By: Wilberth Villalobos Castrillo, Vozdeguanacaste – Just as on July 25, the streets of Nicoya again filled with hundreds of protesters marching, but this time instead of marching against President Laura Chinchilla, they joined her in the “March for the Homeland.”
The march was organized by various social groups and by the Municipality of Nicoya to remember the historic gesture of the annexation of the Party of Nicoya to Costa Rica. The march started at around 10 a.m. outside the Nicoya courthouse. From there, about 3000 participants marched to the Recaredo Briceño Park amidst cries of “long live Guanacaste and long live Costa Rica!”
Once they reached Recaredo Briceño Park, President Laura Chinchilla showed up and signed a document titled “Manifesto of the Reconfirmation of the Annexation,” along with the mayors of the municipalities of Abangares, Cañas, Tilaran, Liberia, Nicoya and Nandayure.
In her speech, Chinchilla mentioned, “some people are of the opinion that I should not be with you today. To them, I should say that the towns of the Party of Nicoya have historically said yes to Costa Rica and that is why today we are telling Guanacaste yes.”
The president had something to say to Daniel Ortega, president of Nicaragua: “Costa Rica does not accept falsehoods, invasions or bullying. We demand respect from President Daniel Ortega and we repudiate the contempt toward our sovereignty.”
Chinchilla referred to the invasions made by Nicaragua to Costa Rican territory in the area of Portillos Island and Nicaragua’s attempt to claim part of the ocean territory in Salinas Bay in the Pacific and San Juan del Norte in the Caribbean.
“We are talking about the government of Nicaragua tyring to take from the country about 20,000 square kilometers of sea in Salinas Bay and between 15 to 17,000 kilometers in the Caribbean Sea, which are the areas richest in marine biodiversity and fishing in the country,” she explained.
The leader ended her dissertation with the following statement: “President Ortega, we will not allow your irresponsibility to separate our towns. I have the duty and the right for Costa Ricans and Nicaraguans to live in peace… never distorting the past. We are all Guanacaste and they will never separate us.”
For his part, the Guanacaste legislator Luis Fernando Mendoza, president of the congress, began his speech by reciting the stanza “My spirit never dies because it was born next to a corral,” from the popular song Espiritu Guanacasteco (Guanacastecan Spirit)
Mendoza stated that “Guanacaste and Costa Rica are an undividable marriage.”He said,”I may be President of the Legislative Assembly but first and foremost I am Guanacastecan.”
The activity was also attended by legislators Victor Emilio Granados, Rita Chavez and Martin Monestel from the Partido Accesibilidad Sin Exclusion (PASE – Accessibility Without Exclusion Party). In addition, Luis Liberman, vice president, Carlos Roverssi, minister of communication, Carlos Ricardo Benavides, minister of the presidency, and Mayi Antillon, minister of industrial and commercial economy, were present.
A large number of students from the canton of Nicoya were present since their schools declared it a day off so both students and teachers could participate in the event.
However, the mayors of Bagaces, Carrillo, La Cruz and Santa Cruz were absent and of the legislators from Guanacaste, only Luis Fernando Mendoza was there. At the end, Luis Gerardo Castañeda, mayor of Liberia, suffered a brief dizzy spell, so he had to remain seated and receive medical attention, after which his health recovered.
Coco Connect – Here’s a letter from Country Day School leadership detailing this school year. It’s good to hear that Guanacaste has an additional private education option. Best of luck to CDSG in their new venture.
With the first day of school just 4 days away, we at CDSG want to take this opportunity to let the community know that our doors are open and we are looking forward to a fantastic school year!
We have a wonderful group of students returning this year along with many new enrollees. We still have room for growth and are welcoming new students. We are fortunate to have an incredible (and massive!) campus that can easily accommodate all of our existing students and more.
As we grow, we will continue to maintain the small class sizes that we currently enjoy by expanding faculty as needed. We open our doors this August with the same proven curriculum that has consistently prepared our students for incredible opportunities at prestigious schools around the world.
In some ways this fall is “business-as-usual.” We have almost all of our outstanding faculty and staff returning from last year and we are excited to welcome a few new faces as well. We had a busy summer preparing for this school year under our new establishment as a non-profit, community-run organization. The main difference – and this is a huge one – from previous years is that we are now empowered to put in place the changes based on what we, as a community of parents, feel is best for *our* children. A commitment to deeper integration of Spanish as part of our curriculum is just one area where we, collectively, voiced a need for change and we are acting on it!
The interim Board of Directors has been working on our behalf, and there will be an open election this fall for those of you who would like to become more involved and join that team. The Board is limited in size, but the process for inclusion is 100% democratic – we vote for the representatives we want, in order to ensure that this team represents all of the voices within our community.
Very soon we will be knee-deep in all of the normal activities of the school year, so we just wanted to take this opportunity — before the books open and the sports teams assemble — to let you all know that we are both excited and grateful. Excited to do all the things that we know will benefit the next generation of leaders living here in Guanacaste, and grateful to have this amazing opportunity to do it.
Coco Connect – Recently Daniel Ortega, President of Nicaragua, made threat that he would reclaim Guanacaste. I have a feeling that he may have been asleep during the his Central American history class. Guanacaste was NEVER a part of Nicaragua. Here’s a link to one of Ortega’s outbursts in the Tico Times.
Below is an excellent write-up done by “What’s Up Coco“; a Coco area news and events page on Facebook. I look a little liberty with the addition of some pictures.
Below is a History that documents, with fact and dates, that Guanacaste has never been a part of Nicaragua.
In case anyone has not heard yet what can be taken as a major offense from Nicaragua to Costa Rica or as the best joke of the century: Daniel Ortega, President/current communist dictator of Nicaragua, announced in a speech commemorating an anniversary of the military in his country that, Nicaragua will reclaim ownership of Guanacaste before the international court of justice at the Hague.
The Gem of Costa Rica, Guanacaste Province
Now, I alternate between being outraged and rolling in laughter, so ridiculous this statement is! Just in case, official Costa Rica has responded. The Legislature, the President, the Mayor of Nicoya and the Costa Rican Ambassador to Nicaragua have sent very strong “keep your hands off and wash your mouth with soap” letters to Daniel Ortega. The common folks on the streets have also expressed outrage and been flabbergasted at the outrageousness of the statement. And what about the people of Guanacaste? After all those are the folks whose nationality Ortega is announcing he will change to Nicas rather than Ticos…There is no question or ambivalence from the Guanacastecos. Their message is very clear: You will not be permitted to set foot in Guanacaste!
Now a Little History on Why Ortega Uses the Word “Reclaim” Guanacaste
This implies that at some point in history, Guanacaste was part of Nicaragua. Not at all! When all of Central America was colonies of Spain, years and years ago, there was what was called The Capitania General De Guatemala or the General Captaincy of Guatemala. The present day Central American countries which were then colonies, all reported to Spain as a block as part of this administrative entity with headquarters in Guatemala. It was divided in 4 provinces- not yet countries- and these were: Guatemala, Comayagua (the original name for Honduras), San Salvador and the province called Nicaragua Costa Rica which combined what are roughly the current countries of Nicaragua and of Costa Rica, in one single province.
