Artist David Villalobos, born in the province of Alajuela, Costa Rica, started to show his talent when he was very young. He expanded his knowledge of sculpture and technique studying under other sculptors from whom he learned the importance of finding his own style to exhibit his artistic language. "Over time, with the perseverance of those who were guiding my process, I managed to ac...

América Móvil's Claro (AMX) has been granted a 15 year license to sell cable television with the option to renew it for another decade if they actually turn a profit. The contract was signed last October but they could not start selling the new service until now. I want my HBO This is bad news for DirecTV (DTV) and Televisa (TV) which have been selling satellite TV for decades in Costa Rica ...

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — Defending champion Honduras will take on host Costa Rica in the final of the UNCAF Copa Centroaericana on Sunday. The Hondurans overcame upstart Belize in one semifinal, 1-0, on Friday night, while the Ticos stopped El Salvador by the same score at Estadio Nacional. El Salvador, which lost for the first time in the tournament after playing three group draws, will take ...

If you haven't noticed recently, imported beers from Miller and Budweiser are often much less expensive then Imperial or Pilsen. Florida Bebidas should reassess their market approach, obviously they have a choke hold on the industry here in Costa Rica, but long term, you never know how business will unfold unless you are competitively pricing your beers. Take for example, the new Mas Por Men...

Recently The Costa Rica Star published an article about a new gym in Santa Ana Costa Rica called MC Gym. This gym is the mecca of hardcore training, with many machines, free weights, CrossFit area, and of course the owner of the gym is the National Olympic Lifting Champion of Costa Rica. Well, now MC Gym has become even more awesome, they recently added a set of well anchored punching ba...

Costa Rica’s central bank is “very likely” to impose more currency controls to stem the flow of capital from developed markets that has driven the colon higher, President Laura Chinchilla said. “It is very likely that the the bank will have to announce some measures on their own in the coming days,” Chinchilla said today in an interview in Davos, Switzerland, where she is attending the World Ec...

Nosara’s popular fiestas are fast approaching and this year there are some new additions. One of the most exciting is the construction of a motocross track next to the bull ring. The track, built in one week, is 1.3 kilometers long, and the course includes the classic obstacles, although this particular track has the advantage of being completely level ground. In addition, it has some small s...

The Ministry of Environment and Energy (Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía, SITRAMINAE) Workers Union and former Environment deputy minister, Mario Boza, announced that a new law aimed to restructure the management of national parks and wildlife refuges is being drafted. Boza points out that several current issues regarding national parks, such as the absence of administrative or management polic...

Safari Surf School, Costa Rica's premier surf school and camp for fourteen years, strives to be carbon neutral with the addition of the "Innovative Biodiesel Project" -- the world's first small-scale biodiesel production system that is closed-loop (zero waste), energy independent (off-grid), and carbon-negative. Safari Surf's Sustainability Director, Carl Kish, has partnered with biodiesel expert ...

Costa Rica, Mexico and Colombia have opened talks with U.S. officials to prepare for the legalization of marijuana in some U.S. states, Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla said Wednesday. Chinchilla, one of the world leaders attending the World Economic Forum in the Swiss Alpine resort, said concern over the easing of drug laws stems from the growing number of U.S. states with medical mariju...

When the Terraba tribe in Costa Rica rallied to oppose a hydroelectric dam they feared would destroy their land and their centuries-old culture, the indigenous community took a modern approach. They linked up with journalism students at Elon University in North Carolina, who built a website describing the tribe's way of life, including how it makes use of medicinal plants. To help the Terrab...

This morning we are getting reports of a woman who was attacked in Jaco Beach yesterday, while swimming offshore. A French couple heard her screaming by a surf lesson tent, they came to her rescue and brought her out of the water onto the beach. There was a huge gaping hole in her thigh, which revealed her bone and was bleeding heavily. At this point the emails we are receiving about the ...

Costa Rica wants to become the door for Chinese exports and investment to Latin America, as bilateral trade and investment has been growing rapidly since the two countries signed a free trade agreement in 2010. "We've seen very positive results in the field of trade and investment since we signed the free trade agreement with China," said Costa Rica's President Laura Chinchilla in an interview ...

