Culture

Costa Rica Celebrates Day to Eliminate Violence Against Women

In the year 2018, more than 400 Costa Rican women were forced to flee their homes due to abuse from their significant other. This year the challenges are greater due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This situation is being called the “Shadow Pandemic’’, a pandemic that accompanies the coronavirus and keeps abused women living with their abusers. November 25 has been dubbed by the United Nations as Intern...

Imperial Beer Costa Rica Costa Rican Imperial Beer’s Eagle Turned Upside Down: But Why?

In recent weeks, Costa Rica’s iconic Imperial Beer’s eagle (‘aguila’ in Spanish), has been turned on its head. It’s been seen upside down on signs, trucks, bottles, billboards and other promotional material. What gives? Imperial’s press office explained, “The country is passing through very difficult moments that have us all feeling like we are upside down on our heads, but together we will mov...

Costa Rican Female Cartel Leader La Reina del Sur: Costa Rica’s Most Notorious Female Cartel Leader

The Costa Rica Star will be publishing an original exclusive six part series from the upcoming book "Drug Diva", by Star reporter Carol Vaughn, author of "Crazy Jungle Love". These sneak-preview excerpts document the astonishing saga of Cristel Gomez Espinoza, one of Central America's most dangerous and powerful drug capos. Look for the entire book to be released at the end of 2020. Tuesday, A...

prison. cell phones The Clever new way to Smuggle Cell Phones Into Costa Rican Prisons

Costa Rican prisons are often just temporary residences for criminals who are sentenced to extended jail time, but manage to get their sentences reduced and return to their lives of crime in short order. Many maintain their criminal activities while serving prison time, remaining the leaders of their gangs, and continuing whatever illegal activities they were involved in on the outside. Remaining ...

Art Galleries Costa Rica Hidden Gems of Costa Rica : La Terraza del Artista Art Gallery

Perez Zeledon (also known as San Isidro de El General) is the agricultural epicenter of the southern zone: coffee, pineapples, sugar cane, bananas, and every imaginable vegetable abounds in this fertile valley of El General. No one, however, associates Perez with art – until the emergence of Melissa Matamoros, owner, curator and director of the newest art gallery in Costa Rica, La Terraza del Arti...

Costa Rican Coffee Costa Rican Coffee Sells for High Prices at Cup of Excellence 2019

Maruyama Coffee Co. purchased Costa Rican Coffee of Group Los Grandes de Copey at a price of $65.30 per pound, paying a total $28,073 for the 429.91 pounds of coffee that comes from the region of Santa María de Dota. The negotiation took place during the twelfth edition of the electronic auction Cup of Excellence 2019, recognized as one of the main coffees selling programs worldwide. Not only d...

Costa Rican History, Costa Rica, United States Costa Rican Historian Yamil Jimenez Tabash Gives an Inspiring Lecture in Perez Zeledon

Internationally renowned historian and reverend Yamil Jimenez Tabash gave a lecture to a standing-room-only audience in Perez Zeledon last Friday on an un-sanitized version of the history of Costa Rica – the true history – according to this Perez Zeledonian historian and scholar. Jimenez did not pull any punches, detailing both the locally accepted version of Tico history, and the more probably ac...

Art City Tour Costa Rica Don’t Miss the First Art City Tour of 2019 in Costa Rica

The already traditional Art City Tour, returns this 2019 with the first event of the year “Por amor a Chepe”, “For the Love of Chepe” (chepe being the way Costa Ricans' refer to the capital city of San Jose), scheduled on February 14, the ideal option for a fun and different Valentine’s Day. Art City Tours are cultural events that take the public in night tours through different emblematic plac...

Costa Rica Band New York Tarrazu Band Represents Costa Rica in the Hispanic Day Parade in New York City

The Municipal Band Café Tarrazú (Tarrazu Coffee) of Zona de los Santos represented Costa Rica this Sunday, October 14 in the Hispanic Day Parade in New York City. The band is made up of 120 members, most of them from the communities of León Cortés, Dota and Tarrazú, areas known for the high quality of their coffee. The group walked the Fifth Avenue of NYC for two hours playing traditional Costa...