Separate from this administrative structure there was a territory that was independent from all the 4 provinces of the Capitania General de Guatemala. This territory was called: “El Partido De Nicoya” and corresponds to what later became known as Guanacaste. This was an autonomous entity from its creation and while it had commercial ties to Nicaragua and also to Costa Rica, politically it was not part of either;reporting only to the Capitania General de Guatamala or directly to the Spanish Crown.
3 years prior to the Colonial Independence from Spain, a situation came up where the provinces of the Capitania General de Guatemala could have representation at the Spanish Court. HOWEVER, El Partido de Nicoya (now Guanacaste) did not qualify for representation as its population did not reach the required numbers. Largely for this reason, the “notables” as they are called, of this independent territory decided it was to their benefit to join one of the two colonial areas of either Nicaragua or Costa Rica which were close geographically and linked by economic and social ties – only- due to this proximity. And so, in a historical, unprecedented action, a plebiscite was held in which the people of the Partido de Nicoya voted their choice of which they wanted to join. By their vote, the people of the Partido De Nicoya unanimously chose to become a part of Costa Rica. The name was changed to Guanacaste as it would no longer be an independant entity. The Hymn of Guanacaste even includes these words in its lyrics: ” of the nation by our own free will” Guanacaste was never conquered by anyone, it chose it’s destiny and proud people that they are, they make sure that everyone, including the rest of Costa Rica, remembers it always.
Following this voluntary union to Costa Rica, Nicaragua filed a claim before the Central American Federation of which all the Central American Provinces were part. This entity recognized the legal Annexation of Guanacaste to Costa Rica and that settled that.
Then Came the War
An American lawyer, journalist and adventurer named William Walker who organized several private military expeditions into Latin America with the intention of establishing English-speaking colonies (source: Wikipedia) attacked Granada, the most powerful city of Nicaragua at the time, and declared himself President of Nicaragua in October 1855, changing the official language to English and reinstating slavery which had been avoided years prior, among other radical changes. Franklin Pierce, 14th President of the USA, officially recognized his government.
The other Central American nations, chiefly Costa Rica, feared that Walker would take over their countries, too. In early 1857 the Costa Ricans attacked Walker’s forces led by their President Rafael Mora affectionately called ”Don Juanito” by Ticos , with the support of Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador as well as Vanderbilt’s money and men ( Cornelius Vanderbilt controlled a shipping empire and William Walker had made an enemy of him by suspending his right to ship through Nicaragua).
The only Time Guanacaste Appeared on a Map as Part of Nicaragua
In an effort to put more space between the opposing Costa Rican troops and his own forces, William Walker decided to redefine the international boundaries. The video shows how Guanacaste was a separate entity prior to the illegal redrawing of the map by William Walker, which included Guanacaste as part of the map of Nicaragua with the intention of placing a buffer between “Don Juanito’s” Costa Rican troops and Nicaragua. Thus, William Walker proved correct Costa Rica’s fear about his expansionist intentions. The war that Costa Rica declared was never against Nicaragua, it was against William Walker and his invasion of Central American territories. Walker’s army was defeated at the Second Battle of Rivas and this is what we commemorate every year on the National Holiday on April 11, the Day of Juan Santamaria, one of the heroes of that historical episode.
So, Guanacaste’s choice to be part of Costa Rica was upheld by the Central American Federation prior to the independence from Spain and defended with the blood of its people. And when the Central American colonies gained their independence, Guanacaste became a province of the new Country of Costa Rica. It was never Nica!
Article by Coco Connect
Paul Sahner, after moving to New York 9 years ago and taking many of various photos and videos around the city, decided to blog about it. His website NYC Grid explores the neighborhoods “street by street and block by block.”
So, we took a little road trip to San José the other day. San José is the capital of Costa Rica, about a 45 minute drive from Grecia, and also where we fly in and out – SJO – San Jose International Airport .
Our intention was to meet with an attorney who works with the ARCR (Association of Residents of Costa Rica) about starting our residency process.
We had been referred to an attorney by some friends of ours, who said this guy was very efficient and did a good job handling their paperwork.
Expediency is a good thing IF you can get it here in Costa Rica…. as most things are on “tico time” – which means – well, maybe today, maybe mañana (tomorrow)… they take their sweet time in doing things – all with good intentions – it’s just the “laid back” way here… Pura Vida.
San José is… well, a very busy, large city. We would NOT want to live there. It gets a bit… sketchy at night (we are told). And sometimes during the day. It’s a bit like a congested, mini – version of New York, but not as nice.
We hired a driver, as we had a 10 am appointment, and didn’t want to take the chance of taking the bus for the first time and missing it. San Jose being so big and all, for this first time visit at least, we wanted to eliminate the stress.
We had met Wilson before (in Jan., 2012, on our first trip to Costa Rica) – he was wonderful back then, and did not disappoint today. He picked us up as scheduled, at the end of our ¾ mile dirt road (which is heavily pot-holed, so we do not wish anyone to drive down it), drove us to San Jose, and delivered us in person – walked us to the door – of the ARCR.
We met with our attorney for an hour, he looked at all our paperwork we brought (certified, notarized & apostilled birth certs, marriage cert & police records [denoting NO police activity, I may add]), and declared everything looked perfect. YAY! – we were worried, even after so much research, that we may have forgotten something. He whipped up a contract, we reviewed & signed, handed over a hefty amount of American cash ($2,400 in legal/Costa Rican fees and $500 for immigration fees), and we were good to go! He’ll contact us in about 10 business days and we’ll have to return to get finger printed and set up a bank account.
The main reason we are applying for residency? So we won’t have to leave the country every 90 days. We will always be and remain US citizens, and we love our homeland. “Residency” with Costa Rica just means we are also residents in their country, and we have to prove we have a certain amount of money so they don’t have to support us, and we don’t have to leave every 90 days (which can amount to a lot of travel expenses, even if we just go across the border to Nicaragua or Panama).
So, with our business finished, we texted Wilson, and he showed up in 4 minutes to pick us up. We then decided to go for lunch, and he took us to this nice hotel/restaurant where we had some amazing Costa Rican food and drink (suffice it to say, we did not eat any dinner later, we were stuffed from lunch!).
Wilson is a good guy, and we enjoy his company. Plus he is an awesome tour guide, always pointing out stuff along with way… After lunch, we headed home, with one more stop on the way – COFFEE. Costa Rica is KNOWN for their coffee, and Wilson being a coffee connoisseur knew of a great place to stop – Don Mayo. And it was – amazing.
Cheers!
That’s all for now folks! Peace! — Jen
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
The number of homicides in Costa Rica has increased by 8% and assuatls by 20% in the first seven months of the year, as compared to the same period last year, says the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ).
A report by the Crime Analysis Unit of the OIJ indicated that between January and July 2013, 227 homicides occurred in the country, while only 209 were recorded in the same period in 2012.
The top two cities with the highest level of homicides is the capital city of San José and the Caribbean port city of Limón.
The numbers show that the homicide rate during 2012 was 8.9 per 100.000 inhabitants, a decrease of 10.3 recorded in 2011. In 2012, there were a total of 394 homicides, 79 less than the previous year.
The report also noted an increase in the number of assaults, the most frequently committed crime in Costa Rica.
The OIJ says 3.603 cases were reported between January and July, an increase of 20.2% over the same period last year, when 2.996 cases were reported.
However, car thefts have decreased this year, down 15.7% over the last year. In the January-July period of 2012, 850 car thefts were reported, in the same period this year, the OIJ reports only 716.
