through the already congested La Sabana and Hatillos or through downtown San José.
The alternative is to head through the north side of San José, through the over saturated La Uruca. Ouch!
“La Laguna” (lagoon) formed below the Baily bridges on the Circunvalación. Photo credit: Diario Extra by way of FacebookThe road above. Photo: Facebook
3:42pm – Despite comments by MOPT minister Pedro Castro this morning on ADN90.7 FM radio that “there is a strong possibility” that the Circunvalación would be re-opened this afternoon Wednesday, word is that it will not be. In fact it may even be days before the road is open again.
Below the Bailey bridges. Photo: Ameliarueda.com
According to official word from MOPT, the four Bailey bridges installed over the Maria Aguilar river last week will come down, one by one, to stabilize the slopes and then proceed with the construction of a vaulted sewer.
No word when the removal of the bridges will begin and how long the work will take.
The problem on a 150 metre section of the Circunvalacion between Pavas and Hatillo 8 began on August 25 when the force of the water below, stopped by debris plugging up the metal tubes that moved the river’s waters, began eroding soil and
threatening the road above.
Alternate routes.Alternate routes.
The quick solution of installing Bailey bridges to move traffic while work continued below was the same used to repair the sinkhole on the autopista General Cañas last year. The situation on the Circunvalación, however, is entirely different.
The Hernán Solís company that was contracted to install the Baileys is on record of warning the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes (MOPT) and the Consejo Nacional de Vialidad (Conavi) of the risk involved with the structures, given the instability of the slopes.
The Materiales y Modelos Estructurales (Lanamme) – National Laboratory of Materials and Structural Models – at the Universidad de Costa Rica had pointed out the same.
A press conference has been scheduled for this afternoon when minister Castro is expected to announce a temporary solution to one of Costa Rica’s busiest roads.
A late-August law enforcement interagency operation in Costa Rica deployed nearly one hundred officers who cracked down on illegal street racing at different points in the Greater San Jose Metropolitan Area (Spanish acronym: GAM).
More than 1,000 vehicles and their drivers were intercepted at new gathering spots where illegal drag racers congregate. According to Roberto Portuguez of news daily La Prensa Libre, about a dozen vehicles modified and tuned for racing were impounded in a single night, along with five “crotch rockets,” high-performance motorcycles apt for racing. Aside from the vehicle confiscations, officers also took four illegal handguns, 125 grams of marijuana and 36 hits of crack cocaine.
Officers from Fuerza Publica (the national police), the Transit Police and the Organization for Judicial Investigations (OIJ in Spanish) surprised the street racers, known as “picones” in the slang vernacular of Costa Rica. The picones had grown confident in recent months due to the presence of confidential informants in racing circles who also work in law enforcement; alas, investigators applied their own countermeasures to combat the leak of tactical information.
The crackdown on street racing in Costa Rica is part of a comprehensive plan to reduce this dangerous activity. Earlier this year, the Ministry of Transport and Public Works (MOPT in Spanish) announced the creations of specialized brigades dedicated to the clampdown of street racing; to this end, the Transit Police has recently acquired new speed monitoring devices that incorporate radar and GPS technology as well as video surveillance.
The Costa Rica Star recently reported on the upper hand that street racers gained by having snitches planted in law enforcement ranks. These police officers are also street racing enthusiasts or gearheads (fans of auto technology and vehicle modification). In the beginning, police commanders did not mind these leaks since they actually prevented illegal street racing; recently, however, law enforcement agents planted their own snitches among the picones community so that they could learn about new drag racing spots.
People in Costa Rica have equal access to education, but one gender has learned to take better advantage of this civil right.
One of the goals behind Costa Rica’s new country branding campaign is to showcase the high level of education of her people insofar as Latin America is concerned. Costa Rica has a significant edge when it comes to funding public education; the abolishment of her armed forces has freed up budget funding that would normally be allocated to military pursuits.
Quality of education at the public universities and technical colleges in Costa Rica has increased along with tuition costs and offerings by private universities, and it is clear that women are more attuned to these opportunities. According to numbers recently crunched by business weekly El Financiero, women in Costa Rica have attained far more years of education than their male counterparts in the five major salary groups.
For the record, women already outnumber men in Costa Rica.
The data used by Alejandro Fernandez Sanabria of El Financiero was gleaned from the 2009 National Household Survey conducted by the National Institute of Census and Statistics (Spanish initials: INEC). The Costa Rica Star has looked at other, more recent sources of information for the findings below.
In the first salary group, which is made up of workers in Costa Rica who contribute about $100 per month to their households, women had nearly seven years of basic education while men had between five and six. Needless to say, more than one person is a breadwinner in this group.
The second, third and fourth salary groups make up the lower to upper middle classes of Costa Rica, and it is in this last group that women’s educational attainments really stand out: The majority finished secondary education, either traditional or vocational, and many of these women eventually enrolled in universities and technical colleges.
When we get to the fifth salary group, those making 900,000 colones per month (about $1,800) and above, far more women have obtained bachelor’s degrees and technical diplomas than men.
The higher education levels of Ticas versus Ticos do not automatically translate into higher wages. Income discrimination in Costa Rica was very much a reality in 2009, but things seem to be turning around for whip-smart Ticas and their sisters across Central America. According to a late 2011 report by business magazine Summa, a World Bank research study that year determined that women in Central America earned three percent more than male workers.