Costa Rica Art Museum Costa Rican Art Museum Celebrates its 40th Anniversary

“New Acquisitions” (Nuevas Adquisiciones) is the name of the exhibit that the Costa Rican Art Museum chose to celebrate its 40th anniversary with all art lovers in Costa Rica. The exhibit is available in the Temporary Room and gathers a selection of 36 works. Between April 2016 and April 2018 the Costa Rican art Museum acquired 131 works of art through purchases and donations by artists a...

National Theater Costa Rica Costa Rica’s National Theater Officially Declared National Symbol

The President of Costa Rica, Luis Guillermo Solis, signed this April 4th Law Number 9521 which declares the National Theater (Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica) a National Symbol of Historic Architectural Heritage and Cultural Liberty. "Costa Rica pays tribute to its National Theater and recognizes it as a national symbol. In this way we seal the beautiful relation that links our emblematic archite...

FIA 2018 Costa Rica International Festival of the Arts FIA 2018 in Costa Rica Kicks Off April 6

The XVI edition of the International Festival of the Arts (FIA) in Costa Rica will officially kick off this Friday, April 6 and will extend through April 15. This year's FIA will once again offer different artistic presentations, music, dance, theater, literature, etc. In total 92 artistic groups (national and international), will bring people closer to culture, art and entertainment. B...

Jade Museum Costa Rica The Jade Museum of Costa Rica Inaugurates One of its Exhibits in Spain

Chamanes y Espiritus: tesoros de Museo del Jade, (“Shamans and Spirits: Treasures of the Jade Museum”), is the exhibit that the Jade Museum of Costa Rica took to the Cataluña Archeological Museum in Barcelona, Spain. As part of an international agreement, the European public will now be able to appreciate this exhibit that brings the public close to religious rituals and spirits that our ances...

Art City Tour Costa RIca Another Art City Tour is Coming to San Jose Costa Rica March 14, Don’t Miss It!

The second edition of the popular Art City Tour in its 2018 season will take place March 14 under the slogan “Chepe nos une” (Chepe unites us) (Chepe is the way Costa Ricans’ refer to the capital city of San Jose). The free event will begin at 5 p.m. and conclude at 9 p.m. Remember these tours can be done by bus or foot. “ 'Chepe nos une' is a metaphor that honors the dynamic of the city as ...

Costa Rica Exhibition on screen Enjoy in Costa Rica: Exhibition on Screen- Hockney at the Royal Academy of Arts

If you truly appreciate art, you can’t miss this new film of the program Exhibition on Screen that will have only two screenings, one on Tuesday, March 6 and the second one on Sunday, March 11. David Hockney at the Royal Academy of Arts: A bigger picture 2012 & 82 portraits and one still-life 2016. "David Hockney is Britain’s most popular artist and arguably equally popular around the globe....

Costa Rica Announces Dates and Lineup for International Festival of the Arts FIA 2018

Photo Credit: Esteban Chinchilla / FIA 2017 The XVI edition of the International Festival of the Arts (FIA) in Costa Rica will take place April 6 through April 15, and will include a total of 92 artistic groups, 18 participating countries and 162 presentations. Under the slogan “The window to discover art”, the FIA will bring together over 1100 professionals in 7 main sites that include, th...

Costa Rican Traditions Mule Festival Costa Rican Traditions: National Mules Festival

The rural areas of Costa Rica are full of traditions that many times go unnoticed and that perhaps do not receive the credit deserved for their cultural and historic value; one of this traditions is the National Mules Festival. Celebrated every year in February in the area of Parrita, Puntarenas, this tradition began in properties in Esterillos in 1989, it started as a form of entertainment, an...

Art City Tour San Jose Costa Rica First Art City Tour of 2018 Invites You To Fall in Love With San Jose, Costa Rica

This year’s first date of the Art City Tour will happen February 9 and it is titled “Por amor a chepe” or “For the Love of Chepe” (chepe being the way Costa Rican’s refer to the capital city of San Jose), tours inspired in Valentine’s Day and with the goal of making many fall in love with the city of San Jose. Art City Tours are cultural events that take place every two months and take the publ...

