Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff Pro-Trump cheerleaders ‘Diamond and Silk’ get the hands down ‘thumbs-up political play of the week,’ not former FBI Director James Comey with his boorish, self-glorifying book “A Higher Loyalty” that comes out this week but has been leaked to the press since las...

Internationally renowned classical ballet company Bolshoi Ballet will have presentations in Costa Rica May 12 and May 13 at the Melico Salazar Theater in downtown San Jose. Saturday May 12 the show will begin at 8 p.m. while on Sunday, May 13 the presentation is scheduled at 5 p.m. The Bolshoi Ballet is based at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, Russia; founded in 1776, it is ne one of world’s ol...

The famous theater show Fuerza Bruta (Brutal Force) will have presentations in Costa Rica in the month of May, at the Palacio de los Deportes in Heredia, the dates have not been announced yet but it is expected to be in the country for at least two weeks. The immersive spectacle has had presentations in 35 countries and 58 cities, this will be the first time in Costa Rica where they will bring ...

Costa Rican biker Kenneth Tencio “Pollis” managed to win a historic second place in the FISE BMX Freestyle World Series celebrated in the city of Hiroshima, Japan. This is the first time the Costa Rican is able to take the podium in a FISE competition, the most important in the world. This achievement puts Tencio in the second position of the world ranking with 9 thousand points. The first p...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOCkXU9xACg&feature=youtu.be...

An unprecedented scientific expedition left from the Galapagos Island in Ecuador this past April 2 and will conclude April 13 when it arrives in Isla del Coco (Coco Island) in Costa Rica; the purpose of this expedition is to identify the marine migratory species that use this route and quantify their distribution, abundance and diversity of their predators. According to Zdenka Piskulich from th...

The two Island-class patrol boats of 110 feet that the United States donated to Costa Rica's Coast Guard Service finally left the Baltimore dock towards Puerto Caldera, Puntarenas, where they will be used to battle organized crime and drug trafficking, as well as in the protection of marine biodiversity and humanitarian actions. "It was a proud moment to see this vessels, named after our nation...

The first Central American satellite, developed by Costa Ricans will be launched the afternoon of this Monday, April 2 from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, USA. The rocket Space Falcon 9 and the Dragon spaceship will be in charge of the transportation of the small satellite, which was manufactured with CubeSat technology, and consists on a cube that measures only 10 centimeters (...

Six people have died so far this Holy Week in Costa Rica as a result of water accidents in the different vacation hot spots in the country, five more have been rescued and required medical attention, while the Coast Guard Service has been patrolling the beaches that have prevented many more tragedies. The last reported death was of a North American tourist in the area of Playa Hermosa de Jacó, ...

The activity started on the night of March 29th with a small eruption that lasted for about 10 minutes, a column of gas and ashes that reached just 200 meters above the active crater, the activity, however continued sporadically throughout March 30th. According to the National Seismology Network another eruption was registered at the Turrialba Volcano in Cartago at around 12:30 p.m. on Friday a...

A strange car accident in which a vehicle fell from the fourth floor of a parking lot in Costa del Este, Panama, caused the death of a 19-year old Costa Rican, a 17 year-old Venezuelan girl and her father, a 60-year old man. Apparently the young man, identified as Abel Sandi, was in the car with two friends, of last names Murillo Perrone, and the father of both a man named Eduardo Murillo; one ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJXMrXuzanE N.E Patriot’s Player Duron Harmon Attempts to Enter Costa Rica With Marijuana...

Holy Week is here and in a country like Costa Rica where the majority of the population is Catholic, there are many religious traditions taking place all around the country. The “procesiones” ( processions or religious parades) began yesterday with the Virgen de la Dolorosa and continued this Palms Sunday with the reenactment of the entry of Jesus to Jerusalem. While some communities make th...

Fishermen protested on Monday this week expressing their opposition to the  the resolution of the Constitutional Chamber  which annulled the trawling permits that had been issued by Costa Rican Fisheries and Aquaculture Institute (Incopesca); their pressure apparently paid off, as 35 members of congress approved in first debate a project that would allow trawling practices once again. The Governm...

"Minutes to Die: Snakebite - The World's Ignored Health Crisis", is a documentary produced by the Lillian Lincoln Foundation, directed and written by James Reid and narrated by Mike Rowe which seeks to raise awareness on the snakebite crisis plaguing the rural poor in some areas of the world. The documentary also highlights the work done by the University of Costa Rica's Clodomiro Picado Institute...

Watch a video created by the the Observatory of Volcanic and Seismic Activity in Costa Rica (OVSICORI) which showcases the activity of the Turrialba Volcano in Cartago, Costa Rica, from January through March 2018. The strombolian (relatively mild) activity continues at this active volcano. The video shows samples of the “bombs” erupted by the volcano close to the crater, as well as the impres...

Frenchman Tom Pages was crowned king of the twelfth edition of the X-Knights 2018 in Costa Rica. The X-Knights is the most important freestyle motocross event in the region, it took place this Saturday, March 17 at the National Stadium in La Sabana, San Jose. Pages is one of the most popular riders, famous for his unique tricks and style; Pages had been absent of the last two editions of thi...

