Last year a gay couple returning from a trip to Costa Rica got quite a shock at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport: Luggage handlers had gone through their bags, found a dildo, removed it and taped it to the exterior of their suitcase—so all the passengers could see it as it made its way down the baggage carousel. Bilerico Project’s Michael Hamar, who knows the aggrieved couple well...

“It was more like going to a different world than a different country,” said Rochester resident Sue Kantner of a recent trip to Dipilto, Nicaragua. With a population nearing 6,000, the rural municipality is comparable in size to Rochester, Marion or Mattapoisett, but there the similarities end, especially when it comes to education. Now, Sue Kantner and her daughter Angie, a second year ...

The latest numbers from the US government's Office of Travel and Tourism Industry (OTTI) show that overseas travel by Americans is growing in in all of the eight regions it has identified, with Central America, Middle East and Asia growing the fastest. According to the latest numbers published by the OTTI, a total of 23 million US citizens traveled outside their country during the first fiv...

Another real estate promotion event begins on August 29 and will feature land from $25,000 to $100,000 and housing from $45,000 to $1.7 million. There are residential projects and rural properties as well as homes and condos that will be promoted at the event, which will. The expo (La ExpoConstrucción y Vivienda) will be held at the Pedregal Events Center in Belén, Heredia and be open unti...

*Picture above: International Designers; Perla Cuellar, Sharlenne Chen, Victoria Thompson, Fritz Botha, Johan Botha, Hazel Gonzalez, Danny Ho. Emerging Designers from South Africa, Costa Rica and USA to be featured at Fashion Week Las Vegas in February 2013 “International Designers set the tone for the February 2013 Fashion Week Las Vegas” The International Emerging Designer Competiti...

More than 60 sensational chairs of art are being auctioned to raise funds for the scholarship and library programs of The Women’s Club of Costa Rica. A Night at the Museum & Sensational Chair Auction takes place Saturday, September 1, 2012, from 6 to 10 pm, in the National Gallery of the Children’s Museum in San José. Fifty-five artists from the Costa Rican and ex-patriot communities have ...

Luxe Lounge is located adjacent to Tienda Play, San Rafael Escazú. Luxe Lounge is a new standard for innovative nightlife in Costa Rica. The first of its kind Luxe Lounge flaunts its size and scale at first glance with an expansive main room area featuring extensive floor to ceiling high-techery. A quick skip up a step opens to a pre-Castro era Cuban inspired outdoor terrace replet...

Bringing together writers, thinkers, communicators, and teachers of international level to promote the development of artistic talent and celebrate the Mesoamerican letters is the objective of the 7th Mesoamerican Writing-Culture Meeting, organized by the Faculty of Letters of the University of Costa Rica (UCR) and PROMESA Publishing House. 
On August 30 and 31st, the Faculty of Letters and...

The Nicaragua Icaro Film Festival 2012 opened yesterday and will run until February 22 with exhibitions, creative workshops and audiovisual competitions in view of the Central American event by the same name. The festival, which has been held for 15 years, will be led by 26 Nicaraguan films to be evaluated by a jury which includes the Spanish Felix Zurita, the Salvadoran Marcela Zamora and ...

Not many Boy Scouts achieve the honor of being an Eagle Scout. When Chase Hughes traveled to San Ramon, Costa Rica, to deliver hygiene kits to a Mormon mission there, he was on his way to achieving that lifelong goal. “I want to be remembered as a hard worker and a good student and citizen,” said Hughes, 15, who will celebrate his new rank at the the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Sai...

As evidenced by the recent media coverage of the Summer Olympics in London and films like Magic Mike, directed by acclaimed filmmaker Steven Soderbergh, the male physique is becoming sexually objectified by adoring women -including liberated Ticas. Costa Rica may seem like an unlikely place where women will gather in groups to gawk at, and very often grab a handful of, masculine hunks wearing noth...

Source: Lady Gaga Fans in Costa Rica Fans of pop queen Lady Gaga in Costa Rica were left hanging on edge days ago when her tour schedule did not show any Central American stops. Back in June, The Costa Rica Star reported on the superstar singer-songwriter's plans to perform in Costa Rica; at that time, the National Stadium was confirmed as a venue by Juan Carlos Bonilla, a spokesperson for the t...

In retrospect, perhaps Fredrik Gertten should have known he was in for a slippery ride when he took on the world's biggest fruit and vegetable company. But then again there's really no way the Swedish journalist and filmmaker could have anticipated just how far Dole Foods would go in its bid to prevent his 2009 documentary Bananas from reaching the big screen. ''Maybe I was naive, but then ...

