SANDY, Utah (Oct. 24, 2012) - Herediano withstood a barrage from Real Salt Lake, outlasting the hosts in a cold, rainy Rio Tinto Stadium for a 0-0 draw Tuesday that advanced it to the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals. The Costa Rican side finished atop Group 2 with 10 points, reaching the knockout stage for the first time in three CONCACAF Champions League appearances. After Houston drew...

ALAJUELA, Costa Rica (Oct. 24, 2012) - With plenty of optimism and hopes of qualifying for the quarterfinals of the 2012-13 edition of the CONCACAF Champions League, Alajuelense departed Monday for Mexico, ahead of a Wednesday night showdown with Tigres in Monterrey. It's all come down to this final match in Group 6, with the Costa Ricans sitting atop the table on seven points, and the Mexican ...

Seven Costa Rican properties take coveted spots on the list’s top resorts in Central and South America. The Costa Rica Tourism Board is thrilled to announce that Costa Rica was the most celebrated destination in Central America in the 2012 Condé Nast Traveler’s Readers’ Choice Awards released this week. The top honors went to the region’s favorite hotels and resorts, as voted by the readers of ...

The president of a Costa Rican company that sold reinsurance bonds to life settlement companies was sentenced today in Richmond, Virginia, to 60 years in prison for carrying out a half-billion-dollar fraud scheme that affected more than 3,500 victims throughout the United States and abroad, announced U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Neil H. MacBride and Assistant Attorney General...

Halloween with Little Theatre Group (LTG) will be happening this year at the Tin Jo Restaurant on Saturday November 3rd 2012. Starting at 8pm, the talented actors of LTG will be providing suitably scary entertainment for your enjoyment. Under the management of our favourite ghoul (Kevin Huey), LTG will be offering its members a very special night of horror.  Scary stories, silly skits, 'Name that ...

In the past The Costa Rica Star has published on women appealing the Court of Human Rights to overturn in-vitro fertilization laws in Costa Rica. Data from World Bank (WB), claims that female employment in Costa Rica increased 15 percent from 2000 to 2010. A representative of the World Bank, said that the report entitled “The effect of the economic power of women in Latin America and the Car...

In the past The Costa Rica Star has published on Costa Rica Cybercrime Law 9048. Ticoblogger, a community of Costa Rican bloggers, invites everyone to attend the forum “Online Anonymity, Pseudonyms and Freedom of Expression” on Wednesday, October 24, 2012, at 9:00 PM (GMT-03:00) at the Legislative Assembly in San José, Costa Rica. The forum will discuss (Facebook) Article 230 of the ‘Cybercrime...

The state fuel company Recope will begin importing natural gas within 6 months, to sell it to industrial clients. According to Jorge Rojas, general manager of Recope, research is still being conducted over how many tons of gas will be brought into the country and at what prices it will be marketed locally. The product will serve as an alternative for large scale energy consumers, who have se...

An Akron-based satellite telecommunications company has won its lengthy fight to do business in Costa Rica. VSAT Systems has been trying to get a license from the Costa Rican government for more than three years to offer satellite services in the Central American country. Company attorneys received a call “out of the blue” recently from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative saying the ...

Recently The Costa Rica Star published an article on a breakfast smoothie recipe, the one below involves liquor. Congratulations to Adrian Vega, head bartender at the Costa Rica Marriott San Jose, for winning 1st place at the Costa Rica National World Class bartender competition by Diageo. Find his winning drink recipes below: “Magma Fusion” -1 ½ oz Tanqueray Ten (gin)...

SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica (Oct. 22, 2012) –Humane Society International- Latin America and the Servicio Nacional de Salud Animal (SENASA), the Costa Rican animal health service, celebrated the signing of an agreement to join together to work for improved animal welfare standards. “In recent years, SENASA has become increasingly involved in the fight against dogfighting, an activity which oftentimes ...

Thick cloudy skies subdued the sunlight on an autumnal day in Paris. That did not stop the group of representatives from the public and private sector attending the 5th Carbon Fund Meeting of the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) from making a decision that is a major milestone. Costa Rica is set to become the first country to access performance-based payments through the FCPF. This is the...

The intention would be to overcome the paralysis of $320 million from the Development Banking System of Costa Rica by giving over its management to the Central Bank. The fund consists of 17% current accounts from commercial banks in Costa Rica, known as the "bank toll" amounting to $320 million which is supposed to be used to grant loans to micro-entrepreneurs, within the Development Banking ...

