Residents of Costa Rica might not be able to access the Internet on their desktop or mobile devices starting this Friday at 22:00 CST UTC/GMT -6 hours until 06:00 on Sunday. According to an announcement posted on the website of the Superintendency of Telecommunications (Spanish acronym: SUTEL), there may be a sharp decrease in broadband speeds, but intermittent service and complete outages may als...

Source: Heineken The capital city of Costa Rica is now on a level similar to New York, Shanghai, Berlin, Amsterdam, London, and Rio de Janeiro, at least according to the emblematic Dutch beer Heineken. From now until late October, beer lovers and collectors of neat promotional items can pick up a special edition bottle of Heineken emblazoned with San José under the current big red star logo. T...

  A young writer from the United States recently found herself besieged in Peñas Blancas, the border crossing point between Nicaragua and Costa Rica, as her lack of a travel document nearly prompted an anxiety attack. Emilia Azar, a senior at Elon University in North Carolina traveled to our country with a few noble intentions, one of them being learning to surf; alas, her joyful sojourn h...

  Source: Sea Shepherd The history of Paul Watson and Costa Rica began a new chapter this month, but this time there are no INTERPOL notices or outstanding arrest warrants making the news. As people in Costa Rica were celebrating Independence Day on September 15th, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society published a press release announcing Operation Pacuare, an effort to protect the sea...

  The crackdown on drug-related offenses in Costa Rica intensified in Guanacaste from January to August of 2014. According to official statistics published by the Ministry of Public Security (Spanish initials: MSP), 233 foreigners have been arrested thus far this year for violations of the Law on Controlled Substances. The majority of those arrested are Nicaraguan and Colombian immigrants,...

Source: Red Cross Strong rains and storm surge caused more than 30 major landslides in Costa Rica earlier this week. Red Cross rescue units and first responders from Fuerza Publica, the national police force, sprung to action to safely evacuate and render aid to more than 2,000 people in affected communities. The majority of those rescued have been motorists driving on Route 32, the main highw...

Source: Wikimedia Commons A surfer in Playa Avellanas, province of Guanacaste, tragically passed away yesterday despite cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) efforts that lasted more than 30 minutes. National newspaper La Nacion identified the dearly departed as Francis Gianvalbo of the United States, who had reportedly begun to enjoy his retirement in Costa Rica only three months ago. The re...

  Source: Fuerza Publica The canton of Garabito in Puntarenas is home to some of the most eco-friendly police officers in Costa Rica. Two years ago, members of Fuerza Pública (Costa Rica's national police force) who patrol the Jaco Beach and Playa Hermosa communities decided to open their own nesting sanctuary for olive ridley sea turtles. This initiative was prompted by the need to pr...

Source: Wikimedia Commons Later this year, Costa Rica’s Barrio Chino (Chinatown) will celebrate its second anniversary of having taken over the old Students’ Boulevard as a token of appreciation for the kind donation by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) of the majestic National Stadium in La Sabana Metropolitan Park. The pretty paifang (Chinese gate) that marks the entrance to Chinatown fro...

Source: Wikimedia Commons For many people in Costa Rica, celebrating Independence Day means enjoying parades, picnics and a few ice-cold bottles of Imperial with neighbors at the local bar. Notwithstanding, not all municipalities share the same patriotic standpoint, and some municipalities believe that there is no place for booze during Independence Day celebrations. As a result, some towns in...

Image source: CONCACAF With a final score of 2-1 against Guatemala, the players National Men's Footbal Team of Costa Rica (affectionately known as La Sele) have once again proven that they are the best in Central America and one of the strongest teams in the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF).   The match took place at the Los Ange...

Source: Photobucket Over the last few years, beer culture has been gaining a substantial foothold in Costa Rica. Gone are the days of having to settle for bottles of Imperial, which remains a popular and pleasant experience nonetheless. Beer lovers in Costa Rica now have many options to choose from, and they come in bottles, cans or on tap. What is the best way to serve beer in Costa Rica? Thi...

  Source: iCafe Are you a coffee lover in Costa Rica? If your answer is yes, you may want to rush to La Sabana Metropolitan Park in the lovable city of San Jose before 1:00 pm today and enjoy the best coffee our dedicated farmers and roasters have to offer. September 12th is the day we celebrate National Coffee Day, and everyone is invited to enjoy our best beans and learn more about w...