Labor participation by women in Costa Rica is the highest in Central America, and their contribution to income statistics is significant. Ticas are beginning to crash through glass ceilings and are starting to claim high salaries normally reserved for male fat cats, and this is mostly observed in the government sector. These high-income earning Ticas help to lift salary statistics for women in Central America, but there are still substantial levels of income inequality in Costa Rica.
Although women in Costa Rica are decidedly better educated than men, quite a few have a hard time finding high-paying jobs. Reports by INEC in 2013 have revealed that 23 percent of female employees in Costa Rica earn less than the promulgated minimum wage for their occupational fields.
One of the most intriguing labor statistics is that many women with higher education in Costa Rica are actually opting to stay home and take care of their households; meanwhile, more women with lower education are forced to abandon their housewife status and become low-income members of the national workforce.
Costa Rica still ranks as among the happiests places on the planet, ranking 12th out of 156 countries with the happiest people on Earth, according to th United Nationals 2103 World Happiness Report, placing Costa Rica tops in Latin America, trailed by Panama (15th) and Mexico (16th).
In the Americas, it is topped only by Canada (6th). The United States is ranked 17th, dropping from last year’s spot in 11th place. The United Kingdom at 22, Germany at 26, Japan at 43 and China at 93.
According to the UN report, Global happiness is on the rise, or at least the researchers at the United Nations believe it is.
Some 60 nations showed significant improvements in the study, which measured citizens’ own evaluations of their lives, while 41 others worsened. Gains were more common in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, while losses were more common among industrial countries.
The U.N. released the study to urge heads of state (who are preparing for the United Nations General Assembly in two week’s time) to find a way to put happiness on the global agenda, an idea first proposed in 1972 by the former King Jigme Singye Wangchuck of the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan.
The happiest people in the world apparently reside in northern Europe.
The report is the second of its kind released by a coalition of researchers including John F. Helliwell of the University of British Columbia and Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, the London School of Economics’s Richard Layard and Jeffrey D. Sachs, director of Columbia University’s Earth Institute. The team drew upon Gallup World Poll data from the the past three years to rank the 156 countries on aspects such as healthy life expectancy, freedom to make life choices and social support.
The border crossing at Peñas Blancas will be working overtime for the arrival of the Independence torch. According to the border officials, the border post with Nicaragua, will be working “special” hours Thursday and Friday.
On Thursday the border will be open until midnight and on Friday from 6am and then normal hours after the formal “torch” ceremonies are over.
The Independence Torch was declared a national symbol on September 14, 2005, by president Abel Pacheco (2002-2006), as representation of the idea of freedom of independence that connects Costa Rica and Central America.
Each year the independence torch is run by school children from Guatemala to Costa Rica, uniting the five traditional countries of Central America, which will officially recognize its 192nd year of independence on Sept. 15.
At Peñas Blancas, Nicaraguan high school students will hand over the torch to students in Costa Rica, who will then run it to San José and onto Cartago for patriotic ceremonies that will be officiated by presidenta Laura Chinchilla and members of her government.
Independence Day in Costa Rica and Central America celebrated the independece from Spain, which took place in 1821. The news of the country’s independence reached the nation’s people about a month after the declaration of independence that occurred in Guatemala.
The celebration of the first elections in Costa Rica was held in December, 1821.
The yellow warbler can be found in Costa Rica plantations eating the coffee borer beetle. Image credit: Daniel Karp
Researchers have put a dollar amount on the benefits of providing birds with undisturbed rainforest habitat in Costa Rica coffee plantations.
The yellow warbler can be found in Costa Rica plantations eating the coffee borer beetle. Image credit: Daniel Karp
In Costa Rica, coffee plantations with patches of undisturbed tropical forests have better coffee yields. That’s because the forests are habitat for wild birds that, in turn, prey on the main scourge of coffee plantations: Hypothenemus hampeii, the coffee berry borer beetle.
Recently, researchers have put a monetary value on the benefits these birds bring to coffee plantations. They’ve found increases in the yield per hectare amounting to between $75 and $310, depending on the season. A paper about their findings was recently published in Ecology Letters.
The paper’s principal author, Daniel Karp, a graduate student in biology at Stanford University, commented in a press release:
The benefits that we might get are huge. There’s lots of unrealized value in these small patches of rainforest. This looks like a sustainable, win-win opportunity for pest management.
Coffee is one of the world’s most lucrative crops. But everywhere it is cultivated, a major pest has been introduced, the coffee berry borer beetle. The destruction begins when a female beetle burrows into the coffee berry where she lays about 35 to 50 eggs. Upon hatching, the maggots proceed to eat the coffee berry from the inside. This tiny and prolific insect, native to Africa, has become a serious pest in coffee plantations across the world, causing about $500 million in damage each year.
To quantify the benefit birds brought to coffee plantations, Karp and his colleagues calculated the difference in yield between infested plants housed in bird-proof cages and infested plants open to beetle-eating birds. Image credit: Daniel Karp
To quantify the benefit birds brought to coffee plantations, Karp and his colleagues calculated the difference in yield between infested plants housed in bird-proof cages and infested plants open to beetle-eating birds. Image credit: Daniel Karp, et al.