Burglaries have also decreased, with 781 cases so far this year, representing a drop of 4.2% over last.
If you are planning on going out today and through the weekend, don’t forget the umbrella. A tropical wave will cause an increase in rainfall.
The Instituto Meteorológico Nacional (IMN) – national weather service – is forecastin an significant increase in rainfall today due to a tropical wave that is affecting all of Central America and some parts north.
Meteorologist Gabriela Chinchilla said that this phenomenon will also cause an increase in wind intensity.
According to Chinchilla, the phenomenon could continue into weekend and even into monday.
Authorities are advising people to be on the alert against possible emergencies caused by the rain and strong winds.
President Laura Chinchilla dressed in white with a green belt during the protest march in Guanacaste.
Thursday wasn’t a regular session in the country’s Legislative Assembly, as legislators almost came to blows over Presidenta Laura Chinchilla’s choice of wardrobe to attend the “marcha por la patria” in Guanacaste.
More than 30 minutes of Legislative floor time was devoted to the subject, as legislators from the Partido Liberacion Nacional (PNL) defended the Presidenta’s choice of dressed in white with a green belt around the waist.
Legislator Yolanda Acuña criticized the choice of the Presidenta’s wardrobe on this special occasion.
Yolonda Acuña, legislator for the PAC, led the attack saying that the presidenta should have been wearing colours representative of the country – red, white and blue – instead of the green belt. “There is a subliminal message there”, said Acuña.
Legislator María Ocampo, with gestures and shouts, defended doña Laura
Defending doña Laura, which finger pointing and fists raised to the air, was PLN legislator María Ocampo, who got a resounding vote of support from her legislative benchmates.
Members of the brutal street gangs widely known as Maras continue to wreak havoc in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras — but why haven’t they taken root in Costa Rica as well?
MS-13 and M-18, the two strongest and most widespread Mara gangs, were spawned in the 1980s in poor Los Angeles neighborhoods by disaffected Central American youth. Most were transplanted to the US by their families, desperate to flee civil war and extreme poverty in their home countries.
In the 1990s, strict deportation laws were enacted and thousands of Central American criminals were sent back to their native countries, hardened by American jails and instilled with a mature gang culture. Back at home, weak and corrupt governments provided fertile ground for the proliferation of these Maras, which have turned their countries into some of the most dangerous places in the world.
But at the same time, Costa Rica has largely been spared the violence associated with these feared groups. Here, street gangs are mostly dominated by small, local factions competing for territory in poor neighborhoods with few ties to international criminal networks.
Costa Rica has long been a relatively peaceful refuge surrounded by nations with tumultuous pasts. During the years when the Maras were taking shape in LA, there was no such exodus from Costa Rica; the country was relatively stable and was ruled by a democratic government. That stability also helps explain the absence of Maras in Nicaragua, since many of its citizens fled south across the border amidst that country’s civil war, away from the influence of gangs spreading in California.
In recent years, reports of Mara activity in Costa Rica have been few and far between. Immigration agents are known to deny entry to persons bearing obvious tattoos or symbols related to known Maras. However, there have been a few cases which sparked fear that the gang was attempting to make inroads into the country.
One such case was the 2009 kidnapping of two men by brothers from El Salvador who were living in the town of Paso Canoas. While attempting to pick up a ransom in exchange for the release of their remaining captive, the brothers were arrested along with their female companions, and the victim rescued by police. What shocked authorities, though, was that the two El Salvadorians claimed to be members of the Mara Salvatrucha, and their tattoos seemed to confirm that fact.
Yet apart from occasional arrests, reports of coordinated Mara activity in the region have been scant. This lack of violent, well organized street gangs can be seen in Costa Rica’s relatively low murder rate of 8.9 per 100,000 members of the population as opposed to 25 and 85.5 in El Salvador and Honduras in 2012 respectively.
But Costa Rica is by no means free from the grips of organized crime, and violence is on the rise. Although lower compared with its unstable neighbors to the north, Costa Rica’s murder rate has almost doubled since 2000. Officials have blamed the increase on the large drug trafficking organizations which have set up shop in the country, not the violent Central American Maras, however.
Costa Rica has become a major warehousing and transshipment point for South American cocaine, where organized networks have already been established by the Mexican and Colombian cartels seeking to exploit the country’s stability and geography.
Police routinely uncover large caches of drugs near the coasts, borders and even in the capital of San Jose itself. In May, police found nearly half a ton of cocaine hidden in a semi-trailer which was waiting to cross into Nicaragua. And just last week, a boat was detained in the Pacific, near Isla del Coco, and found to be carrying one ton of the drug. This latest bust was the second time the same vessel had been caught with almost 1,000 kilos on board. The sheer size of shipments like these suggests that traffickers feel very comfortable in the area and that local authorities are perhaps complicit.
These large seizures are relatively common and growing in quantity from a total of less than three tons in 2002 to more than 15 tons in 2012. Soon after being elected, President Lara Chinchilla expressed concern about the threat of drug cartels operating in the country telling the BBC that, “It’s a problem that will get out of hand if we don’t confront it now.”
The threat of more drug violence in Costa Rica is real, but at the moment, the vicious Mara gangs of El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras do not seem to play a major role in it. With the increase in drug trafficking activity in the country, it remains to be seen if Costa Rica can continue to stave off the encroachment of these brutal gangs.
Every day, reports about incidents of animal abuse in Costa Rica make news headlines and fan the flames of social media discourse and indignation.
A stray dog savagely sliced by a machete, sea turtles gutted for their meat, a female sloth hit with rocks, a porcupine cut with knives, sharks being brutally killed for their fins, illegal hunters who shoot down and dismember wild felines only to graphically display their barbarity as trophies on their Facebook Timeline. This is a list that could seemingly go on ad infinitum in Costa Rica.
Clearly, there is a problem with animal abuse in Costa Rica. But what about abuse of the elderly, our golden Tico citizens, those who raised families and worked their skins off to make Costa Rica a place that younger generations can enjoy? Did they ever dream that one day they would be subject to deplorable abuse; that they would be treated like those poor animals described in the preceding paragraph?
There is a difference between elder and animal abuse in Costa Rica, and it is not one to be proud of. The difference is that more people are interested in protecting animals than in protecting our elderly population from abuse. The proof is in the numbers: 15,000 recently marched in support of proposed legislation that will impose severe criminal penalties against those who abuse animals in Costa Rica. It was a grand event in our lovable capital of San Jose. The weather was great, and many people brought their companion animals. There were cats, dogs and even snakes among the crowd. A free concert wrapped up the activities and the event made international headlines.
In 2009, about 1,000 people showed up at a rally against elder abuse in Costa Rica and guess what? Most of those who showed up for this demonstration were golden citizens -many of them were part of the 1,500 elderly victims of physical, emotional and even sexual abuse in Costa Rica that year. That march is the only one to have made news headlines in recent years, and it was actually effective in the sense that enforcement of the Integral Law for the Elderly in Costa Rica was strengthened shortly thereafter.
“We should keep in mind that animal abuse goes beyond violence and physical injuries, abandonment and neglect are also part of this vicious circle.
This should make us think that we, as a society, must take up a leadership role and start with raising awareness in our homes and communities.”