Bullfighting Costa Rica Style VIDEO Learn What “Toros a la Tica”, Bullfighting Costa Rica Style, Is All About

“Toros a la Tica” or Tico Style Bullfighting, is a traditional activity in Costa Rica, although most popular as part of the end of the year activities in Zapote, in reality it takes place all year round in different bullrings around the country. Even though there is no actual “bullfighting” here, this is just the term used to describe the activity, which involves rodeo style activities and “tor...

Costa Rica Tamales Recipe Costa Rican Tourism Board Shares Recipe for Traditional Tico Tamales

Introducing unique traditions from around the world into your family festivities is a fun way to celebrate the holidays. In Costa Rica, tamales are a must at Christmas time. Ticos gather days beforehand for a tamaleada—an occasion where the whole gang comes together to prepare and cook delicious tamales, making for an excellent activity to enjoy with loved ones. Once the tamales are ready they are...

Costa Rica National Symphony Orchestra Latin Grammy And the Latin Grammy for Best Classical Music Album Goes to: Costa Rica!

The Costa Rica National Symphony Orchestra was awarded the Latin Grammy in the category of “Best Classical Music Album¨ in the 18th edition of the Latin music award ceremony that was celebrated Thursday evening in Las Vegas, Nevada. The recognition was awarded for the album ¨Música de Compositores Costarricenses, volumen 2¨ (Music by Costa Rican Songwriters, Volume 2) a production directed by ...

Holidays Costa Rica Style Enjoy the Holidays Celebrating in Costa Rica Tico Style

This holiday season, globetrotting families should consider exploring the cultural wonders that are waiting to be discovered in sunny Costa Rica. Celebrating the season with an unforgettable immersive experience is one way to ensure lasting memories that will be treasured long after the tan lines are gone. Experiential travel, which continues to rise in popularity for its transformative results...

The Alleged Melanation Cult That Caused a Really Big Stink in Costa Rica

In a video recently uploaded to Facebook, cult leader, Eligio “Nature Boy” Bishop, who has garnered a following of over 42,000 people on Facebook, claims his group of mostly black followers were racially discriminated against by Spirit Airlines who refused to deport the five U.S. citizens last Thursday, October 26, due to their body odor. According to Bishop, things got really real for the cult...

Costa Rica National Theater Costa Rican National Theater Celebrates 120 Years With Different Cultural Events

The Costa Rican National Theater opened its doors to the public October 19,1897 with the presentation of famous opera “Fausto”; this year, this architectural jewel, witness of a wide number of incredible cultural and artistic performances celebrates 120 years with a week full of fun activities. Celebration begins on Tuesday, October 17 with the presentation of the book “Costa Rica National The...

Alice in Wonderland Ballet Costa Rica 2017 Alice in Wonderland Comes Back This December to The National Theater in Costa Rica

Last year in December the Costa Rica National Theater along with the ballet company Danzay presented the classic story “Alice in Wonderland”; the presentations were a complete success, each event sold out; due to the great acceptance this fun family show had, it will be presented again this December. The tickets are already available for purchase through the online platform eticket.cr. The date...

Limon Carnival 2017 Costa Rica Limón Carnivals Rescheduled due to Emergency Caused by Tropical Storm Nate in Costa Rica

The Limón Carnivals have been rescheduled and now will be celebrated from October 11th through the 22nd, the dates were moved due to the National Emergency that the country is facing as a result of Tropical Storm Nate, the original dates were October 6-15. “Even before the letter arrived from the Ministry of Public Security in which they informed us that the Police could not be present at the ...

Costa Rica National Theater ceiling, image by National Theatre Costa Rica’s National Theater Celebrates 120 Years

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

Costa Rica Art Beautiful Mouths Will be in Exhibition in San José, Costa Rica Until September 25

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

Costa Rican Band Rose Parade Costa Rican Music Band Will Participate in Rose Parade 2019

The Municipal Band of Acosta will represent Costa Rica in the 2019 Rose Parade in Pasadena, California. According to the band’s director José Manuel Mora, the band sent the application to participate since February, and a video was sent (included below) where the strengths of the band were highlighted. The Acosta band was founded in 2008 and has participated in national and international fe...