To quantify the benefit birds brought to coffee plantations, Karp and his colleagues calculated the difference in yield between infested plants housed in bird-proof cages and infested plants open to beetle-eating birds. Image credit: Daniel Karp, et al.
To figure out how much the birds were contributing to the coffee economy of Costa Rica, Karp and his colleagues first calculated how much yield to expect if borer beetles were absent from the plantations. Then, they compared yields from infested plants under normal growing conditions with those from yields of infested plants grown in bird-proof enclosures. Commenting on the results of their calculations, Karp said:
Depending on the season, the birds provide $75 to $310 increases in yield per hectare of farmland.
The next major focus of study was to determine which birds were preying on the beetles. Karp described the experiment,
We had the not-so-glamorous task of collecting the birds’ poop, and then taking it back to Stanford and looking through the DNA within it to learn which birds were the pest preventers.
The DNA results showed that there were five bird species responsible for picking off 50% of the borer beetles. Not surprisingly, there were greater numbers of these birds in coffee farms that had more rainforest habitat.
The coffee berry borer beetle is the most serious pest in coffee plantations across the world. In Costa Rica, they’re also a source of food for native birds. Image credit: Daniel Karp
Plantations that contained small rainforest preserves, each about several football fields in area, scattered throughout the plantations, had the highest efficiency pest control by the birds compared to those plantations that had large forest preserves in the outskirts. Karp said:
This work suggests that it might be economically advantageous to not farm in certain areas of a plantation. We’re going to start trying to generalize these results so that farmers, conservationists, land managers and governments can use them anywhere to make simple estimates of what they might gain in pest protection by protecting certain patches of the landscape.
Bottom line: In Costa Rica, coffee farmers that provide habitat for wild birds, as undisturbed patches of tropical forest in plantations, have better coffee yields. That’s because the birds feed on a major coffee plantation pest, the coffee berry borer beetle. In a paper published in the journal Ecology Letters, researchers report that their analysis shows these birds saving farmers between $75 to $310 per hectare, depending on the season.
8:21am
An inspection of the supports of the Bailey bridges on the Circuvalación between Hatillo and Pavas reveals the four Bailey structures are “compromised” and for that reason passage through the area will remain CLOSED until further notice.
The decision whether or not to open the road to traffic will come later today. “We have to see what damaged was caused by the water” according to engineer Mauricio Sojo who speaking to CRHoy.com.
The Circunvalación or ring road is the major artery through San José, with more than 50.000 vehicles using it daily.
Photo this morning by CRHoy.com shows the total closure of the Circunvalacion.
Earlier this morning
As a preventive measure the Circunvalación is once again TOTALLY CLOSED between Hatillo 8 and Pavas, this due to the heavy rains on Tuesday causing a blockage of the Maria Aguilar river and falling material from the slopes supporing the four Bailey bridges.
Transport officials Tuesday night said the closure was one of prevention, waiting for morning light to properly assess the damage
Although the road was expected to re-open before 8am this morning, an on site inspection reveals a much closer look is needed and probably keep the road closed well into the morning, if not the day entirely.
Without fear that the Bailey bridges would give way and showing extreme support of the country’s engineers, Presidenta Laura Chinchilla’s motorcade crossed the closed roadway late last night, after all traffic on the Circunvalacion was completely closed off.
“The closure is only a preventive measure and all be back to normal once the waters recede”, said doña Laura, interviewed after the crossing.
Transport officials maintain the closure is strictly a preventive one.
However, Luis Guillermo Lorica, Director del Laboratorio Nacional de Materiales y Modelos Estructurales (LANAMME), said days ago that the rains would make the support sloped unstable and the bridges could fall at any moment.
The Constructora Hernán Solís, the contractor who erected the Bailey structures said it warned the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes (MOPT) of the need to reinforce the supports.
Last night.
MOPT Minister, Pedro Castro, said last night that work on reinforcing the ‘micropiles” and ensure stability of the support ground will begin Thursday.
Morning traffic on the alternate routes through Hatillo 8 got more complicate when a tractor trailer took down an electrical post.
Narrowly missing out on a 2010 World Cup berth, Costa Rica’s national soccer team “La Sele” is headed for Brazil in the 2014 World Cup after a 1-1 draw against Jamaica last night, thanks to Mexico’s loss and Panama’s tie.
By the numbers Costa RIca is seven points clear of fourth lace with two qualifying games remaining.
After last Friday night’s win against the United States, La Sele was on track for qualifying.
This will be the fourth time Costa Rica’s national team plays in the World Cup, the last in 2996 in Germany where they went winless in three games in the first round.
Greeting La Sele at the airport were more than a thousand fans in what was termed “una mareja roja” (a red wave of fans wearing the red colours of the national team) who decided to meet the teams arrival at the Juan Santamaria airport at 2am.
In San José, the streets were filled with fans celebrating and horns honking well into the night.
As with most countries, Costa Rica has a number of protectionist oriented laws to provide employment opportunities as a priority for its own citizens and to the exclusion of foreigners filling these employment positions.