Compare the excerpt above with a June press release from the National Council on the Elderly (Spanish acronym: CONAPAM), a governmental entity dedicated to the protection of those in their golden years:
“Our objective is to increase social awareness and promote conscience about the topics of violence and abuse that affect hundreds of elderly persons on a daily basis.”
In 2010, the number of cases processed under the Integral Law for the Elderly in Costa Rica was 680, in 2011 there were 939 and last year the number climbed to 1,535. These numbers reflect cases of violent abuse that are prosecuted; CONAPAM is aware that many more cases go unreported due to intimidation and embarrassment.
CONAPAM is not the only entity dedicated to the protection of the elderly in Costa Rica. There is also the Gerontological Association of Costa (AGECO in Spanish) and a few others. How many groups are dedicated to protection of companion animals and wildlife in our country? The Costa Rica Star has reported on more than a dozen.
And yet CONAPAM does its best to raise awareness about the uncomfortable problem of elder abuse in Costa Rica. Could there be more cases of animal abuse than elder abuse on a daily basis. It is very likely; after all, a million dogs roam the streets of Costa Rica (although a great number of them are not strays). The problem is that animal abuse causes indignation and prompts people to take to the streets; elder abuse, on the other hand causes shame and sadness.
It’s not that CONAPAM does not try to raise awareness. June 15th is the National Day Against the Abuse, Negligence, and Marginalization of the Elderly in Costa Rica. On that day, rallies at more than 25 communities across the country take place, but only about a hundred people attend each march.
Activism is Not Enough
There is a difference between activism and action. 15,000 people marching at a rally and enjoying a free concert afterward is activism. 50 community establishments dedicated to elderly care, retirement homes, activity centers, and a network of social workers and investigators is action. On both animal and elder abuse issues, action is what really works to ameliorate the problem.
A previous article in the Costa Rica Star about Shark Week touched on the issue of extremely lucrative activism and the profitable business of widlife conservation:
“[…] people will simply not leave sharks in Costa Rica alone. The shark cash machine has potential to generate extensive profits to diverse interests, which include nature conservationists.
Writing for The Guardian, Naomi Klein recently questioned the goals of groups such as the Nature Conservancy, the Wildlife Conservation Society and the World Wildlife Fund, which manage endowments worth hundreds of millions of dollars and invest them in the stock market, often by purchasing thousands of shares of publicly traded oil companies.”
What good is it to manage hundreds of millions of dollars if no concrete action is taken? For this reason, it is important to support organizations and movements that actually do something on the issues of animal and elder abuse. Which one is more important? Look in the mirror: You are getting older as each second goes by, but the choice is still yours. Here are two things you could do to prevent the abuse of animal and the elderly in Costa Rica:
Support the McKee Project
The Costa Rica Star has previously written about this organization, which is dedicated to the prevention of animal abuse by means of improving quality of life among companion animals through viable spay and neuter techniques.
“Pet owners in Costa Rica need to exercise better control when it comes to sterilization, which is essentially a low-cost procedure that is only practiced about 28 percent of the time in our country. Enter the McKee Project, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable foundation in the United States of America, which has developed and taught versatile spay and neuter techniques to more than 650 veterinarians in many Latin American countries.”
The McKee Project estimates that a 70 percent rate of spay-and-neuter procedures in a community translates into improved quality of life for pets and their owners. Remember, “We can judge the heart of a man by his treatment of animals” – Immanuel Kant.
Support AGECO
One of the best methods to prevent elder abuse is to ensure that our golden citizens are active and that they expand their social network. To this end, AGECO has many programs across several communities in Costa Rica that feature activities for older adults, including volunteer opportunities to boost their sense of belonging. Belonging to an active group is extremely important for people in their golden years, as studies have shown that the incidence of abuse is reduced among older adults whose social circles are active and supportive.
Ortega’s comments are meant to divert opposition to Nicaragua’s plan to build an inter-oceanic canal
In Guanacaste Thursday Presidenta Laura Chinchilla led a march protesting Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s bid to claim the Costa Rica province of Guanacaste.
Chinchilla was joined by legislators, Cabinet members and protesters in a “marcha por la patria” (march for the homeland) that began in the town of Nicoya in the northwest province of Guanacaste. The province, home to some of Costa Rica’s most-visited beaches and hotels, is the country’s least populated and second-largest region.
Tensions between the neighbours were heightened last week when Ortega said he may file a case with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to “recover” Guanacaste, which he claimed was Nicaraguan territory. Guanacaste was annexed to form part of Costa Rica in 1824, about three years after Central America’s independence from Spain. The anniversary of the annexation is a Costa Rican holiday is celebrated on July 25.
“The children of this land, have said yes to Costa Rica for 189 years. How, you having yes to Costa Rica many times, can we now tell you no. That is why were are here today with you”, Presidenta Laura Chinchilla.
“We aren’t talking about a a tiny territory, we are talking about hundreds of kilometres,” Ortega said in an Aug. 13 speech. “This is something yet to be debated, and we should consider bringing a case to the International Court of Justice.”
Photo: Pablo Montiel
Chinchilla, who is in the final year of her presidency, said Ortega’s threat ignored history and disrupted the “beautiful friendship” between Costa Ricans and Nicaraguans. The Spanish language daily, La Nacion said “thousands” of people took part in the march.
“President Ortega, we will not let your irresponsibility separate our countries,” Chinchilla said in a speech after the march. “We will not fall for your provocations, but we will also not be passive toward them.”
Costa Rica and Nicaragua have a history of border and territorial disputes. The ICJ ruled in 2011 that Nicaraguan soldiers had to evacuate a swath of land south of the San Juan River, which serves as the countries’ international border.
Nicaragua signed a treaty ceding Guanacaste to Costa Rica in 1858 shortly after the country had been under the temporary military rule of U.S. adventurer William Walker.
“It wasn’t a treaty signed voluntarily and Costa Rica knows that,” said Carlos Arguello, Nicaragua’s representative to the ICJ, in a statement on the presidential website. “What is going to be done or can be done about it is up to the president.”
Ortega’s latest comments are meant to divert attention from Nicaragua’s $40 billion plan to build an inter-oceanic canal, according to Constantino Urcuyo, a political analyst at Ciapa, a policy research institute in San Jose, Costa Rica. Legislation granting a concession to build the canal was passed earlier this year by the Nicaraguan Congress, generating protests from opposition and environmental groups.
“Ortega has had a lot of opposition to the canal project and to calm it he looked for an easy target,” Urcuyo said in a phone interview from San Jose. “Every time Ortega needs to earn national support, he resorts to his traditional enemy.”
Costa Rica’s consulate in Managua, Nicaragua’s capital, has been closed since Aug. 18, when protesters blocked its entrance, Ambassador Javier Sancho said in a phone interview.
“Some anti-Costa Rican sentiment has increased in recent days,” Sancho said. “Hopefully things will get back to normal shortly to the benefit of both the Costa Rican and Nicaraguan people.”
A recent study by the School of Statistics at the University of Costa Rica shows that six out of ten Costa Rican men prefer beer over any other type of alcoholic drink.
Given that 6 out of 10 is a majority, I think we can easily classify Ticos as hosers. What is a hoser?