You relocated to Costa Rica to enjoy a relaxing and peaceful lifestyle, the weather, to allow your money to go further, or some combination of that, plus other factors. Yet, you brought your old eating habits along with you. The fact is that eating processed meats, cheeses, and packaged goods costs a lot more in Costa Rica, as many of the brands you are used to are imported. Well, do yourse...

Help SASY! stop animal suffering by bidding high and bidding often at this year’s Annual Charity Auction. It is guaranteed to be a groovy party with over 200 items up for bid. Take part in our Live and Silent Auctions with hundreds of items in health, beauty, travel and much more! Don’t forget – all proceeds raised benefit the all-volunteer SASY! Organization working hard to end animal suf...

UPDATED 8/20/19 -The Costa Rica Star has recently published updated  information here about receiving your residency  residency in Costa Rica to avoid border runs, wasting time, and money. The article below is not intended to be legal advice, it is simply a guide outlining the process of applying for residency in Costa Rica. Always seek advice from a lawyer in good standing with the Colegio...

This week, BBC Mundo included Costa Rica as one of the top places in Latin America for technology start ups, in an article titled "What is the Silicon Valley of Latin America?".  This was a follow through based on an Economist article on Chile, dubbing it "Chilecon Valley". The BBC piece highlighted Chile, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Costa Rica and Mexico.  Chile made a strong case for being the...

You are invited to join us for the 2012 Costa Rica International Festival of Terror ("TerrorFest"), October 25th to 31st 2012 in Montezuma, Costa Rica. If you don't have Halloween plans, this could be your ticket, and a great way to meet new people and see the country. TerrorFest presents the best in short and feature horror, sci-fi, suspense, thriller, animation, horror-comedy, and more fr...

SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA – October 19th, 2012 – Phone companies now have approval to charge for prepaid mobile phone Internet service by the amount of data consumed, instead of the current flat-fee model based on the speed of connection. Last week, the Telecommunications Superintendence Council (SUTEL) approved the new rate model. The maximum rate will be 0.0076 colons (plus sales tax) for each Kiloby...

SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA – October 19th, 2012 – A new law is in process in the Legislative Assembly, which lawmakers say is aimed at cracking down on fraud. Lawmakers say they want to remove the “veil” that currently exists around Costa Rican corporations, known as sociedad anonimas, or S.A.’s, in order to defend the rights of third parties. The proposal was submitted by the legislator Jose Maria Vill...

October 19th, 2012 – As a result of flooding caused by heavy rains on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, as well as a report issued by the National Meteorology Institute (IMN, in Spanish) on Thursday, the National Risk Prevention and Emergency Response Comission (CNE), declared a “green alert” for the Pacific and Central Valley areas. The heavy rains, as well as bad waste management, caused riv...

A TACA Airbus A321, similar to the one which landed with a flat tire yesterday at Juan SantamariaSAN JOSE, COSTA RICA – October 19th, 2012 – An Airbus A321 belonging to TACA airlines, carrying 146 passengers and 7 crew members, skidded while landing yesterday at the Juan Santamaria International Airport, in Alajuela. The incident occurred around 4 p.m.  Hector Chaves, chief of the Costa Rican Fire...

SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA – October 19th, 2012 – Misinformation and miscalculations in real estate appraisals in Costa Rica has driven the Chamber of Costa Rican Official Real Estate Agents (CCCBR) to create the first Property Price Index (PPI) in the country. Though it is still in the data collection phase, the Chamber has promised a first draft for the province of San Jose for the first trimester of ...

 URUGUAY – October 19th, 2012 - In a 17-14 groundbreaking senate vote this week, Uruguay became the third nation in Latin America to decriminalize abortion, allowing a woman to request an abortion procedure during her first trimester without restriction as to reason. With the decision, Uruguay moves away from the current status quo in much of the region, where most countries only permit therapeuti...

October 18th, 2012 – The 3rd round of negotiations surrounding the possible free trade agreement between Costa Rica and Colombia will begin in Cali, Colombia, on Monday. Anabel Gonzalez, Foreign Trade minister, said that this round of negotiations would focus on determining which of each nation’s products would be included in the agreement. “In order to prepare for this 3rd round, we have had a se...

October 18th, 2012 – Yesterday, a 1.2 meter diameter hole opened up in the bridge that crosses “La Fuente de la Hispanidad” (in front of the San Pedro Mall), in San Pedro.  The hole took drivers by surprise as the bridge had just recently been through repairs. This is the main bridge that crosses the rotunda below, in front of the mall, and is an important transit route. Christian Vargas, chief of...

