Bank customers who do not update (actualicen in Spanish) their personal information with their local bank, within the next three months, could face possible closing of their accounts. The Asociación Bancaria Costarricense (ABC) – Costa Rican banking association – is asking customers of public and private banks to update as soon possible. The measure is in prevention of bank fraud, money lau...

The Costa Rica Star previously published about a group of people trying to pass legislation for medical marijuana in Costa Rica and the amount of marijuana consumed around the republic. In a surprising turn in the presidential election campaign, both Jose Maria Villalta of the Wide Front party and Otto Guevara of the Libertarian Movement came out in support for medical marijuana legalization in...

It appears that the Cartago municipality is suffering from MOPT-Conavi disease. A sinkhole developed suddenly on one of the old capital's busiest streets near Colegio Universitario de Cartago after a truck had passed over it Thursday morning. The 10-meter wide by two meters deep yawning hole was apparently caused by the collapse of antique storm drain pipes plugged by garbage -- the same situat...

Starting on Monday, September 16, the vehicular restrictions of San José will be four license plates, two with full restriction on one day, and two with partial restrictions the following day. As has been for some time each week in San Jose, vehicles with license plates ending in 1 & 2 are restricted from circulating in San José between 6am and 7pm; on Tuesdays plates ending in 3 & 4; Wednesday...

Well, this definitely goes into the odd news category, however it's a very kind gesture from a little country in the Middle East within the Persian Gulf. King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain had the following to say about Costa Rica's Independence Day celebrations today, through the official Bahrain news Agency: "His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa dispatched a congratulatory cabl...

It is sunrise in Nambi. Even though the roosters crow as usual, it is not an ordinary morning - there is a lot of movement in the village, hope and even nervousness. Especially among students of Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas School, who have the responsibility of carrying the torch of independence to central Nicoya. Joining them are their parents, teachers, and neighbors to accompany them duri...

At the north end of Jacó in Costa Rica, towering cranes dominate the skyline as construction of the $48 million Croc's Casino Resort advances at lightning speed. On Wednesday morning, I stopped by Croc's sales office on Avenida Pastor Diaz to meet with Rory Hascall, President and Chief Operating Officer. I have barely set my foot in the door when the VP of marketing rushes over to warmly gre...

The US national team endured wave after wave of “gamesmanship” from Costa Rican fans and the Costa Rican Football Federation (Fedefutbol) prior to suffering a 3-1 loss at the hands of The Ticos. Fedefutbol president Eduardo Li told local radio show Encuentro Deportivo earlier this week that FIFA is investigating the federation for what basically amounts to not controlling the actions of their f...

This year, acts in celebration of the arrival of the torch of independence will take place earlier in the streets of Nicoya. The tour began at 6 am this Saturday morning, September 14th at the Fray Bartolome de las Casas School (Friar Bartholomew of the Homes) in Nambí, where the torch will be lit symbolically to begin the journey that will conclude at the town hall of Nicoya. There, more st...

Transport Minister Pedro Castro says he has no regrets about the works on the Circunvalación, and that all decisions were made based on monitoring supervisions by experts of MOPT. The MOPT (Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes) minister told ADN 90.7FM radio that the experts were in full control and supervision of the culvert that collapsed completely and ended up forcing the closure of m...

Recently the Government of Costa Rica celebrated the 70th anniversary of the country’s labor code, while the business sector urged changes that allow more flexible working hours. The president of Costa Rica, Laura Chinchilla, starred in a formal ceremony in commemoration of the social reforms achieved in the 1940´s under President Rafael Angel Calderon Guardia, and the Communist leader Manuel M...

Costa Rica elections will take place on Sunday, February 2nd 2014 and for the first time Ticos will be able to cast their vote from abroad through a digital form. The electoral body estimates that the figure may reach 15,000 registered voters by October 2nd 2013, the deadline for Costa Ricans to register and change their voting address. However, they will be able to vote only for the Presid...

This is a guest article by Live in Costa Rica. The effects of two storms, César and Juana, turned the town of Puerto Cortés into a virtual ghost town. Juana tore through Cortés in 1988. I remember that storm well because my son was born during it. César occurred around the year 2000. Between the two storms that took place in the Southern Pacific Zone (Zona Sur) a lot of damage occurred. Star...