The basic principle that applies is that unless you have obtained Permanent Residency status in Costa Rica as a foreigner, you will be unable to legally work for a salary, or wages. To obtain Permanent Residency status, a foreigner must first obtain Residency in one of the Temporary Residency categories (Pensionado, Rentista, or Inversionista) and hold that status for a three year period prior to applying for Permanent Residency status.
As a foreigner, you may own and manage a business in Costa Rica without obtaining Residency status, which employs Costa Ricans, or foreigners holding Permanent Residency status. As the owner of the business, you may not engage in the actual day-to-day work of the business without first obtaining Permanent Residency status.
There are also some exceptions for foreigners being able to work for a salary, or wages, without Residency status, related to the obtaining of a Work Permit from the Costa Rican Immigration Department. In this instance, it is the would-be employer who must establish a case with the Immigration Department that a particular foreigner seeking employment possesses certain unique employment, or technical skills, which cannot otherwise be met by hiring a Costa Rican Citizen. This arises most often with scientific, or educational related employment positions, such as teaching English.
There are many examples of foreigners working in Costa Rica without first establishing the correct Immigration status to do so. It ought be noted that a foreigner who is caught working illegally by the Immigration Police, is subject to immediate deportation and the penalty of not being able to return to Costa Rica for a period of ten years.
To contact Attorney Rick Philps about hiring him as your Costa Rican Attorney, please use the following information: Lic. Rick Philps – Attorney at Law, Petersen & Philps, San Jose, Costa Rica Tel: 506-2288-4381, Ext. 102; Email: rphilps@plawcr.com Website: www.plawcr.com
It took some 8,000 use plastic bottles to create the work that aims to raise the awarenewss about the amount of discarded plastic material in the country.
Artist Francesco Bracci used the thousands of discarded plastic bottles to form a missile that hangs overhead on Avenida Central (the Boulevard or Bulevar in Spanish).
Bracci’s idea is to catch the attention of passerby and create an awareness about the overuse of plastic in Costa Rica.
Last year Bracci created the “Plastic Wave” that was exposed in La Sabana, on the delta across from the Gimnasio Nacional. The wave was a symbol of the tsunami of used plastic in the country.
The “missile” is 12 metres (40 feet) high and installed Sunday afternoon, consists of different types of white, green and some blue used plastic bottles.
Bracci said it took two months to complete the collabortative work.
“The aim is to change the thinking of people regaring the use of this material and instead to use glass bottles and cloth bags”, said Luis Diefo Marín, regional coordinator for Preserve Planet.
Costa Rica’s Foreign Trade Office unveiled the brand first in China
While “Esencial Costa Rica” has drawn criticism in the country, in particular from the tourism industry, China and India are be the first two countries to for the launch of the campaign.
The next stop will on the ministra’s agenda is India.
The objective of the Comex is to promote Costa Rica as an investment destination.
Ministra Gonzalez told EF, before leaving for Asia, that the brand will be introduced gradually.
“We will first focus on investment. Each institution has its promotional strategy”, said Gonzalez with reference to the Comex, the ICT will focus on tourism and the Cinde on exports.
“There is a synergy in promoting investment , tourism and exports, the three sectors go hand in hand”, said Gonzalez.
Ticos Air, the new Costa Rican airline on Monday presented the relevant documentation to the Dirección General de Aviación Civil (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) for the certificate of operation of several international destinations.
The company says its goal is to fly first from Costa Rica to Mexico and then incorporate other routes.
Last May Avianca announced the elimination of five direct flights to Costa Rica and the layoff of 261 employees. The flights cancelled by Avianca were from San José to: Los Angeles, New York, Havana, Quito and Guayaquil.
Ticos Air, formed last December, now employs 22 people according to its Facebook profile.
Currently, for flights to Central America and Mexico City, Costa Ricans only have the option of Avianca and Copa, which offer similar prices.
If Ticos Air manages to get off the ground it would give Costa Ricans a third alternative and the expectation of pricing competition.
For first time in iPhone history Apple will launch 2 iPhones at the same time
For iPhone lovers Apple today announces the iPhone 5S, iPhone 5C an the iOS7, the next version of the iPhone and iPad software. Apple’s CEO Tim Cook is expected to take the stage at Apple Campus in Cupertino, California and detail the features of the new phones and the released date of the iOS7.
The iPhone 5S and 5C is expected to go on sale at Apple Stores in the United States on Friday, Sept. 20. The iOS 7 software will likely be released around the same time and will be available for the iPhone 4, 4S and 5 via a download.
In Costa Rica we can expect the new iPhones within 45 days of the US launch, according to Jaime Palermo, director of customer service of the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE).
If Apple keeps with the Steve Jobs tradition, we can see the new iPhones in the hands of users in Costa Rica not later than November.
What’s interesting about this launch is that for the first time in the history of the iPhone there will be two iPhone models launched at the same time, the 5S and the cheaper cousin, the 5C.
Thanks to months of leaked images and rumors (which we gathered together here) we have an idea of what Cook and his team might just reveal.
The iPhone 5S is going to be a lot like the other S versions of the phone (iPhone 3GS, 4S) — similar to the iPhone 5 but with some new tweaks. The biggest addition is said to be a fingerprint sensor in the home button of the phone. The sensor would allow users to quickly sign into the phone without having to put in a PIN or password. Other than that, the phone is said to look very similar to the iPhone 5, though it is said to come in a new champagne or gold color. A faster processor and improved camera flash are said to also be added to the 5S.