Well, you have to be a Canadian or an American living near the Canadian border to know what a hoser is: a slang Canadian (Canuck) term popularized popularized – but NOT invented – by the McKenzie brothers (Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas – also known as Bob and Doug McKenzie – in SCTV’s “The Great White North” segments) referring to someone clumsy or stupid who drinks beer excessivly.
“You hoser, eh!”
Over the years Ticos and Canucs have had close ties, though not sure who the first hosers where, the Canucks or the Ticos.
Educalcohol Costa Rica project manager, Eugenio Regidor, explained that the purpose of the study was to know the pattern of alcohol consumption by Costa Ricans to focus on their educational activities in the country.
According to the report, nearly half of all Costa Ricans consume alcohol and those between the ages of 18 and 24 do so in excess and that men consumed more alcohol than women. But not by much.
The study also shows that six out of ten men prefer beer over any other type of alcoholic drink. Non-beer drinkers chose, in order of preference, wine, rum, vodka and whiskey.
The study took in the responses of 2.400 people,between August 28, 2012 and October 24, 2014,
Life is full of unpredictable moments – one second, one blink and you missed it. Sometimes the lucky coincidence of perfect time, perfect place and angle brings up an amazing result impossible to duplicate.
The problem of racial discrimination is still a reality, despite living in the 21st century.
In Toronto (Canada), a human rights tribunal ordered a popular sports bar to pay Canadian $10,000 each to three Indo-Canadians for racially discriminating against them. Oprah Winfrey, one of the most famous women in the world media, says she WAS victim of racism at Swiss store and told how she experienced what ‘people of black or brown color experience daily’, in an interview with a Swiss newspaper.
Winfrey was in Switzerland to attend Tina Turner’s wedding when she entered Zurich’s Trois Pommes boutique in search of a handbag to match her outfit for the lavish event. The media mogul claims the sales assistant refused to show her a black crocodile leather bag because of the color of her skin, assuming that she clearly could not afford the expensive product because she was black.
In Costa Rica, racial discrimination is illegal. In this multi-ethnic democratic society you’ll find an endless variety of religion, minorities and skin-colours peacefully living and working next to each other. At least that is we would like to believe.
The reality is that racism of various forms is found in every country on Earth. In different countries, the forms that racism takes may be different for historic, cultural, religious, economic or demographic reasons.
Stories of racism in the country are plentiful, from public reports by local personalities like singer German Davis, who says that he sees it firsthand every time he publishes on YouTube. “They make a face when I speak my dialect, patuá“, says the singer.
The former presenter of Destinos TV, Randy Allen, who currently works at a state bank and is a presenter at corporate events, told La Nacion, how he was denied entry at some bars/clubs in San José.
As a group, the largest of foreigners in the country, Nicaraguans, aside from social marginalization, whether legally or illegaly resident, face discrimination in employment and housing and are sometimes denied their legally established rights to health care and other services.
Nicaraguans continually relate stories of how, at one time or the other, have been discriminated against relegated to menial jobs (cleaning homes for women and dirty construction work for the men) and are passed over for promotion just for being a foreigner.
Numerous sources refer to the situation of Nicaraguan immigrants, both legal and illegal, as a recurring issue of controversy.
One of the most recent reports available refers to the results of a 2000 census, the first one carried out in Costa Rica since 1984 (Latin American Regional Reports 20 Feb. 2001). The report states that an amnesty for illegal Nicaraguan immigrants in late- 1998 and 1999 “encouraged about 150,000 Nicaraguans to legalize their situation, but many more did not come forward”. The report adds that:
The best estimates are that up to 500,000 Nicaraguans are living and working in Costa Rica. The presence of such a large number of newcomers has been a severe strain on services such as health, education and housing, and has caused considerable resentment among the native population, who tend to blame the Nicaraguans for everything from long waits at hospital casualty departments to rising violent crime figures. Anti-Nicaraguan jokes are becoming commonplace.
For many Costa Ricans, Nicaraguans are seen as a “reserve army of workers”.
But Nicaraguans aren’t the only group discriminated against. Chinese, Europeans, Colombians, Cubans, Mexicans…and even North Americans, face some form of social discrimination, though not always evident.
Costa Rica prides itself on being a country where human rights are respected and has a liberal tradition of eager adoption of reforms. So far, however, little attention has been paid to the problem of ethnic and racial discrimination within its borders.
As they say, it even happens in the best of families. And even in a country that is often referred to as the Switzerland of the Americas!
Recognizing the Mosquito Aedes Aegypti can be recognized by its distinctive striped markings, located on the legs. Also, the mosquito raises its back two legs when landing or standing.
Only the female mosquito bites. The mosquito is most active from 7am to 10am and from 4 to 7 pm.
Classic Dengue Symptoms
The following symptoms will last 3 to 7 days and will generally appear 5 to 7 days after the bite.
High Fever
Intense muscle and joint pain
Headaches, pain in the bones and behind the eyes
Sometimes body rashes and itching occur
Light bleeding in the nose or gums.
Hemorrhagic Dengue Symptoms
High Fever (over 39° Celsius 102.2 °F) lasting 2 to 7 days
Health officials predict the dengue epidemic this year will be the worst in history with an even sharper rise in cases predicted for the September and October heavier rain months. The frustrating part of the plague is that it is preventable if Costa Ricans would only mend their messy ways.
The incidence of the mosquito-borne illness hit a high in 2005, 2007, soared even higher in 2010 but has already skyrocketed this year with the worst to come. So far this year, 24,610 cases have been reported with the toll rising to more 2,000 cases per week expected before year’s end.
The number of cases this year are already double that of 2005 which registered 14,879 cases. Usually, the incidence is low durinng the dry season but this year the virus seemed to get a head start and began to rise during the end of the dry season.
So far the death toll is five suspected to be dengue caused, mostly the very young and the very old with other health issues weakening their immune system. Eight years ago, one one type of the virus was at play but this year three types have been noted simultaneously in Pococi, Siquirres and Parrita.
Moreover, climate change seems partially responsible for the epidemic. Traditionally the fever has been confined mostly to the coastal lowlands with their tropical temperatures, but warmer temperatures throughout the country have meant that the disease has spread to interior population areas.
The proliferation is signalled by the number cases in the San Jose greater metropolitan area. Especially hard hit were slums like La Carpio where 276 persons fell ill. The Mexico and Pavas barrios and Los Guido de Desamparados are also being watched closely.
The Panamerican Health Organization has warned that dengue is on the rise throughout all of Latin American and notes that Costa Rica was hit hardest in Central America. The Ministry of Health intends to limit the propagation of the disease by dispatching clean-up teams to affected areas to eliminate the standing water where the mosquito eggs hatch.
But the above figures are undereported, as not all cases go to the hospital. Others, mainly students and tourists, are treated at private hospitals. Health authorities estimate that for every reported hospitalized cases, ten remain at home, unreported.
Poverty stricken barrios are especially hit because of the fatalistic mindset of the very poor, the absence in many cases of garbage pick up and the fact that they have reserve barrels of water outside for daily use.
From Live in Costa Rica – One thing us old-timers do when we get together is reminisce about the way Costa Rica was in the 1980s. Inevitably we start to talk about all of the eccentric expats who lived here or frequently visited the country during that time. Here are a few of the people that I met along the way.