Andres Soto is an emerging Costa Rican composer who is increasingly in high demand. Soto began his composing career at Hofstra University where he obtained his BA in composing. Later he got his masters at New York University in Music Composition and film scoring. During his year in college he worked with a number of filmmakers and wrote scores for a several films. The films included "Conciliati...

Young people attending a United Nations (U.N.) conference in Costa Rica have called on world leaders to "support innovation and technology as methods to advance broader development, drive positive change and bring citizens closer to their Governments." Around 700 young people attended the three-day BYND 2015 Global Youth Summit, convened by the UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in...

Nicaragua cannot catch a break. After bringing a conflict with Colombia to the United Nations and having a tiff with Costa Rica over a border town, Panama announced on Thursday it had a bone to pick with its northern neighbor: President Ricardo Martinelli said Panama would be joining Colombia in its dispute with Nicaragua over territorial waters. Martinelli accused his Nicaraguan counterpart, D...

The Costa Rica Star recently reported on how the President of Costa Rica is working her charm with social media to regain confidence in the republic. Laura Chinchilla Miranda (Twitter) is not afraid to stand up for what she believes in, even if her beliefs go against the tide of popular opinion. Like her Facebook page to stay up to date on her lifestyle and thoughts. Chinchilla is the president...

A team of researchers from the Universidad de Costa Rica and the Universidad Nacional analyzed the color of the waters that gives the name to the famous Rio Celeste (Light Blue River), located in the canton of Guatuso, the province of Alajuela, and managed to unravel the mystery. Many hypotheses, conjectures and beliefs have been brought up, including that the color was due to the presence of a...

One morning, Karen Diaz was walking along the road when suddenly two men stuck their heads out of a car to tell her what they thought about her body in graphic and violent terms. And that was when she was only eleven. Now Diaz, a resident of Nosara, is 25 years old but she has never forgotten her first experience as a child with sexual harassment in the street. She says she relives the experien...

Costa Rica is not generally noticed as one of the major film producers of Costa Rica. However, "Por las Plumas," directed by Costa Rica's own Ernesto Villalobos is making appearances around major film festivals this season. The film is currently making the rounds at the prestigious Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) and is slated to screen at the notable Vancouver Film Festival in the "...

Avianca’s closure of its hub in Costa Rica has opened up opportunities for other carriers, particularly US carriers and Panama-based Copa. The Latin American airline group significantly downgraded its operation at the Costa Rican capital San Jose in late 2Q2013 as it cut five routes and reduced frequency on three others. Avianca previously considered San Jose as one of its four hubs but now calls ...

The Costa Rica Star recently reported on a mysterious paramilitary group arriving on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, could this article be somehow related? Indigenous people and farmers from the canton of Talamanca rejected their mayor’s demand to allow incursions by the United States Southern Command within the Bribri Indigenous Territory. In a letter to Costa Rican President Laura Chinc...

This is a guest article by Travel Mother, one of our favorite Blogs about Costa Rica. Please consider liking them on Facebook. Sometimes I receive emails from mothers who would like to move to Costa Rica, but are unsure of how comfortable it would be living here without a car. While it is possible to go carless here–as we have done thus far–it is not always convenient, especially when you have...

“Complicado y interrumpido” (complicated and disrupted) were the words of one television commentator yesterday morning in describing traffic on the west side of San José. In reality it affects the entire city as a whole. This is the second morning of another 60 or so that will be abnormal for drivers of the Circunvalación. It is also the second day when a tractor trailer, weaving through the na...

Every Canadian knows that “the Mounties will always get their man”. But yesterday, for four Canadians in Costa Rica, it wasn’t the long arm of the Red Coats rather, it was Costa Rica’s judicial police known as the OIJ. In a quick action by agents of the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ), four Canadian men identified by their last names Shane, Trevin, Landed and Robinson, where taken in...

A computer hacker was able to alter the online system of a private bank in Costa Rica to buy and sell dollars at extreme exchange rates, making away with more than ¢200 million colones (US$400,000 dollars) over a period of four months. Francisco Segura, head of the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ), explained that the hacker, who had an account with the bank, was able to change the exch...

The lifeless body of Jehu Molina Parra was found on Wednesday afternoon, September 11th in the Nosara River mouth. The discovery was made by a passerby at about 2pm who immediately alerted the authorities, according to Gerardo Nunez, from the Tourist Police. Molina Parra, 52, was a resident of Ostional and had been missing for four days. His body was already in an advance state of decomposit...