The cheaper cousin, iPhone 5C, according to the numerous leaked images, will come in a selection of colors — thus the “C” — including pink, white, blue and green. The phone will be cheaper than the 5S and could replace the iPhone 5 or 4S. Apple usually drops the price on its older models when newer ones are introduced.
When it comes to the software, the new iPhones will run Apple’s iOS 7, which the company detailed in June at its Worldwide Developers Conference. iOS 7 is the biggest change the software has seen since the original iPhone was introduced in 2007. It has an entirely new design, including revamped icons and animations, and a host of new features, including a new Command Center for easy access to settings, a new multitasking view and revamped Camera, Mail and Calendar apps.
In addition to the iPhone, Apple is also rumored to announce new iPods today and a software update to its Apple TV. Apple is not expected to discuss the next versions of its iPad today, though it appears the company is preparing new models of those as well.
Five of the last six former presidents are in agreement that re-election of a president should be maintained and not prohibited as proposed by legislator for the Partido Acción Ciudadana, Juan Carlos Mendoza.
Two time president Oscar Arias (1986-1990 and 2006-2010) – the only one of the last six who has been re-elected – sait that a Constitutional Amendment cannot curtail the rights of those who have already held office.
Abel Pacheco (2002-2006) says he also disagrees with the Mendoza initiative, also citing a violation of the rights of those who have held office and impede the continuity of key projects.
Rafael Angel Calderon (1990-1994) agrees with a reform on the presidential term, that re-elections should be consecutive, but not bannned.
President from 1994-1998, José María Figueres Olsen, also is in disagreement with the Mendoza proposal. Up to last October Figueres had considered running in the 2014 elections.
Miguel Angel Rodríguez (1998-2002) coincides with Calderón on the consecutive issue.
The only dissenting note is that of Luis Alberto Monge (1982-1986). Monge could not respond to the query by AmeliaRueda.com, but is on record in 1999 when he was in total disagreement to Oscar Arias seeking re-election.
Currently, re-election is “un por medio” – every other election. A sitting president cannot be re-election to a consecutive term.
The governments of Central America have announced plans to create a regional body to centralize security initiatives, a move that may help tackle the free movement of criminal groups across national borders and ensure security funds are used effectively.
During a meeting of the Central American Integration System (SICA) in Panama, foreign ministers from the group’s eight member nations — Belize, Panama, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama and the Dominican Republic — agreed to create a Democratic Security Directorate. The new body will be charged with receiving and distributing international aid to the region and coordinating crime fighting efforts, reported AFP.
Panamanian Foreign Minister Fernando Nuñez said the directorate will likely be headquartered in El Salvador or Guatemala.
The creation of the directorate follows a 2011 agreement to create a coordinated Central American security strategy aimed in part at anti-drug initiatives, for which the international community pledged $2 billion, reported news agency EFE. According to SICA’s Salvadoran Secretary General Hugo Martinez, the strategy involves 22 projects, eight of which are already underway.
InSight Crime Analysis
The integration of Central American security efforts is a necessary step if the region is to work effectively against organized crime, which freely operates across borders and has eroded democratic institutions in many countries in the region.
Not only does an integrated security policy allow for a transnational approach to a transnational problem, it could also help prevent much needed aid being held up in countries such as Honduras, where deep concerns over police corruption have become an obstacle to US attempts to back security efforts.
Since this past June, the Dominican Republic has also been a full member of the SICA, meaning that, in addition to improving Central American security coordination, the new directorate will include in its sphere of influence a drug production and transshipment country along the apparently resurgent Caribbean drug route.
Costa Rica does not have home field advantage this time around, and although some factors are coming together in favor of La Sele, a key player feels that Jamaica will be a worthy opponent.
“Friday’s game [against the U.S.] is in the past; we now must focus on Tuesday’s match in Jamaica. The most important game of our lives is upon us; we are one step away from the World Cup, and if we want to make it we must win on Tuesday. There is a lot of morale; from game one of the World Cup Qualifiers (WCQ) the team has been united. We are showing the strength of our country coming together.”
The young striker scored the final and decisive goal against the U.S., which saw him reacting to a long breakaway pass from Costa Rica’s defensive squad. Campbell showed tremendous speed and ball handling with an impeccable finish past goalkeeper Tim Howard.
Campell doubts that Jamaica will play it safe with a tie at home. The Reggae Boys are in danger of losing their way in the WCQ; they may be in last place now, but they still have a shot at catching up to Mexico and dispute a last-chance playoff against a team from the Oceania Football Confederation.
German manager Winfried Schaffer is very serious about coming away with a victory onTuesday’s game between Jamaica and Costa Rica. He respects the prowess of La Sele, but he has assured sports journalists that the Reggae Boys intend to stay in the WCQ. For this reason, Campbell warns about the importance of Tuesday’s game; not only is Costa Rica playing for a shot at glory in Brazil next year, but they must do so against a team that is playing their last card.
According to the Jamaica Gleaner, a few key players will be missing from the roster, including goalkeeper and team captain Donovan Ricketts. Backup goalie Dwayne Miller is recovering from an injury. Star playmaker Rodolph Austin is also out, which means that Ticos can rest a little easier on defense –although not too much. As Campbell explained, this game is far too important for Costa Rica to take it easy.