Express Inc., a leading U.S. men’s and women’s specialty retail apparel chain operating over 600 stores, today announced that one of its subsidiaries has entered into a franchise agreement with Fastco Commercial S.A., a retail franchise operator led by a management team with over 30 years of experience operating retail franchises in Central and South America. The agreement provides an opportu...

It began on Ewell, Smith Island, in 1916 when Noah T. Evans was asked to build a boat to carry the mail, freight and passengers from Crisfield to Smith Island. He built the Island Belle which ran back and forth for 74 years. In 1920, during the oyster boom, he built a 66-foot buy boat and named it the Winnie Estelle after his two daughters. In 1922, he built the Dora Estelle, another buy bo...

Playing a Tica: Zuleyka Rivera on the set of Runner, Runner A big-budget Hollywood production based on a script about the ostentatiously shadowy world of offshore gambling in Costa Rica -starring Ben Affleck and Justin Timberlake, produced by Leonardo DiCaprio and directed by Brad Furman- is expected to hit the box office about a year from now. "Runner, Runner" is currently in production, and it...

Costa Rica-based melodic metal band SIGHT OF EMPTINESS will embark on a European tour in August with support from BENEATH, OPHIDIAN I, ATRUM, ANGIST, GRUESOME GLORY (Iceland), REIGN OF FURY, REFLECTION IN EXILE (UK), DAMAGE MY GOD, SPEED DEMON (Portugal) and THE NAIL, CHICKEN PIE (SPAIN). SIGHT OF EMPTINESS will be playing Bloodstock Open Air (BEHEMOTH, DIMMU BORGIR, ALICE COOPER, TESTAMEN...

Susan Adams has been living and painting in Costa Rica since 1995, finding unending sources of inspiration. Graduating from Southwest Texas State University with a degree in commercial art, and having studied with the likes of Scott Burdick and Tom Browning, Susan is an award-winning artist, including Best of Show 2002 Corpus Christi Independent, first place in Great Texas Birding Classic, an...

From the crest of a wave or deep below the water’s surface, among the coral: whichever way you look at it, there can be no denying that Central America is one of the world’s hottest spots for adventure travel. With plenty of things to see and do, it is quickly becoming a hub for many international travelers, leading to easy access to all types of amenities, a variety of airports and sea ports ...

The Costa Rica Star previously published about a Kosher Food Center in Costa Rica. Come to the Table: Chef Gayle Squires explores the wonders of Panamanian kosher cuisine. When two single Jewish women arrive in Panama for a week, they can expect to eat very well. They will be wined and dined every evening by the sons of the friends of the parents of the friends who are hosting them. Eve...

Dear Costa Rica, What began as an instant love affair has turned into a complicated love-hate relationship. Over the past three years, we've had some mind-blowing adventures as well as some teary-eyed breakdowns. I fell in love (or was it lust?) with you in 2009. You can't blame me, really. You took me on a death-defying whitewater rafting ride, brought out my energizer-bunny cycling ski...

Driving north for an hour from Liberia, Costa Rica, passing skinny cows in postcard-green meadows, one wonders if civilization is ever going to reemerge. Then the taxi driver slams on his brakes. He comes to a smoking halt behind a row of eighteen wheeler trucks at a standstill spanning as far as the eye can see, inching forward like a row of dinosaurs migrating north. The driver makes the ...

While you might know that Costa Rica is a small country in the southern portion of Central America, you may not realize the rich history that abounds there, or the ecologically diverse wildlife, or the incredible number of sights to see. Similar to the state of Florida in the U.S. geographically, it features two long coastlines as well as several tiny islands primarily located on the side o...

JACO BEACH, COSTA RICA -- From his oceanfront balcony, Tyler Forrester glanced out at the Pacific surf on the beach. Palm trees rustled in the breeze. "Tough life I'm living," Forrester said, cackling at his own humor. Forrester is 28. He has a degree in Slavic literature from Duke University, but his academic life is a thing of the past. Forrester now makes his living in a bedroom befor...

Introducing you to a new and fun event that is going to take place in August 2012, in the City of Quepos Manuel Antonio Costa Rica. A brand new Zumba catamaran tour on the new Custom built catamaran called “Ocean King.” Are you ready to party yourself into shape? That’s exactly what the Zumba program is all about. It’s an exhilarating, effective, easy-to-follow, Latin-inspired, calorie-burn...

The Annexation of Guanacaste Day, celebrated on July 25th, commemorates the annexation of the province of Guanacaste to Costa Rica, which occurred in 1824 - prior to this year, Guanacaste was part of Nicaragua. Due to the fact that Nicaragua was active in many civil wars at the time, Guanacaste’s inhabitants requested to be annexed to Costa Rica. The Central American Federation approved the a...