Mention Costa Rica, and images of natural beauty, rain forests and a popular retirement destination for Americans comes to mind. Like most small nations, Costa Rica has a very low profile in the numismatic community. That means an interesting history of coinage is largely overlooked, and the collector who wants to take the less-traveled road and an overlooked challenge will find it here. Origin...

Perry to send 100% of donations from newest single to fund and support Children’s Environmental Education Fund. If you would like The Costa Rica Star to publish your press release, please contact us. Toronto - Sept. 12, 2013 - Canadian recording artist Prince Perry releases his newest single “When I Think Of You” – all to raise funds and awareness for the Costa Rican My Environmental Rights and...

The leading Costa Rican presidential candidate in the polls would prefer state run companies to control the energy market. Johnny Araya Monge, who was a former mayor of the capital San Jose for many years and is now presidential candidate for the ruling Partido Liberación Nacional (PLN), is the candidate with the highest number of voter intentions in recent polls. In the interview he gave wi...

If you go to any supermarket or fería (outdoor farmers market) in Costa Rica you will notice that organic produce is more expensive and not usually as attractive as regular produce. However the benefits of organically grown foods are many. Organic foods are much healthier and beneficial for the environment. They are grown without pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, antibiotics, growth hormones a...

Some 300 workers in the nation's child welfare agency PANI marched Monday to the building housing the Constitutional Court chambers to pressure the President and her Minister of Finance Edgar Ayales to include in the 2014 budget the 7% of tax revenues that chamber ordered last year should go to fund children's welfare. The court (Sala IV) ruled that the funds should be earmarked for PANI by law...

Surveyors are working along route 160 to draw up the property registration plans in order to progress with the long-awaited project to pave Route 160 from Samara to Nosara, marking important points where the road needs to be widened or where curves need to be straightened. Once the surveying is completed, cost estimates will be calculated and property owners will be contacted to discuss assessment...

There are two important dates to celebrate in September: the first is Children’s Day on September 9 and the second is the Celebration of National Independence on September 15. For Children’s Day every year the David Kitson Library holds a spelling bee, mathematics games and science quests for the third through sixth graders of Serapio Lopez Fajardo Elementary School. This year we will extend t...

Currently, prison overcrowding in Costa Rica is at 37%. However, in Liberia the situation is even worse at 67.9%. With 1256 being held there, the center has 508 more prisoners above capacity, according to Carmen Vargas Hernandez, spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice. The Citizen Action party (PAC), the Public Defender (Defensoría de los Habitantes) and the National Association of Public ...

Without skipping a beat after being crowned Miss Costa Rica on July 12, Fabiana Yanory Granados Herrera is gearing up to compete for Miss Universe on November 9 in Russia. Fabiana, age 23, was born in Nicoya and grew up in Hojancha, and although she now lives in San Jose to study and prepare for pageants, she comes home to Guanacaste every chance she gets, usually on weekends to spend time with...

If you live, visit, work, travel or move from one side to the other side of San José get ready for traffic congestion galore, as the Circunvalación will be closed between Pavas and Hatillo 8 for the next two months. That is the word from the Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transportes (MOPT) and the Consejo Nacional de Vialidad (Conavi) yesterday afternoon after evaluating the risk of the slopes...

Blog article by Travel Mother, one of our favorite Blogs, please like them on Facebook. A great thing about living abroad is the opportunity to learn that your own way may not always be the right–or only right–way to do something. Once you’ve supplanted yourself into a whole new culture, these educational opportunities are endless. One such lesson pertains to the idea of promptness that has b...

UK Ambassador Sharon Campbell presents Luis Hernandez, the Manager of the Antonio Escarre Baseball Stadium, with a commemorative cricket shield.If you would like The Costa Rica Star to publish your press release, please contact us. Two youth cricket teams faced off on Saturday 7 September in Costa Rica’s first ever Under-19 Twenty-20 match, organised by the British Embassy San José and the Cos...

Country forges ahead to protect 340,000 hectares, benefit rural communities, and meet its 2021 carbon neutrality goal. San José de Costa Rica - The Government of Costa Rica and the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) signed today a Letter of Intent (LOI) to negotiate an Emission Reductions Payment Agreement (ERPA) worth up to $63 million. This would make Costa Rica the first country in th...