People have told me that I’m brave and that they admire me. Venturing out and doing this outrageous thing – quitting my job in my early 40’s, giving up my income, and moving to and living in a foreign country. And I think some of my friends and family secretly think I’m crazy (they’re just too polite or nice to say it).
It’s true – it IS weird. It IS crazy. This is NOT the norm!
When Greg & I first started talking about it, I was like, well this is nice & fun to talk about, but there’s NO WAY we’ll ever really do it. I mean – who really up and quits their job and moves to a foreign country with no plan of working before retirement age? Well, it turns out, I do. We do.
Back in 2011, as my husband’s job situation became more and more stressful, I became increasingly worried about him, and we talked more and more of DOING this dream-thing we’d talked about. Yes, he could quit and go work somewhere else, but it would probably end up being the same situation (stressful, tied to his cell phone, on call 24/7)…
Managing people is always stressful (as I knew from my dad), but the position he was in had him continually torn between two different divisions of his company, and then throw in the client (usually attorneys). And, well, it just wasn’t pretty. Suffice it to say – it was affecting him mentally, physically, and emotionally… he had high blood pressure, and we were both stress eating horribly. It was affecting US as a couple. This was the first time in our marriage that I felt helpless. Something big had to change. We started seriously considering moving to Costa Rica.
Greg & I were both in relatively good health, and wanted to do this now while we still could and enjoy ourselves. So many people work till 60 or longer (usually longer), and once they retire are in such poor health, that they don’t even get to ENJOY not working anymore. Another thought I always carried around in my heart was that my dad had cancer and died at 59, with no enjoyment of retirement whatsoever. He did take “early retirement” the year before he died, but there’s no way it was enjoyed the way it’s intended to be. It really breaks my heart after all the hard work he put into his job, over his whole adult life to support my family, that he never got to retire and just do what he wanted to do with his time… Greg’s dad had been in poor health for a while, but was amazingly STILL working (part time, at 70!). We knew his days were numbered – diabetes which affected both his feet so he could barely walk, several heart attacks, and most recently – kidney failure and dialysis.
The main reason we could not “retire early” in the states was health care costs. Also – we were afraid the life style we were used to would be very hard to cut back on if we continued to live in the same environment. We had talked about a few other foreign countries, but discarded them for various reasons, I won’t bore you with the details. The country we kept coming back to over and over again, was Costa Rica. Here’s a few reasons why:
It’s not TOO far away from the states (i.e. – a 4 hour plane trip from Dallas)
Time zone is the same (central time) – except Costa Rica doesn’t practice daylight savings time (so for half of the year there is a 1 hour’s time difference).
Costa Ricans are known to be welcoming and friendly to Americans
They have a stable and peaceful government (no army since 1948!)
They have good infrastructure (fancy word for good/affordable health care and easy internet access/wifi throughout the country)
Spanish is the main language (we’d always wanted to learn), and we heard lots of Costa Ricans also speak English fairly well.
There are affordable fully furnished houses for rent
Crime seemed to be relegated to petty theft unlike the drug cartel/kidnapping issues that plague several Latin American countries
We did lots of research online and reading of books, and decided the next best thing to do was take a trip there. Neither of us had ever been. We asked my Mom (who’s a world traveler) if she’d like to join us, and she jumped at the chance. She’s great to travel with, plus we wanted her to see first hand what we were considering and offer any opinions or questions that we might not think of. We visited in January of 2012 – three different areas of the country: Grecia (central valley), Arenal Lake (by a volcano which was supposed to be active) and Playa Hermosa, Guancasate (the pacific beach area). We had a blast. We rented an SUV and packed a LOT of due diligence into 10 days.
Grecia: We wanted to start in Grecia, as it was close to San Jose where we’d be flying into. It was a small town we had read about in the Central Valley with temperatures ranging from low 60’s at night to no higher than low 80’s during the day. No AC or heat was required in the homes in Grecia. We stayed at a modest B&B that was owned at the time by an awesome Canadian couple – Denny and Rachel. They were kind, informative and helpful. They hooked us up with some local expat’s that we had breakfast with one morning, and then we also met a real estate agent, who wanted to know if he could drive us around that day and show us potential rental properties/prices, just so we could get some ideas. Everyone was kind in Grecia, and we liked the small town vibe.
Playa Hermosa: We also wanted to visit the Pacific beach coast areas, even though we knew the temperatures were quite a bit hotter (and they were!). We hired a couple to do a “Due Diligence” tour with us over 2 days, which was geared to people like us who are thinking about a potential expat lifestyle. They showed us tons of things including possible areas to live, grocery stores, doctor and vet offices, as well as other beach towns in the area. They answered all our questions, and we had a fantastic 2 days there at the beach! Lovely area, but a little hot for us…
Lake Arenal: Lake Arenal is a HUGE lake, and we stayed at a resort there (a small reward for all our hard due diligence work we’d been doing) called Los Lagos. We were dismayed to hear the volcano was currently dormant, but the place we stayed was awesome, and had several natural hot springs and a gorgeous pool. They had good food and lovely scenery – lizzards, butterflies, every type of bird you could think of, even a crocodile “farm”. It was a great vacation stop for us.
