Source: Ludacris Instagram Actor and musician Christopher Brian Bridges, better known as Ludacris, is celebrating his engagement in Costa Rica. According to online news website Rap-Up.com, the marriage proposal by the hip-hop star was handled with a lot of style:   Ludacris has put a ring on it. The rapper and his longtime girlfriend Eudoxie Agnan got engaged on Friday.   W...

Source: Facebook She is 20 years old and lives near one of the worst spots in terms of gridlock in Costa Rica. Carolina Vargas is a beautiful woman who was recently crowned Señorita San José, which means that she will reign over traditional holiday festivities such as El Tope (equestrian parades), Toros a la Tica (bull runs inside a bullring), the Zapote Holiday Fair, and others. Carolina Varg...

Source: Blue Osa The Active Times, a major online source of information about active, adventurous and healthy vacations, recently announced its Top Ten List of Health and Wellness Vacations for 2015, and Costa Rica made the list. The Active Times based its Top Ten picks on the following criteria:   For some, "getting away" not only means venturing to a quiet, calm and secluded retreat...

Source: Wikimedia Commons TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - December 23, 2014) - Tropical adventure came a little bit closer to residents of Alberta this week as Sunwing Vacations launched a new direct flight service from Edmonton to Liberia, Costa Rica. On the way to one of the country's most captivating regions, passengers were treated to award-winning Sunwing Airlines' Champagne Service, which fe...

A few days after the much-anticipated trailer of Jurassic World, a summer blockbuster film expected to arrive in theaters next year, a website for the fictional amusement park located in the equally non-existent Isla Nublar of Costa Rica began operating. At first sight, www.jurassicworld.com provides visitors with lots of information on the park, from a brief bio of the founder to an interactive m...

Source: Forbes Are there any lavish resorts in Costa Rica that can attain the coveted 5-star rating? Since the late 1950s, the world of luxury travel accommodations has been scrutinized by the star rating system made famous by the Mobil Travel Guide, which is now known as the Forbes Travel Guide. Five stars means luxury, which happens to be an emerging travel sector in Costa Rica. A 5-star rat...

Source: Facebook The celebrity and tabloid gossip mill surrounding pop music diva Britney Spears is currently running at full speed as rumors about her possible engagement taking place in Costa Rica over the holidays. The extremely popular musician is reportedly dating Charlie Ebersol, a successful entertainment producer who is the son of a powerful couple in the world of television production...

Source: Bing In 2014, the Ice Bucket Challenge, Lebron James, Beyonce, the Kardashian clan, and Costa Rica had something very interesting in common: They topped Internet queries from United States users on search engine giant Bing, owned and operated by Microsoft. Within the category of Vacation Destinations, Costa Rica was not only the most searched term on Bing; it was also the only Central ...

Earlier this week, members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences sat in their Sunset Screening Room and enjoyed the second screening of a movie directed by Laura Astorga, a filmmaker from Costa Rica. Making it to a second screening at the Academy is a big deal for a movie that hopes be nominated for the Foreign Language Film category of the 2015 Oscars, and there is a strong chance th...

Coca Cola fashion is slowly making its way into Costa Rica by means of select distributors. Not long ago, The Costa Rica Star reported on the opening of a second OPI Nail Bar in Costa Rica, specifically in Curridabat:   OPI is a fashion nail giant that is known for its innovative products, interesting polishes and attractive lacquers. Its Coca Cola collection of lacquers, for example, is ...

Mr. DeNiro and Ms. Hightower. Source: Wikimedia Commons When it comes to celebrity endorsement, the world knows all too well about perfumes, colognes, clothing, and alcoholic beverages. It is no surprise that large catalog of celebrity-branded products would one day extend to coffee, and that day is now. From actors Leonardo DiCaprio to Hugh Jackman and from Bob Marley's son to legendary Aeros...

With the holidays right around the corner, people are scrambling to get thoughtful, high quality gifts for their loved ones and associates. Fine coffee from Costa Rica is shaping up to be a hot present under the holiday tree this year; a couple of months ago we reported on gourmet coffee from Tarrazu offered as an executive gift by J. Martinez & Company, this time we bring you this press relea...

Outside of La Terraza (The Terrace) Restaurant & Bar, a known nightspot located in the heart of San Jose, a group of gender equality activists staged a loud protest on Saturday night as patrons lined up to enter this well-known dancing and drinking establishment. As reported by metro reporter Laura Ruiz of daily newspaper La Prensa Libre, a kiss between a same-gender couple was the reason for ...

On Day Three of her Costa Rica real estate adventure, Boston accountant Kristine Gorman gets even closer to fulfilling her dream of retiring in our country. On Days One and Two of her trip to Guanacaste, Kris and her family stayed in Playa Flamingo and were very close to making a formal offer on a home on a condo in Tamarindo Beach. To learn more about Kris and her expat mission, read our previous...