Miley Cyrus and fiance Liam Hemsworth dodged the cold weather last week to celebrate Liam's birthday in Costa Rica. A pair of fansites snapped photos of the two enjoying some time with friends at a secluded river. Cyrus was spotted in a bikini in the middle of six friends by freshCyrus. They look a little cold, but at least they seem to be having fun. Another shot was taken by TeamMiley with th...

Movistar has launched a promotion for its prepay users in Costa Rica. Customers who make a minimum top-up of CRC 1,000 will receive free access to social networking services Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp for three days. Customers will also receive a bonus of 400 SMS to national numbers. The promotion is part of the operator’s ‘Generacion Movistar’ campaign, which targets young customers, La Na...

Public and private institutions have been empowered to provide financial resources and all kinds of help to the state phytosanitary service in order to handle the emergency. A statement from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock reads: EMERGENCY PHYTOSANITARY DECREE DECLARED TO AID COFFEE PRODUCERS Decree will expedite procedures for disease control -State of emergency will be exte...

The Costa Rican Social Security Department is putting out to Tender nine X-ray machines for the hospitals Calderon Guardia, Mexico, San Juan de Dios, Escalante Pradilla, Ciudad Neily and Monseñor Sanabria. The call is for the Public Acquisition of nine X-ray machines for conventional use for single studies of various types (column and overhead) or modalities (digital or analog). The installatio...

National and provincial statistics have been released from the 2011 Census on the major geographic features as migration, demographic, social, economic, educational and housing. A statement from the National Institute of Statistics and Census (INEC) reads: INEC publishes provincial indicators The publication provides insight into the similarities and differences between the provinces, beg...

San Jose, Costa Rica (PRWEB) January 23, 2013 Juanlotrae.com, the first comprehensive online food ordering service in Costa Rica, brings convenience to food-lovers and profits to restaurants by connecting them through an advanced online platform supported by a multilingual call center, a localized delivery fleet, customer service, and useful features that benefit both diners and business owners...

PuraVidaDog.com - Dog Services Lindsey Blunt [email protected] 8587-2668 If you live in Costa Rica and own a dog, from time to time you may have to travel out of the country or visit friends at the beach, and you will not always want to bring your canine companion. Well don't worry, a Canadian family living in Guachipelin Escazu has the answer, PuraVidaDog.com. Located very clo...

Washington, D.C., 17 January 2013 (PAHO/WHO) — A new report published by the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) in collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that in 12 Latin American and Caribbean countries studied, between 17% and 53% of women interviewed reported having suffered physical or sexual violence by an intimate...

A bill is being prepared to impose taxes on money which enters the country seeking to exploit the gap between interest rates in local currency and in dollars. Furthermore President Chinchilla has issued a directive to state banks to stop competing with each other to attract investments from large institutions, such as the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad, the Social Security Department, ...

Puntarenas, Costa Rica – An international team of scientists has just returned from an ocean drilling expedition on board the JOIDES Resolution, near the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, designed to study the subduction zone where the Cocos tectonic plate dips beneath the Caribbean plate. This fault boundary was responsible for causing two earthquakes earlier this year, on September 5 and October 23. ...

Guyana was routed 7-0 by Costa Rica in the final match of the world cup qualifiers in San Jose last night. AFP reported that Costa Rica needed a home victory over winless Guyana to ensure advancement and the Ticos struck quickly, Randall Brenes finding the net in the ninth minute and Cristian Gamboa adding another Costa Rican goal in the 13th minute. Brenes scored again AFP said in the secon...

If you are looking for a legitimate hardcore fitness location in Costa Rica, look no further than MC Gym in Santa Ana Costa Rica, 2 minutes North of Forum 1 Office center in Pozos de Santa Ana, take a right at the Lagar construction store down Calle El Lagar, drive 250 meters, and look to your right for the sign and parking lot (logo pictured above in this article). There is plenty of park...

Children living near traditional plantations in Costa Rica are exposed to twice as much of the insecticide chlorpyrifos compared to children living near organic plantations, a study reports. More than half of the 140 studied children -- mostly indigenous Ngäbe and Bribri -- had higher daily exposures than what is considered safe by U.S. standards. Residential use of the pesticide, which has been l...

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) has overturned a prohibition on IVF in Costa Rica saying that it infringed provisions under the American Convention on Human Rights. The ban was originally implemented by the Costa Rican Government in an effort to protect human life. Costa Rica's Supreme Court ruled in 2000 that the practice of discarding 'spare' embryos in IVF was unconstitution...