So, with our first trip to Costa Rica under our belt, and much discussion and thinking about things… we finally decided together that – YES WE WANTED TO DO THIS. It still seemed super crazy, but it was exciting, and it would be an adventure! And hey – if it didn’t work out, or we didn’t like it for some reason, we could always move back. With our decision made, we slowly and methodically went about saving as much (more) money as we could and sold all of our possessions. A few things were a little hard for me, but overall – it was very FREEING to get rid of all this “stuff” we’d accumulated over the years. It felt good. I didn’t want to define myself by the house I lived in, the type of car I drove, or the designer purse I carried. Enough was enough. Time for a change, indeed!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jen Beck Seymour is the Costa Rica Chica. In June, 2013 she broke free of the rat race of North America where bigger was better, and moved here with her husband from Dallas, Texas. She quit her artificially lit cubicle job and left all sense of stable income behind. She believes in taking time now, while she is still young and healthy, to just ENJOY – life, her husband, day to day simplicity. When she’s not blogging, she is either hiking, baking, sipping coffee or enjoying a glass of wine. You can find her at: www.costaricachica.com/wordpress
Author’s Note: The following analysis and opinion of the video produced by the “Essential Costa Rica” branding initiative has been adapted into English from the online blog of Luis Paulino Vargas Solis, which also appeared in online news publication Informa-Tico. Mr. Vargas is the internal director of the Investigative Center on Culture and Development of the National Distance Learning University. The opinion and views below are not necessarily those of the Costa Rica Star.
Upon seeing the “Essential Costa Rica” video, a few details caught my eye:
(A) In the video, we hear an anthropomorphized Costa Rica expressed in the first person singular (“I”), with a male voice, that of an adult male.
(B) The message is hyperbolic: Costa Rica as a paradise of wonder from whatever angle you look at it: an exuberant nature, a happy and united people, a democracy without blemish, a way of life full of peace and harmony, a highly competitive workforce, an optimal business environment, etc.
(C) This is Costa Rica as a presumption that speaks way too proudly to the point of being repetitive and nagging.
(D) It is mentioned that Costa Rica is very diverse; however, this apparent diversity is expressed by a single voice (of an adult male), who speaks in the first person singular, but the whole argument suggests total unanimity and consensus. Finally we find the depiction of a Costa Rica as a country with an efficient railway system and relentlessly homogeneous
(E) About 2 minutes and 10 seconds into the video it becomes clear to whom the message is addressed: “… a country that attracts connoisseurs who know the value of excellence … I have much to offer those who want to buy, invest, produce, develop. I have the human and technological resources required for this …”
Are we trying to sell our country like we are selling burgers?
(F) This video makes it clear why we speak about “country brand”. When we talk about branding, we talk about business, trade and commerce. Brands are, for example, Imperial or Dos Pinos or well-known global brands such as Toyota or McDonald’s. Companies have “brands” and they define their corporate identity and symbolic reference to their clientele seeking to identify them and, in turn, gain loyalty. Does a country really have a “brand”? Well, it seems that way in these times of neoliberal ideological reign. Perhaps because the country ceases to be a community united by cultural ties, and shared identity becomes more or less symbolic, and instead it becomes a good place for investment and business.
(G) And that is what this video and the campaign apparently seeks: Commercial advertising to offer a product whose external appearance is made up and embellished with extreme meticulousness. It is not telling the truth, but to make things seem attractive. And that artificial attractiveness pursues one goal: to sell the product. That is, sell this product called “Costa Rica”. As Lizano sauce, or Coca Cola. In this case, it comes down to selling the trademark Costa Rica to two types of customers: High-income tourists desirous of exoticism of the tropics (including the bodies of its native population: children, women and men),and transnational corporations that allegedly find excellent conditions here: A skilled workforce, docile and disciplined, a peaceful social environment, a stable rule of law, a government that enacts complacent public policies.
In the end, there is a background subtext of development, above all, an idea of society. An entirely extroverted development that is subject to stimuli, external forces and interests; a society molded in a kind of “clay effect” to foreign interests and external demands.
A study of gender roles in Central America’s “maras” sheds light on the dual role of women, who are simultaneously violently exploited and heavily relied on by male gang members.
The study “Violent and Abused”, a joint initiative between several non-governmental organizations, examines the disempowered but crucial role of women in the Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha (MS13) street gangs in the Northern Triangle countries, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
Read the full report here [pdf]
Women, according to the study, serve a dual role in gangs. They are expected to take on male-associated characteristics and tasks, including perpetrating and withstanding violence and wearing men’s clothing, and to act in the “female” role of cooking and caring for the men, children and the sick. Because gangs believe women are less suspicious in the eyes of authorities, they are also often tasked with acting as drug “mules,” smuggling illicit goods into jails, gathering intelligence on rival gangs, and carrying arms in public spaces.
The unequal treatment of women is seen in gang initiation practices. While men are subjected to a beating, women are given the choice between this and sustaining sexual relations with multiple gang members for an equivalent length of time, but they are later harassed if they choose the second option. Women who join gangs because they are dating a gang member, meanwhile, get an automatic in and are treated respectfully by the rest of the gang. However, they are expected to tolerate frequent infidelity from their partner and if they reciprocate the practice, they may be killed.