Source: OPI Costa Rica Curridabat, a municipality located in the eastern suburbs of San Jose, is home to many bars, but only one of them serves dry spa manicures, semi-permanent gel colors, express pedicures, skin treatments, and Coca Cola products that are not meant to be consumed but rather applied to fingernails. Fashionable Ticas who already familiar with Spanish brand OPI and its Nail Bar i...

Artist rendering of a master bathroom in the Croc's Casino Resort condominium development in Jaco beach Costa RicaOver the last few months, Jaco Beach has become Costa Rica's busiest real estate market, and there is a very strong demand for condos. For the most part, supply is adequate thanks to a few development projects, but buyers are looking for more than just condos for sale in Jaco Beach...

From the concrete jungle of Johannesburg, South Africa, to the wilds of the Costa Rican rainforest is quite a change. Two months ago, South African couple Gary Kritzinger and Shayne Mrazek left behind electric fences and heavy security, hour-long 6 km commutes, and a metropolitan beehive of 12 million people, for a different kind of jungle where their closest neighbors are tree frogs and toucans. ...

Source: Facebook The future of residential living in Costa Rica involves physical security, efficiency, technology, industrial design, and privacy. Lots of privacy. So much privacy, in fact, that you may never see your neighbors. You and your community will be enshrouded behind a veil of secrecy, and the brutalist architecture surrounding you will be similar to that of sci-fi films such as Aeo...

Stylish Outfit By Stradivarius In recent months, three new stores in Costa Rica have opened their doors to the stylish and tragically hip. Express, Forever 21 and Stradivarius are among the new shopping options for trendy Ticas and fashion-conscious expats wanting to look their best with the latest in clothing and accessories. Although all three stores offer clothes and accessories for both...

The Oceano Jaco Beach condos hotel in beautiful Jaco Beach, Costa Rica offers you the latest in affordable, luxury living. Combining the best of both worlds, the Oceano condotel is set up as a boutique hotel containing fully-furnished 1 and 2 bedroom condos. Residents get all the benefits of hotel living, such as a beauty spa, modern fitness center, pool side café with room service, jewelry sho...

Source: Miss Costa Rica Facebook When Fabiana Granados was crowned Miss Costa Rica 2013 over the weekend, hundreds of thousands of Ticos who tuned in to Teletica for the pageant’s broadcast on Teletica clearly heard her exclaim in surprise, and in English: Oh My God! Fabiana Granados’ choice of an English expression to express her elation and surprise at being crowned Queen of all Ticos cau...

El Castillo, COSTA RICA – April 2013 – Rancho Margot, innovator and educator in sustainable community development, permaculture and self-sufficiency, announced enhanced Eco-Literacy Student Programs after years of experience educating students, guests, volunteers and employees at a 400-acre eco lodge near the Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica. Rancho Margot’s Eco-Literacy Student Program aims to...

Costa Rican's are warm caring people People are what make living in another country a positive experience, or a bad one. Here in Costa Rica, it's made up of small communities all over the country and they're never short of smiles and waves as you make your way through them. It has a warm 'hometown' feeling and its filled with people who don't have a care in the world. I've heard so many s...

When Charles Brewer was shown the piece of land in Guanacaste province, Costa Rica, back in 2006, he knew immediately it was what he had been looking for. Located on the Central American nation’s Pacific coast, it consists of 1,200 acres of rolling hills, with numerous overlooks, a crescent beach and roaming monkeys. Brewer, an Atlanta Internet millionaire turned New Urbanist developer, saw...

Boston-area authors escape city life for taste of pura vida lifestyle in new book. A travelogue with a guidebook twist, Two Weeks in Costa Rica entices and educates readers. Cambridge, Massachusetts – Well known as a slice of paradise, Costa Rica has more to offer than just sun and adventure. Matthew Houde and Jennifer Turnbull should know; they have been drawn back to this tropical dest...

Note to readers, this is an opinion piece submitted to The Costa Rica Star by Dave Playfair, sharing some of his experiences with real estate and community developers in Costa Rica. Costa Rica is a land of undeniable natural beauty where the vast majority of its citizens exude the type of kindness and humility reserved for only the most pious of persons. Calm and reserved (except when driving o...

Real estate investors are being urged to take advantage of the perfect storm of foreclosures in the United States. Investors in Costa Rica are giving up on waiting for the next housing bubble and are applying principles of value-based investing before making decisions. With a long-awaited housing market recovery in the United States and a sideways real estate market in Costa Rica, whose advice sho...

There is a poignant scene in the 1996 film Shine, about the life of concert pianist David Helfgott, in which he asks an astrologer to marry him. Mr. Helfgot suffers from a severe emotional disorder, something that the astrologer -who would eventually accept the proposal- knew about. The astrologer's decision came only after she reassured herself that her life was going to change. A lot. Change ...

Marcela Castro Wedel is a physiotherapist and certified instructor of the Pilates and yoga disciplines. She is also a dog trainer who believes that doga, the practice of yoga with a canine companion, is a discipline that carries even more benefits than traditional yoga. Doga combines a series of yoga poses and breathing exercises that humans can perform along with canines. The idea is for both ...