Huge, not-to-be-missed, ‘Previously Owned Book Sale’ on Saturday January 19th, 2013 10:00am to 2:00pm (no early birds, please) at the Pan-American School, 300m. south of El Rodeo Hotel/Restaurant, San Antonio de Belén. Browse for gently used books, DVDs, CDs and current magazines: treasures that you always wanted but never got round to purchasing, or that you never even knew existed. Nibbl...

Today is the last day employers have to pay the annual Christmas Bonus (Aguinaldo). In an interview with La Extra on Wednesday, Labor Minister Olman Segura stated that employers who don't pay the bonus are subject to strong penalties, including jail time. Segura said that it would be embarrassing for any employer to be penalized for not paying what is a right every worker has, and explained tha...

The Social Security universal health care system (Caja), faced with higher costs and unfavorable demographics, is getting tough with employers who fall behind in paying into the benefit fund. In what Caja financial manager Gustavo Picado termed "unprecedented in the life of the institution," the institution filed a court suit against an Upala man who is charged with withholding benefits from an...

The bill to give longterm gay couples the same legal benefits as conventionally wed couples finally made it to debate Tuesday on the floor of the Legislative Assembly, only to have discussion blocked by recesses. The Libertarian Movement, Renovacion Costarricense Party's Justo Orozco and the (also Evangelical) Renovacion Nacional Party called three 15-minute recesses in quick succession before ...

While the United States stares into the abyss of the fiscal cliff Jan. 1, the Social Security universal health care system (Caja) faces another chasm -- a medical one. The University of Costa Rica has given the Caja notice this month that, due to a 5.3 billion colon deficit in the past several years, it will terminate its contract to run 45 routine medical treatment centers in three of the most...

Costa Rican coffee exporters have decided to team up against what they consider organized crime, which causes losses over $3 million. For over a year, criminal gangs have been stealing coffee containers and many have even reached their destination country full of debris. To date more than 18 containers have been stolen. As part of the modus operandi, which is very diverse, containers were stole...

Washington, D.C., 13 December 2012 — The Director of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), Dr. Mirta Roses Periago, today strongly welcomed the announcement by the United Nations’ Secretary-General of support for efforts to eliminate cholera transmission from Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced $23.5 million in new funds from the United Nations and $...

A 51 year old agriculture teacher in both high school and primary school, was sentenced to 45 years in prison for paying students between 15,000 and 20,000 colones to have sex with him. The sentence was handed down in a Bribri, Talamanca, court in Limon province. The judges extended defendant Jorge Alberto Conejo's preventive detention for another six months while his sentence is automatically ...

"Nosarans were treated to a colorful display this past Saturday December 8th, as the Nosara High School Christmas Festival kicked off with a series of “bangs”, followed by floats, music, and dance." Over 1.300 people came out ready for lights, sounds and sights with families, teens, and the young-at-heart lining the main strip of town from Super Nosara to the airport in order to see all the mar...

It was good news for vehicle fleet owners and mixed news for motorcycle riders last week. Owners of fleets of vehicles, due to paying a stiff hike in the annual Marchamo circulation permits, will get a 10% reduction come January. Motorcycle owners will also get a healthy reduction in the 12,500 colon marchamos, down to 8,500. But they have to wait until 2014 to get it. It is unlikely that biker...

If you are building a house in Costa Rica and want birds to come, don't make the same mistake that developers of Sabana Park in western San Jose made in the last century: make sure the trees you plant are native. After non-native trees were chopped and native species replaced them, some 20 bird species who evidently had felt slighted, have returned -- in a big way, reports La Nacion. The vis...

RACSA, the subsidiary of the once-telecommunications monopoly ICE, promises ultra-fast Internet communications are coming for their customers next January. Company manager Orlando Cascante blamed delays on RACSA's Swedish partner, Via Europa, for the January target date for offering the service. Not only is service to be faster but it will be much cheaper. RACSA's customers have longed for a...

During the first 15 days of November, the beginning of tourist season, the tourist police reported an increase in the number of crimes against property. At the same time, Jeison Vargas, tourist police chief in Guiones, assured that this is what the tourist police are here for and that they are visiting the area businesses every day. The police advise taking necessary precautions to ensure that ...