A woman who tries to leave a gang experiences similar difficulties as male gang members, as this offense can be punishable by death. Reasons for wanting to leave, however, often differ — some women interviewed said they were pregnant and wanted to be able to offer a different life for their child.
If a woman does manage to leave the gang, she can rarely escape her gang identity. In addition to harassment from her former companions, she is likely to be socially excluded on the outside and to receive little help reintegrating into society.
InSight Crime Analysis
Central America’s Northern Triangle has become one of the most dangerous places in the world for women, a phenomenon that has risen in tandem with the region’s growing importance to drug trafficking. Many femicides — targeted murders of women — are attributed to gangs.
As of 2012, El Salvador had the highest femicide rate in the world. According to the country’s former security minister, the rise in femicides coincided with the increasing entry of women into gangs. In Honduras, gender specialists reported in 2010 that girlfriends and mothers of gang members were increasingly being murdered in acts of revenge.
Despite the dangers inherent in associating with gangs, a significant number of women opt for this lifestyle. A 2012 study in Honduras found that women made up 20 percent of gang membership, with nearly all of these connected to the MS13 or Barrio 18 — 52 percent and 45 percent, respectively. In Guatemala, the number of female prisoners has doubled in the past eight years, which experts say is connected to their increased role in criminal groups, which they are often drawn into through family or romantic ties.
Though women are often under-valued by male gang members, the study and other reports make it clear that they are important assets to the groups, doing a lot of the “dirty work” and therefore taking many of the risks. In addition to serving as drug mules and smuggling other illicit goods, women in Guatemala have been reported to play another important role — gathering intelligence for extortion gangs.
There are some signs that women’s roles in organized crime are evolving. In Guatemala, officials said the rising number of imprisoned women were increasingly taking on work as assassins and thieves.
In Mexico, which saw a 400 percent increase in the number of women jailed in relation to drug trafficking between 2007 and 2010, women are moving even higher up the organized crime hierarchy. In 2012, the army reported that women were occupying increasingly important positions in the Gulf Cartel, both carrying out assassinations and doing management and administration work.
While the study deals with gender relations, it is also indicative of gang culture as a whole, and the extent to which it relies on the propagation and perpetuation of violence. As shown by these women’s experiences, changing gang culture is not easy. For for those involved in it — both male and female — leaving it behind can be just as tough.
With just 124,609 of her citizens residing abroad, Costa Rica has the lowest rate of emigration in Central America and one of the lowest of Latin America and the Caribbean.
This is in sharp contrast to the overall Latin American immigration phenomenon around the world, which counts with 25 million people and makes up 13 percent of the global diaspora.
The statistics above were discussed as part of the Second Summit on Migration of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Spanish acronym: CELAC), which was hosted by Costa Rica. Representatives from across the Americas met in San Jose to discuss matters pertaining to the issue of immigration. The CELAC nations hope to develop a common framework in immigration matters, which often create problems such as brain drain, displacement, uncollected revenue, etc.
The main theme of the summit had a purpose of putting a human voice to patterns of migration and to always reflect and act taking into consideration the human motivation for abandoning one’s native country in search of opportunity abroad.
Gioconda Ubeda, Vice Chancellor of the Republic of Costa Rica, remarked that:
“Immigration has grown exponentially in the last three decades, and it has taken on a survival role. No one fully emigrates unless they have an option to stay in his or her country, which is why the integral focus of this phenomenon is the intrinsic link between migration, development and human rights.”
The CELAC nations agreed that highly-developed countries where Caribbean and Latin American people flock to have certain obligations with regard to the civil and human rights of the immigrants they receive. Although Costa Rica is not a developed country, she has 333,193 foreigners duly registered as legal residents, of which 251,429 are from Nicaragua. There are 15,454 Colombians registered, as well as 11,427 citizens of Panama.
Most Ticos living abroad choose the United States as their home away from home, specifically in western New Jersey and the Trenton state capital area. Quite a few of them come from Perez Zeledon in the southern region of the San Jose province, and many of them are undocumented immigrants. Some Costa Rican families in New Jersey have children born in the U.S. who also enjoy Tico citizenship.
A smaller concentration of Ticos can be found in Southern California, and these are mostly wealthier families who have business or academic ties to the U.S. This is in sharp contrast to the Costa Rican community in New Jersey, who are mostly from working-class backgrounds. Many end up coming back to Costa Rica or spending half of their time in the U.S. to avoid losing immigration benefits. Some Ticos end up joining the U.S. military and going to war before becoming pacifists; others have been killed in action. One famous Tico went to the U.S. and was later inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame, and other Ticos unfortunately end up in prison for drug trafficking. Altogether there are almost 82,000 Costa Ricans in the U.S.
The U.S. Department of State estimates that 50,000 of their citizens are duly registered and residing in Costa Rica. The number of foreign residents from Canada has been estimated at about 15,000. This does not include perpetual tourists, who are counted as part of the one million foreign visitors who arrive in Costa Rica each year. Most perpetual tourists in Costa Rica are from the U.S., and in many cases it may not be accurate to label them as perpetual since only a few of them make their extended stay truly permanent.
Sources: La Prensa Libre and Ministry of Foreign Affairs