Let’s start with Jimmy Adams. He was originally from Indiana and was stationed in Panama during the 1950s when he was in the army. He eventually settled in Costa Rica where made and lost a lot of money over the years. Jimmy was a great guy who had a million stories to tell. He used to talk about how he’d land his small private plane right on the sand in Jacó Beach when it was undeveloped with a dusty dirt road running through the center of town. Jimmy also owned ran the Key Largo Bar for a long time.
John Hall was one of the original gringo pioneers. He was a self-taught expert on the country’s flora and an incredible illustrator. While in the countryside he was once bitten by venomous pit viper and lived to tell about it. Don’t confuse him with the other John Hall who was involved in the Iran Contra scandal in northern Costa Rica during the 1980s.
Franklin “Tiny” Phelps was a one-time professional football player for the Detroit Lions who actually founded Costa Rica’s first sports bar at the end of the 1980s. It was “the place” to watch NFL games on any given Sunday. I have many fond memories of Tiny’s Tropical bar and restaurant. The place survived until 2002 when Tiny had to sell it because on an illness. Unfortunately, the charming building where the bar was located was turned into an ugly restaurant with its once beautiful brick interior now covered with unsightly white tile.
Hayden Hurley hailed from a prominent North Carolina family. If you saw him you’d never know that he was worth at least 50 million dollars. At one time Hayden was part owner of the infamous Park Hotel brothel which catered almost exclusively to gringos. Over the years he also had a large fern farm in Cartago and helped to finance the Dunn Inn. Actually, at one time during the late 1980s I had a chance to bring the Subway Sandwich chain to Costa Rica and Hayden was going to be my backer, but it was never meant to be.
Jesse Mattias was quite a local character. He was raised in the Bronx by a single mother and had a tough upbringing. He eventually joined the service and became a paratrooper. After that he was a commercial pilot. Jesse had an impressive collection of old cars and motorcycles that he accumulated over the years and that cluttered his property. He was another one who had a million stories to tell. Jessie was also an accomplished saxophone player and often performed at the American Legion Post in Escazú. He was as “hard as nails” and you didn’t want to mess with him. Once he got into a dispute when a couple of locals who tried to crash an event at a restaurant he owned. One of the guys pulled a knife on him and Jessie shot both of them. Luckily they survived their wounds and Jessie was exonerated because he acted in self defense.
I will always remember Jessie because he was a big supporter of mine when I first went into the relocation/ retirement business.
Barry Sadler never really lived in Costa Rica but I met this soldier of fortune over drinks at a bar called Happy Days in downtown San Jose. The place no longer exists and was originally called the Star Club. In case Barry’s name does not ring a bell, he is the guy who wrote the song the “Ballad of the Green Berets” when he was a soldier during the Vietnam War. Barry actually became an author in his later years and wrote under a pen name.
Jimbo Ginella hailed from San Francisco. His father was one of the builders of the Golden Gate Bridge and his wife’s family founded the San Francisco 49ers football team. Although Jim never lived here he was instrumental in helping me relocate since he connected me with a couple of prominent Costa Ricans that he knew through his business contacts.
Dennis Kelly was a real piece of work. He would read up on a particular subject and then go to a bar and act like an expert with his new-found knowledge. He eventually self-destructed.
Steven Carr was a petty criminal from Naples Florida. He had been in trouble with the law all of his life according to friends of his. The guy just had a bad vibe about him. I met Steven around 1985. I later found out that he went to California where he claimed that he had been a mercenary during the Iran-Contra conflict. He even went so far as to wear a deactivated hand grenade around his neck to impress people. I actually read a story about this guy in the magazine section of the Sunday edition of the L.A. Times. It was titled the “Indestructible Steven Carr.” He ended up overdosing on drugs.
Jack Townsend passed away a couple of years ago and was a really great person. He stood six feet five inches and played college basketball at the University of Wisconsin at Green Bay, if I am not mistaken. Jack was a P.E. coach at Saint Francis High School in Moravia for years and could talk about sports for hours. He was virtually a walking encyclopedia on the subject. I first met him at Troy’s Hotel watching the 1984 Olympics. At that time very few homes or business had cable TV from the U.S., so one had to hunt for a place to watch sporting events. Cable Color was the first company offer it.
Nicoya mayor, Marco Jiménez, commented on ADN 90.7 radio that the march will kick off at 10 am in front of the court building and move to the downtown square, where a ceremony is scheduled.
“We reaffirm that since 1824 the women and men of the Partido de Nicoya told the world, we chose our homeland of our won will”, said the mayor.
Mayor Jiménez added that the activity is to last about two hours and has asked the Minsitry of Education to allow area students to attend.
Jiménez said that it being a work day participation will be low, as most Costa Ricans will be at work, reassuring, however, that the present of government figures generates an important dynamic.
Costa Rica wants to attract more Chinese tourists and investors and so it is planning to open consulates in Shanghai and Hong Kong, the Central American nation’s envoy to Beijing said Tuesday.
The opening of the two consulates, which will augment Costa Rica’s only existing diplomatic mission in China, is a “project for 2014” that still must be approved by the foreign ministry, said Ambassador Marco Vinicio Ruiz.
The aim is to facilitate the coming of both Chinese investors and tourists to Costa Rica, the only Central American country with which Beijing has diplomatic relations.
The initiative, according to Ruiz, is in keeping with the plans that the embassy is developing along with the Costa Rican Tourism Institute to attract “50,000 visitors from China in five years, and to the growing interest of (Chinese) businessmen and investors” in the Central American nation.
The ambassador said that the costs to Costa Rica of the new legations in Shanghai and Hong Kong will be minimal.
“The details will be announced when the foreign ministry approves it. Many countries in Latin America – like Mexico, Peru and Colombia – have consulates in those cities,” he said.
A recent feature on the WorldViews Blog of the Washington Post (recently acquired by Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon.com) presents 40 maps of the world that cleverly combine geographic projections with interesting data. The result is fascinating insight into a variety of topics and issues.
The Costa Rica Star has looked at five of the 40 maps and found some very interesting facts about Costa Rica and her standing in the world. These are maps number 2, 4, 6, 10, and 22 on the Washington Post’s “40 maps that explain the world” blog entry, which is a highly recommended read.
Here are some facts about Costa Rica that can be gleaned from the 40 maps:
Costa Rica might turn out better for foreigners than for Ticos
Along with Brazil and Mexico, Costa Rica is one of the best countries in Latin America when it comes to welcoming foreigners. This assumption is based on the World Economic Forum’s estimate on the attitudes of people towards foreign visitors. Canada is the most welcoming nation in the Americas. Iran, Russia and Saudi Arabia need some serious work in this department.
In a sense, foreigners who visit Costa Rica or decide to immigrate here might be better off than the locals. Looking at the map of the world’s best and worst places to be born, Costa Rica is the best nation to be born into in Central America, but she is far from countries such as Australia, Canada and Denmark in this regard. The criteria for this international comparison includes gender equality, climate, violent crime, and unemployment; the mapping was done by the Economist Intelligence Unit. It is important to note, however, that Costa Rica ranks higher in this sense than various other countries with higher gross domestic product (GDP).
Costa Rica is a very emotional country
Most nations in the Americas, including Costa Rica, are filled with emotional people who enjoy life. This is true for Canada and the United States as well. This data comes from polling firm Gallup, and the information was derived from the answer to an easy question: Did you smile or laugh a lot yesterday?