Source: Carloz Munoz Facebook UPDATE: Carlos Muñoz surprised everyone on the beach at Trestles with an amazing performance (WATCH!) during his heat against Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina, who happens to be the current World Championship Tour champ. In just seconds, attacked a long right that stoked the crowd and earned him a quick seven points to pull a huge upset and win the heat. Costa Rica...

Just one of the many firms reducing their presence in Costa Rica Economists and public officials who oversee business and industry in Costa Rica are extremely worried about the ongoing exodus of foreign firms that are moving their operations to other countries. This bleeding of capital has been taking place over the last few years, and it became exacerbated in recent days with the announcement...

Source: MSP Costa Rica This past Saturday, poachers plying their loathsome trade in the Caribbean region of Costa Rica were about to butcher an adult female Chelonia mydas (green sea turtle) when officers from the National Coast Guard Service and the local Fuerza Publica detachment stepped in to prevent what would have been a violent demise for the aquatic reptile.   According to a ...

Source: Google Images CC A single arrest for suspicion of drinking and driving in Costa Rica may involve hours of work and take Transit Police officers off the highways and roads they are supposed to patrol. Such is the assessment presented by Hulda Miranda in a recent investigative report published in La Nacion. Ms. Miranda described the plight of the Transit Police officers as an uphill batt...

  Source: Wikimedia Commons Outside of the Chinese-donated National Stadium in San Jose this Sunday, animal rights activists picketed and shouted slogans as spectators cheered on bull riders, bronco handlers and rodeo clowns. According to a report filed by Paula Ruiz of La Prensa Libre, the “American-style” (from the United States) rodeo took place without turmoil despite the clamor fr...

Getting one of these just got cheaper. On September 3rd, 2014, the Embassy of the United States in San Jose, Costa Rica, published an announcement related to the fees charged by the Consular Section for various services related to travel, immigration and citizenship. Not all fee changes represent an increase; for example, the filing fee for employment-based visas has gone down by $60.   Of spe...

Source: Costa Rica Beer Factory A global movement that dates back to World War I is slowly being adopted in Costa Rica at just the right time. Meatless Monday is a 2003 initiative established by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; however, it dates back to a wartime policy enacted by the United States a hundred years ago. Considering that economic vegetarianism is a direct res...

Fuerza Publica, the national police force of Costa Rica, recently reported the arrest of two suspected smugglers on the border with Panama. The men were driving separate cars, but they appeared to be working together in an effort to illicitly introduce 240 bottles and cans of beer to Costa Rica. Of special note within the nefarious cargo: Seven cases of Milwaukee's Best Premium, proudly manufa...

Source: Bing commercial reuse With more than 70,000 visitors attending the 15th International Book Fair in San Jose, organizers and exhibitors were certainly pleased to see that reading is still capturing the interest of many people in Costa Rica. For the second year in a row, the International Book Fair expanded its presence beyond the Antigua Aduana (Old Customs Building), and held activitie...

  Source: Wikimedia Commons If you have traveled through Paseo Colon and its surrounding neighborhoods in San Jose over the last few years,it can be safely assumed that you've seen the proliferation of condominium towers. Along with gated communities and planned developments, high-rise residential solutions are essentially the future of housing in Costa Rica. Like them or not, demand a...

Source: ASOTU Costa Rica One of the most family-friendly and fun-filled festivals in Costa Rica is happening again in just a few days. The 6th Whales and Dolphins Festival in Ballena Bay will star this Friday, September 5th. Although whale watching season in Costa Rica runs from July until October, the peak month for migration is September. Some of the activities that visitors to the Osa Penin...

Source: MSP Facebook The illegal importation of goods into Costa Rica has been keeping law enforcement agencies on their toes over the last few years. Drug trafficking is but a tiny portion of the vast and flourishing smuggling realm in Costa Rica, which has grown to include over-the-counter and prescription medications, designer clothing, premium liquor, handcrafts, herbal remedies, cows, and...

Source: Bing Creative Commons Despite efforts by the Central Bank to keep inflation at bay, the consumer price index (CPI) in Costa Rica reached its highest level in six years during August. According to a report by Marcos Gonzalez of La Prensa Libre, the current CPI stood at 5.44 percent last month, up from 5.09 percent in July. Furthermore, this is the second month the CPI escapes the contai...

Source: CONCACAF As widely expected, the National Men's Football Team of Costa Rica, affectionately known as La Sele, shutout their Nicaraguan counterparts by a score of 3-0 at the Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Stadium in the District of Columbia. This was the first match for both teams in the Tigo Central American Cup (UNCAF), a regional tournament that is being played as a warm-up to the upcoming ...