Ready for Costa Rica’s Car-Free Day Celebration, Sept. 22?

"Life is too short to be sitting in traffic jams," is the slogan of Costa Rica's Car-Free Day event which is part of World Car Free Day celebrated every September 22 in a growing number of cities and countries throughout the world. Costa Rican event organizers encourage those who will participate by leaving their car in the garage for the day on Friday to use the hashtag #RetoSinCarro, which me...

Costa Rica’s 24 Indigenous Territories Review Pact With Government

The Costa Rican government is distributing a final draft of a document that sets out a "dialogue mechanism" to the country's 24 indigenous territories for their input, said the vice minister of the presidency earlier this month. "This stage will allow us to refine details of the mechanism that we have built together with indigenous peoples, so that the result is a document that responds to the re...

Free Expo for Parents and Kids at Both Escazú and Curridabat Multiplazas

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

US Donates $38.5K to Preserve Costa Rica’s Stone Spheres

The U.S. government announced a contribution of more than US$38,500 for the preservation of the pre-Colombian spheres in Costa Rica's southern Delta del Diquis in the region of the Osa Peninsula. The funds will support a hydrological study to analyze the behavior of soils and layers of the earth's crust at the Finca 6 archaeological site where the surrounding rivers have covered evidence of the...

Costa Rica’s First Indigenous Tourist Guides Certified in Talamanca

The Association of Bribris de Talamanca Indigenous Tourist Guides (Agitubrit), Costa Rica's first indigenous tourism agency, obtained official recognition from the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) last week, said tourism authorities. According to the Technological Institute of Costa Rica (TEC), which provided guidance to the project, the recognition was granted August 4 in Suretka, Talamanca...

N. American Business Leaders in Costa Rica Denounce Trump’s Soft Stand on Racism

The Costa Rican-North American Chamber of Commerce (or AmCham, as it is commonly referred to) issued a strong statement on social media in the wake of tragic race-related clashes in the United States, one of which, in Charlottesville, Virginia, left a protestor and two police officers dead last week. The business organization, whose spokesman, Dennis Whitelaw, said has a "trajectory for human r...

Costa Rica Museums Roads, Carriages and Carts a Temporary Exhibit at the Costa Rica National Museum

The Costa Rica National Museum takes you through the history of transportation in Costa Rica. Photos, historical objects and a 100 year old carriage that belonged to former President Tomás Guardia (1870-1882) offer us an idea of what life was like in this country back in the XIX century. From mules, carts and carriages, to the streetcar, cars and the construction of the train to the Atlantic...

Costa Ricans Overwhelmingly Support Sex Ed in Schools Says Poll

Results of a poll conducted for the Costa Rica digital news outlet Elmundo has found that 84 percent of Costa Ricans support sex education being taught in schools. The findings from the OPol Consultores poll are similar to results of the Second National Sexual and Reproductive Health Survey carried out by the Ministry of Health in 2015 which found 85 percent supported sex education, said Elmund...

Guanacaste Traditions Guanacaste Dances and Traditions Tomorrow at the National Museum

This Sunday, July 30, the National Museum in San José will host the “Alma Guanacasteca” festival as part of the activities commemorating the annexation of the Guanacaste province, celebrated July 25th. The event starts at 10 a.m. and extends through 3 p.m., it includes traditional dances, music, a guided tour through the exhibit of Costa Rica’s History among other samples of the rich Guanacaste...

Romeria Costa Rica Faith takes Costa Ricans in a pilgrimage to La Basílica de Los Angeles, Cartago

August 2 is a holiday in Costa Rica, it’s a day reserved to honor the country’s patron saint, the Vírgen de los Angeles or “La Negrita” as Costa Ricans refer to her. The tradition in the country for catholic faithful involves a pilgrimage, “La Romería”, to the church in Cartago that was built in honor of La Negrita, “La Basílica de Los Angeles”. Hundreds of thousands, some say more than a...

The Berlin Wall in San José, Costa Rica? Where to See the Fragment

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