The World Tourism Organization (UNTWO) predicts there will be 1 billion international tourist arrivals in 2012, growing to 1.6 billion by 2020. Imagine if each of the 4.3 million daily commuters on the New York City subway took an international flight. Now think of each of those people on flights spewing jet fuel emissions, guzzling canned soda from plastic airline cups and water from plast...

Gisele Bundchen hit the beach in Costa Rica with her son Ben yesterday. Gisele was wearing a tiny bikini, which showed off her growing baby bump, while Ben went shirtless. She and Ben also had a canine companion along for the sandy afternoon. Gisele and husband Tom Brady haven't commented on the news that they're expecting their second child together, but she's been seen sporting a pregnant...

The crowd of nearly 40 sat waiting patiently for this once in a lifetime opportunity they were all anticipating. The pianist took his seat and was welcomed with the clap of geckos and a rush of wind. The audience relaxed in their seats overlooking acres upon acres of wild jungle, perched in a one of a kind luxurious tree house. Google-ing “Piano Treehouse Costa Rica” had brought this piani...

Source: Flickr The fifth season of the Emmy-nominated reality television series Whale Wars came to an end on Friday night with "Target Acquired", its final episode. The Emmy-nominated Whale Wars features Paul Watson, the controversial founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, an organization committed to protect aquatic life with direct action that is often contentious. As Paul Watson is...

This article was graciously contributed to The Cost Rica Star by Gustavo Gutiérrez of GGS Photography, you can see many great pictures related to this article on The Costa Rica Star Facebook page. Jorge Sossa was born on September 7th, 1933 in the city of Puntarenas Costa Rica, almost 79 years ago. Since he was little he felt an interest for invention and creativity, characteristics which h...

Fashion Week Las Vegas (FWLV) is preparing an event for August 18, 2012, for a one night private event showcasing international and national emerging designers in the Semi Finalist Competition. The semifinalists were selected June 30, 2012 out of close to 40 entrants from all over the world. Designers were asked to submit their looks in photos or sketches, and provide a brief description of th...

The Witness Matlou Trio—a Berklee student group signed to the college's label, Jazz Revelation Records—was invited by the Centro Cultural Costarricense Norteamericano (CCCNCR) to perform at the Promising Artists of the 21st Century performance series in San Jose, Costa Rica, July 23 to 30. For over 65 years, organizers have brought talented students from prestigious universities in the United Stat...

Monster Energy is giving you chances to win adventurous vacations in Costa Rica. Enter Monster Energy's Win the Ultimate Costa Rican Adventure Sweepstakes and you could win a trip or one of 100 other prizes. Each of the five grand-prize winners will receive a trip for two to Costa Rica worth $4,750. Plus, 100 first-prize winners will each receive a Haro Flightline Sport Bike worth $...

You can view more pictures related to this article on The Costa Rica Star Facebook page. Eugenio and Flor, our dear Tico friends and neighbors, said, “Come tomorrow and bring your camera; we’re making tapa dulce.” Being gringos fairly new to this small neighborhood, we had no idea what this meant, but if he thought it was important enough for us to bring our camera, there was no doubt ...

Canadian-Costa Rican pianist, Jonathan Duarte, student of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory college in Moscow, will give a piano concert on July 17 at 8:00 p.m. at the Teatro Nacional, interpreting works of Bach, Chopin, Rachmaninov and Liszt. Nineteen-year-old Duarte has won eight international competitions in North America and Europe. He has performed in New York, Paris, Rome, Vilnius, Kazan and M...

Vacationing with no agenda -- for some travelers it's heaven, for others a week or more of unscheduled free time is like staring into an abyss. Planning for a vacation is usually part of the fun for me, but largely skipping the research and reviews on a recent trip to Costa Rica was surprisingly refreshing. Arriving without a bunch of expectations and a long list of things to see and do and ...

Birdwatching is no longer a passive sport, thanks to a new Costa Rican educational vacation package from the teams at the National Biodiversity Institute of Costa Rica (INBio) and Nature Air (the world's first carbon-neutral airline). Enthusiasts of all experience levels will get down and dirty as local bird researchers take travellers through the scientific process of tracking migrant and residen...

Note: This is a creative writing article by the contributing author, graphic content, reader discretion is advised. The OIJ and other Costa Rican authorities have finally found a semblance of facts as to the cause of the bizarre zombielike and suicidal behavior which occurred in Jacó two weeks ago. A suitcase full of “Bath Salts”, the confusingly named Mephadrone and Methylenedioxypyrovalero...

If Big Time Rush has a leader, Kendall is it! Music and dancing are in his blood. He never imagined he'd end up on the brink of superstardom, but he just might enjoy the ride. And if anyone can keep these guys together, it's Kendall. James can sing but so far his biggest hits are with the ladies! He dreams big and has the confidence to match. He may be a little clueless at times, but he always ...