Source: Fuerza Publica A citizen from the United States was arrested on September 1st, 2014 by police officers assigned to the canton of Carrillo, in the province of Guanacaste. According to press release CP-1171-2014 issued by Fuerza Publica (Costa Rica's national police force) the North American man, whose last name was reported as Riley, was approached and searched by officers patrolling Pl...

If you would like to become an organ donor and extend the gift of life with parts of your body that you no longer will need in the afterlife, you may now officially express your intention to La Caja (Costa Rica's public health system) over the Internet. As part of the “Atrévete a Donar” (Dare to Donate) campaign, more than 7,500 people in Costa Rica have registered as organ donors using La Caj...

Source: PerroCross.com Just three hours after an early morning earthquake disrupted the sleep of many people in Costa Rica, more than 300 dogs and their masters gathered at Campamento (Campgrounds) Oikoumene in Ochomogo, province of Cartago, for a special athletic competition. In the end, the experienced canine-human pair of Alexander Alvarado, a 33-year old Tico, and Togo, an adult Rhodesian ...

Source: Wikimedia Commons Although it took some time for the iPhone 5 to reach Costa Rica after it was launched in September 2012, many Ticos rushed to get their hands on the latest model of the iconic Apple mobile device that redefined smartphones as we know them. If you purchased your iPhone 5 before January 2013, there is a chance that you may be experiencing issues related to battery life ...

  Source: Wikimedia Commons During a visit to the Caribbean region of Costa Rica in August, President Luis Guillermo Solis stopped in Puerto Viejo and explained his position on the lionfish (scorpaenid, from the genus Pterois): “This is a very aggressive species that goes after native marine life, which affects the local fishing economy.” According to Fabio Mena from online news daily...

Mobile customers of ICE, Costa Rica's largest wireless carrier and former telecommunications monopoly, will experience extended periods of service outages during the week starting September 1st, 2014. The affected services include Kolbi wireless voice and data plans as well as the ability to add funds to prepaid accounts. In some cases, subscribers of landline telephone service will also experienc...

The National Coast Guard Service of Costa Rica has been proudly protecting life, property and coastal ecosystems for nearly 15 years. The Costa Rica Star often publishes news reports about how the men and women of the Coast Guard in Costa Rica rescue marine species from poachers, capture drug smugglers, save people in the ocean, and prevent illegal fishing. This time, however, we bring you a repor...

  Afro-Costa Rican Fashion. Source: Corredor Cultural del Caribe The history of Costa Rica cannot be told without recognizing the important sociocultural contribution of the Afro-Caribbean community. In 1980, the Union of Educators in Costa Rica realized that a truly multicultural and ethnically diverse society needs to take time to celebrate its roots, and thus El Día del Negro (Afro-...

Source: RSN On the final day of August, just hours before people in Costa Rica began preparing for Sunday Mass, brunch, football games, community activities, and family outings, a 5.1 moment magnitude (Mw) earthquake jolted communities from the southern Pacific region down to the border with Panama and up to the Central Valley. The seismic event was detected by the National Seismology Network ...

Part of the Roulin family portraits by Van Gogh. Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Despite recent national initiatives to curb the incidence of single motherhood in Costa Rica, this socioeconomic trend continues to be a significant issue. According to a recent report by CB24, a regional cable television news network that focuses on Central American matters, single mothers make up 3...

Source: Official Film Site Two years after its debut at the Cannes Film Festival, the excellent movie Paradise: Love finally made it to movie theaters in Costa Rica. Lovingly directed by Austrian filmmaker Ulrich Seidl, Paradise: Love tells the story of Theresa, a middle-aged European woman who travels to Kenya in search of hunky young Africans who are more than willing to indulge her sexual d...

What if you heard a tale of a mysterious murder/suicide in an 30,000-square foot glass mansion, with 550 Tiffany lamps, 3,000 loose rubies, diamonds, and sapphires, a helipad, and a moat separating it from one of the world’s most rugged jungles – would you think this was a movie script, or the plotline of a pulp fiction novel? It happens to all be true, and it happens to have taken place in Per...

Source: Ministry of Public Safety Oceangoing poachers and illegal fishing crews take note: The vigilant officers of the National Coast Guard Service of Costa Rica are actively looking for your nefarious traps and wicked gear, and they know about those hiding spots on the beach. According to a recent Facebook update posted by the Ministry of Public Safety, two recent Coast Guard patrols resulte...