We already know that Costa Rica is ranked very high on happiness, but Philippines scores very high on smiles and laughs. Our fellow Central American nations of El Salvador, Guatemala and Nicaragua are also warm and friendly. In fact, most of Latin America is positively emotional. People in Singapore and Russia, however, definitely need to lighten up a bit.
Moms in Costa Rica enjoy comfort and safety
Mother’s Day in Costa Rica is an official paid holiday that coincides with a major Catholic feast. It is also a major celebration, and Ticos have good reasons to give significance to this holiday: According to the Save the Children Mother’s Index, Costa Rica has the best conditions in Central America for expecting mothers in terms of low risk of maternal death, low infant mortality rate, basic schooling for children, income, and the role of women in government positions.
In this regard, Costa Rica is tied with Argentina, Cuba, Mexico, and the United States. The best country for new moms in the Americas is Canada, and just about all Nordic, Western European and Oceanic countries are better than Costa Rica in this sense.
According to some legislators, it is quite normal to have social activities and consume liquor in the Legislative Assembly…thus when is Happy Hour, we ask?
The following retouched image circulating on Facebook put the typical bar sign used in Costa Rica, in front of the Legislative Assembly building
For decades Cocos Island, the Costa Rican ecological treasure in the Pacific Ocean, has been the least popular place for guards to be stationed. The uninhabited island, world patrimonial site, had no electricity at all until 2003 and could not be used as even a permanent Coast Guard base to protect the island’s waters against illegal fishing.
But that is due to change, thanks to a multi-institutional move to put hydroelectric generators on line there. The Olivier Hydroelectric Project installations will cost $2 million which will include a radar installation to detect illegal fishing boats which have long thumbed their noses at Costa Rica’s Coast Guard cutters too slow to arrive at the island intime to catch intruders.
Park Guards also were largely unable to catch diggers for the legendary Spanish treasure rumored to have been buried on the island but never found. Its waters have been violated hundreds of times by foreign fishing boats after tuna and even shark fins in waters teeming with fish life, even with help by private environmental foundations.
By means of a duct, the generators will provide 60 kilowatts to the rough housing for guards and the guard tower. Next year, the radar is due to be installed, according to the Environment Ministry and the electrical provider ICE and its distribution subsidiary CNFL.
Payment for the installation comes from not only the government but such private funds as Convervation International, Costa Rica para Siempre, Ocean Fire Foundation, the Walton Foundation, Linden Trust for Conservation and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
Also donating funds is the Japanese government, to be administered by the Friends of Cocos Island foundation. The radar installation is envisioned to be the first of 17 radars set up on the coastlines of both oceans to control illegal fishing, human trafficking, contamination, fuel contraband and narcotics traffic.
“Radar will permit identification of vessels around the island and this will make boarding them easier,” Rafael Gutierrez of the National System of Conservation Areas (Sinac). The Coast Guard and park guard will be alerted to incursions but a satellite feed linked to the radar.
Power needs have been calculated for the island at something like 20 kilowatts. Another project, Genio, has functioned on the island since 2003 but did not envision the needs of a radar installation. Solar panels will back up the Olivier project.
Here are 5 amazing facts about Tuesday night’s full moon, that will technically be a Blue Moon, but not for the reason you might think.
The Blue Moon on Aug. 20 is not the second full moon of August, but actually gets its name from a relatively obscure rule of astronomy. And there are a few other details about the full moon that might surprise you.
1. It’s Kind of a Rare Sight
Blue Moons occur somewhat infrequently. After today’s full moon, another Blue Moon will not occur again until 2015. The idiom “once in a Blue Moon” signifies a rare event because scientists had trouble predicting when the distinctive full moon would happen during any given year.
2. It’s Not Really Blue
Okay, so not really a newsflash, but the Blue Moon’s name actually has nothing to do with color. Occasionally, the full moon can take on a reddish pallor, but today’s full moon is not related to the actual color of Earth’s cosmic neighbor. The moon can appear blue in color if a forest fire or volcanic eruption litters the upper atmosphere with ash or smoke. A volcanic eruption gave the moon a bluish tint from the perspective of many people on Earth in 1991.
3. There Are Two Definitions for Blue Moon
The term Blue Moon was originally assigned to the third full moon in a four moon season, but after a mix up in Sky & Telescope magazine in 1943, the term took on a different meaning.
An article in the magazine incorrectly defined a blue moon as the second full moon in a single month, but the definition stuck. This particular blue moon is a technical Blue Moon, but does not meet the criteria for the second definition. The third full moon in a four-full-moon season rule was detailed in a 1937 edition of the now defunct Maine Farmers’ Almanac.
4. The Blue Moon Has Many Names
Today’s full moon is also known as the Full Sturgeon Moon, the Green Corn Moon, the Grain Moon and the Full Red Moon. Each of August full moon names come from monikers given to the full moons of a certain month according to Native American and European traditions.
5. It’s Only Full for a Moment
Although the moon usually looks full one day before and one day after the day of the full moon, there is technically only one moment when the moon is full in the sky. Tonight, the moon turns full at 9:45 p.m. EDT, when (weather and light permitting) the moon will be in view for people along the eastern coast of the United States.
If the regular taxis are called, la “Fuerza Roja” (Red Force), surely we can call the fleet of orange taxis at the airport, la “Fuera Naranja”. Photo by Cristian Tosso.
For all those who want to, from time to time, to treat themselvs to a rich, natural treat, just reach into the freezer section of your supermarket for the Scatola Rossa (red box in Italian).
The Scatola Rossa is a frozen gourmet product without presvervatives, chemicals or dyes, just as homemade.
The product line includes Pecan Pie, Apple Pie, Cheesecake 3 Berries, Tiramisu, Cookie Dough Frozen for Chocolate, Oatmeal, and Chocolate Candies Almond, English and traditional Muffins and Cinnamon Raisin.
Scatola Rossa is not only about sweets, in the frezer are dishes of the world like Spanish tortilla, lasagna and more…
Scatola Rossa products can also be purchased directly from the maker at their store in Avenida Escazú, from Monday to Saturday, 9am to 8pm.
According to owner Lyda Feoli, “we have a fresh produce section as “sandwiches, focaccia, and other whims. Additionally, the point of sale has a selection of special cookies and candies. Each week, we provide customers with specialties that will vary according to the occasion”.
“It’s definitely a gourmet experience because we carefully select the ingredients we use” says the entrepreneur.
A total of 1.32 million tourists arrived in Costa Rica in the first six months of 2013, which is an increase of 2.7% over the same period last year, according to data provided by the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo (ICT).
The majority of the visitors from January to June arrived at the Juan Santamaría international airport in San José, followed by the Daniel Oduber airport in Liberia, while the remainder arrived by land at the Peñas Blancas (Nicaragua) and Paso Canoas (Panama) borders.
According to Dirección General de Migración y Extranjería (immigration) records, the month with the lowest number of arrivals was May.
The Minister of Tourism, Allan Flores, said that among the most important aspects of the data is the rebounding of emerging markets such as China, Mexico, Brazil and the United Kingdom.
Flores noted that the growth for the second half of 2013 is expected to stay close to the World Tourism Organization estimates of between 3% and 4%.
Knowing exactly how many people use the public bus every day and thus learning the requirements of each route, is what the Autoridad Reguladora de Servicios Públicos (Aresep) hopes to achieve with a study that began earlier this month.