October 18th, 2012 – The negotiations for next year’s minimum wage increases for Costa Rica’s private sector workers began on Tuesday. The unions will be requesting a raise of approximately 4%. Albino Vargas, general secretary for the National Association of Private and Public Employees, said that their exact proposal would be provided after the unions meet and reach final agreement. Representativ...

October 17th, 2012 – Patients of the Monsenor Sanabria Hospital, in Puntarenas, are having a tough time getting used to the “new facilities.” The parking lot in which they used to park their cars is now the outpatient area. The hospital was one of the structures most damaged by the September 5th earthquake. Entrance to the now-empty medical tower is forbidden, so patients and staff have had to rel...

In the past The Costa Rica Star reported on the opening of a new Reuters operations centre in Costa Rica. Effective immediately, The Costa Rica Star is pleased to offer World News from our partnership with Reuters. We will be making publishing changes to how we handle our content delivery. From day one, The Costa Rica Star has always had the goal of becoming the Central American version...

Marking the fifth annual Global Handwashing Day on October 15, and approaching the second anniversary of the first case of reported cholera in Haiti in 2010, Partners in Health, Veolia Environment Foundation, Zanmi Lasante, and Catholic Relief Services became the newest members of the Regional Coalition on Water and Sanitation for the Elimination of Cholera in the Island of Hispaniola. The ...

After the recent deaths of an estimated 300 green sea turtles at the Cayman Turtle Farm in the Cayman Islands, Sea Turtle Conservancy has joined the World Society for the Protection of Animals in their campaign to stop sea turtle farming (www.stopseaturtlefarm.org) at the last remaining facility to intensively farm and breed sea turtles for human consumption in the world. Sea Turtle Cons...

Humane Society International and Costa Rica’s Servicio Nacional de Salud Animal (SENASA) will hold a signing ceremony for a memorandum of understanding to collaborate in the improvement of companion and farm animal welfare on Monday, Oct. 22. An official SENASA and HSI training session on dog fighting issues will follow the ceremony. WHEN: Monday, Oct. 22 at 9:00 a.m. WHERE: Hotel C...

Costa Rica, a Latin American country, plans to sign an investment protection agreement with India to boost bilateral trade, especially in the service and manufacturing sector. It would soon put in place a framework for economic cooperation with India, with any eye on the country's IT sector. In the Capital to participate in the OECD forum, Costa Rica vice president Luis Liberman told FE: "W...

High interest rates, the product of the Treasury’s steady increase in financing with debt, is leading banks to seek funds abroad. In the country the average lending rate in dollars is about 11%, considerably higher than in the United States, where the average is 4%. This gap is the result of higher government borrowing in dollars, which has increased its debt in this currency by 165% y...

In a few days the new traffic law, passed by legislators in September, will be signed by the Presidenta, published in La Gaceta and be in effect. Interesting is that the same inspectors who will be responsible for upholding the law have found errors in the approved text and will have to make amendments. One of the errors is the missing of a sanction (fine) for not obeying the instruction...

In a move that’s expected to trigger a flurry of travel, unite families and generate badly needed currency, the Cuban government on Tuesday said it plans to wipe out an unpopular exit visa requirement that’s been in place since 1961. Analysts are at odds over why the socialist government is acting now. But what’s certain is that Cubans on both sides of the Florida Straits are buzzing about the...

Are you looking for an amazing place to bring your special someone on a romantic date? You will be blown away by the beauty, layout, valley view, and Wine list at Vino Mundo in the mountains of Ciudad Colón, San Jose, Costa Rica. As you pull up the hill and see the sign on the left, it is very apparent you have arrived at a magical place. Huge iron gates and guards welcome you, as you d...

In the past week The Costa Rica Star has published on the shark finning ban that was signed by Laura Chinchilla in the presence of Sir Richard Branson, near Manuel Antonio National Park. Taken from seashepherd.org: Sea Shepherd is not buying it. This is simply smoke and mirrors by President Laura Chinchilla. Costa Rica is simply trying to do damage control for all the attention focused o...

In order to adjust to new rules coming into effect in 2015 to improve services to consumers, gas stations will have to invest about $30 million. Since in Costa Rica fuel prices are set administratively, business operators must focus on delivering better complementary automotive services and convenience stores. In an article on Nacion.com, José Miguel Masís, executive director of the Fu...

In the past The Costa Rica Star has reported on Green Washing in Costa Rica, which lends itself to businesses being "too" Green when in reality, they are far from that fact. It makes it hard for legitimate businesses to compete when doing things honestly. Elfinancierocr.com reports that in Costa Rica, "at a rate of four bills per year, since 2006 Parliament has provided 24 new regulations...