According to the ARESEP, the information to be obtained by the study is to establish “operational variables” ie. the size of the fleet, schedules, frequency and the cost of the fares.
The first phase of the study will cost ¢30 million colones and study several routes over a period of four months, from August 12, 2013 to December 12, 2013.
The routes under study will be: San José – San Juan de Tobosi and Loma Larga; service between Cartago, El Alumbre, San Juan Sur and Norte and Loma Larga; and La Guaria, Santa Elena, Loma Larga, Río Conejo and San Juan Sur.
The second phase will involve analyzing the 266 routes between Santiago and Palmares de Alajuela, that is expected to be carried out in 2014.
“The country needs better information for decision-making and reduce the temptation of bus companies to report inaccurate data on the number of people they move and avoid manipulation by unscrupulous users,” said Enrique Muñoz, ARESEP Transportation manager.
Children and teenagers who file complaints for bullying may remain anonymous, the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court (Sala IV) ruled last week. The court admitted that this is at variance with adult due process rules that require plaintiffs to be identified.
The case arose when the director of a Gravilias de Desamparados school refused to release to the mother of a minor accused of bullying the identity of the accuser or accusers. She filed suit under amparo rules.
“If we had been analyzing this matter with adult eyes, in the name of due process, we would have said, ‘Give up the data,'” Magistrate Paul Rueda explained to La Nacion. “However, the possibilities of reprisals from the kind of phenomenon of violence surrounding bullying are high and students are in a conflictive place.”
But three of the seven judges on the Sala IV panel chose the usual form of due process over protecting the accusing students, despite an apparent rise in cases of bullying. The Student Rights section of the Education Ministry has received three times the number of complaints of bullying during the first quarter of this year.
In all of 2012, only 57 complaints of bullying were filed as contrasted to 92 in the first five months of this year. This not only includes physical violence cases but verbal ones, especially those that use social media. However, 59 were about physical violence, compared with 29 accusations of verbal aggression and only four of cyberbullying.
But student rights official Rocio Solis does not believe that there is more bullying at work in schools but that victims of such aggression are more aware that they have a recourse. She said that, although her office usually allows the accuser to remain anonymous, there are times when an adult mediator sets victim and bully down to a mediation session.
As Solis says, “Bullying has always existed but has been regarded as simply an argument between kids that will pass in time.”
Comment: In a society as admirable for its ability to socialize as Costa Rica’s, treating bullying seriously is wise. Oft-times, bullies are acting out dangerous tendencies that will become violent in adulthood if left untreated. Dismissing it as “children will be kids” is sweeping it under the rug.
The demand of the mother of an accused bully to know the accuser’s identity definitely implies that the mother, if not the child, intends to confront or intimidate the accuser and his or her parents. This blog feels that both the accused bully and the parents need counselling.
In the United States, bullying has become a serious problem, probably because it was ignored so long. Cases of cyber bullying have resulted in the victim’s suicide. With so many adolescents on in line this country, the frequency will rise inevitably.
You do not need to be Donald Trump or Nobel Laureate, Paul Krugman to understand that an organization, including the nation cannot keep raising the basic and essential utility rates for the populace (That’s you and me) and indeed small to medium size businesses who will not lose their faith in free enterprise.
Take this one step further and government borrowing, absent of a plan to repay billions of dollars of international loans other than keep on borrowing is the road to hell. i.e. Detroit.
“Big Business” does get a government deal and pays far less than public fees and than you and me for just about everything.
Of course, they use more and pay less as a value to the country. But this creates unemployment and non-taxable income to the much needed coffers of Costa Rica.
Today I had the misfortune to browse Craigslist, “Jobs”. Short of being a medical doctor, only five of hundreds of listings actually made reference to the need to be “legal” to work in Costa Rica.
For example:
“The perfect candidate would have the following strengths:
friendly
hardworking
outgoing
skilled at problem solving, social media,
organized
efficient
work flexible hours
honest”
This person might become the ideal CEO of iPhone. However, while those are envious virtues of an employee, the words “legal residency” in Costa Rica are missing. Ergo, for a deep discount on utilities and little if any social contribution, Pura Vida gets nothing.
We ask, why casinos, sport books and call centers are pretty much all located in tax free zones? It’s a damn good question? Other than rent and to hire people, what deserves to be tax free? Moreover there is no challenge to the question, “why”?
The obvious is that these companies offer a lot of employment opportunities, low end employment opportunities at that to Tico students and youngsters who speak English, be they here legally or not.
We are not the only country to do the same . However most nations require some sort of work permit and residency. But these companies of Costa Rica, much like the mafia, rule the roost.
USD comes in during payroll times and during taxes and there are no taxes just space and utilities rent.
We have been entrapped with the “robo” of our multilingual young people employment education, the rental of office space, the investment into telecom and having to lose perhaps thousands of employees: both legal and illegal.
How is it possible that multitude of sports books, call centers and casinos pay no taxes yet Costa Rica needs to keep borrowing money and re-borrowing to pay government costs?
Presidenta Chinchilla to join march against Daniel Ortega in Nicoya
“March for the Motherland” on Thursday, Aug, 22, a demonstration in the city of Nicoya against Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s remarks about “reclaiming” the province of Guanacaste.
By Wilberth Villalobos Castrillo, Voz de Guanacaste – Although the Government of Nicaragua said that President Daniel Ortega never threatened to claim the province of Guanacaste, several Nicoyan social groups decided to leave no room for doubt and will take to the streets this Thursday, August 22 to march peacefully to reconfirm the annexation cry.
Marta Arauz, coordinator of the march, said that “it is a peaceful march and does not involve any retaliation toward the Nicaraguan people but rather is to remember and renew the historic gesture of the annexation.”
The march will start at 10 a.m. from the courthouse in Nicoya and proceed to the Recaredo Briceño Park, where cultural events will be held followed by an open council session with representatives of all the municipalities of Guanacaste, as well ministers and legislators.
Arauz mentioned that they have also invited President Laura Chinchilla and Leonardo Garnier, minister of education.
The demonstration on Thursday is being organized due to the words of the president of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, on Tuesday, August 13, when he is reported to have said that he could go to the International Court of Justice to claim Guanacaste as Nicaraguan territory, define their maritime boundaries in the Caribbean and resolve differences about 2.8 square kilometers that both Costa Rica and Nicaragua are disputing.
Following these statements, Laura Chinchilla summoned the Costa Rican Ambassador in Managua, Javier Sancho, for consultation and sent a note of protest to the neighboring country.
“The commander leading the regime of Managua tramples on the historical and legal reality to offend us and seeks to deceive its own people… That won’t enter Guanacaste,” warned President Chinchilla.
For his part, Bayardo Arce, economic adviser to the Nicaraguan government, clarified that Ortega spoke hypothetically and Chinchilla “is looking for oxygen” and therefore “goes on inventing all these things against Nicaragua.”
Meanwhile, in statements to Telenoticias on August 19, Enrique Castillo, chancellor of the republic, assured that so far they have not received any response from the two letters sent to Nicaraguan officials and are waiting for an apology from Ortega after his statements.
Castillo also reported that the Costa Rican Consulate remains closed, since a group of people with sticks and stones blocked the entry of officials in the Nicaraguan neighborhood Reparto Praderas de Las Colinas on August 17.