Image for illustration purposes (Jumping sting rays in Santa Elena, Guanacaste. Photo BY: Luciano Capelli) Copa de Arbol Beach and Rainforest Resort located in Drake Bay, Osa Península in the South Pacific of Costa Rica, posted the following video of a group of Devil Rays as they jump and “fly” out of the water in what is a beautiful and unique spectacle. It is not uncommon to see groups of ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgv51FyDHiQ Learn more: Pura Vida Presidential Elections in Costa Rica – Between Mouthwash and Gibberish President of Costa Rica Signs Anti-Nepotism Law ...

Pole dance combines dance and acrobatics, it requires a lot of strength, coordination, flexibility and ability and besides being very sexy it is also a great exercise. The times when pole dancing was considered vulgar are behind us, and now pole dancing has gained a lot of popularity as a form of fitness, an exercise that will not only help build your muscles and stay fit, but will also do wond...

NatGeo posted today a beautiful video (included below) of a baby sloth that was rescued in Costa Rica. The story behind this: The baby two-toed sloth was rescued in the area of Osa Peninsula, where an expat from Ohio, USA, Dirk Morgan, owner of Morgan’s Jungle Lodge, learned from guests about the sloth holding on to a rock and crying for help in the area known as Punta Tigre, they immediate...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQEdUFO52lY  ...

The Coca Cola Company officially announced the establishment of one of its largest and most technologically advanced plants in the city of Liberia, Guanacaste. The new plan represents an initial investment of approximately $50 million and will be located across the Daniel Oduber International Airport in the Solarium Free Trade Zone; the plant of 34,000 square meters (365,973 square feet or 8.4 ...

This March 7, 2018 Starbucks Coffee Company opens the doors to its Visitor Center at Hacienda Alsacia, located on the company’s 600-acre (240 hectare) coffee farm on the slopes of the Poas volcano in Costa Rica. Hacienda Alsacia is a working farm that has served as a global research and development facility for Starbucks since 2013. Now open to the public, visitors will have the chance to experien...

The Turrialba Volcano in Cartago, Costa Rica had for the past weeks presented a diminished seismic activity and also a decreased degassification; however, the volcano raised its voice again this March 7th when it entered an strombolian eruption phase (relatively mild blasts). The phase which began at 00:00 hours included the emission of gases, ashes and incandescent fragments of fresh lava whic...

Origins Ecolodge is located in the region of Upala in Alajuela, Costa Rica; it recently invested an approximate US $3 million in a complete renovation and is now offering its clients a unique an luxurious experience that involves not only their space and services but also their gastronomy offer. The hotel is the creation of French investor Thierry Le Goascoz who wanted to create a space inspire...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJy0mBaWWXs Read more: Costa Rican Presidential Candidate Fabricio Alvarado’s Team Says Only “Heterosexual” for His Government...

The sixth edition of the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week (MBFW) San Jose already has its dates set for Wednesday, May 2 through Saturday, May 5 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Escazu. The most important fashion event in the country will once again give national designers and models the opportunity to showcase their talent and take their collections to other international runways. Leonora Jimenez...

Marcos Vose actually lives in the tree house of his mind overlooking water falls, tropical-rain forests, white-faced monkeys, majestic macaws, silent panthers and red-eyed frogs under blue skies, white puffy clouds and day moons. He has many paintings that reveal his address but no photographs -- for his world becomes reality at the end of his paintbrush. Rarely does anyone describe a fine-art ...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff Liberals everywhere beware there is a new voice to be reckoned with – that of Dana Loesch – the National Rifle Association’s chief spokeswoman. She has blasted upon the political landscape taking on mainstream media often appearing on CNN, NBC, CBS, ABC and, of ...

Costa Rican MMA fighter Jorge Calvo was facing Mexican Irving Amaya in the LUX 002 event in Mexico City, Mexico, organized by Lux Fight League when the Mexican suffered an unfortunate and painful injury. Amaya was preparing an attack on Calvo but Calvo was able to block the kick with his leg, unfortunately the Mexican fractured his tibia and fibula in a dramatic way. The accident occurred durin...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRcrt4r069A See the finished cartoon here: How to Pass a Tank Through Riteve in Costa Rica Read the article: Bulletproof Tactical Vehicles Donated by The US to Costa Rica Didn’t Pass Technical Revision...

Authorities in Costa Rica are concerned as presence of Central America gang members “mareros” increases in the country. On February 20 a native from El Salvador was captured as a suspect of a robbery, he is allegedly a member of a “mara” (gang). From only 3 cases associated with maras in 2016 the number increased to 16 in 2017, according to official data by the Migratory Police. The members ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pw3arljMNbc Read more: Interesting Expats of Costa Rica : Kayak Fisherman Lance Clinton from Jaco Beach...

Out alone at sea in his small Hobie kayak Lance Clinton is King of Jaco Bay. Nobody can touch what this former Seattle stockbroker does in Costa Rica’s largest beach town. He’s a one-man wrecking crew armed with a fishing pole and a GoPro camera. Needless to say he loves the fight. “One of my favorite aspects of catching fish from a kayak is the adrenaline rush. Here I am in this tiny little pl...

Tourism is the main economic activity for Costa Rica, we are in the middle of the high season and having a lot of traffic in the airports is a good thing, or at least one would think that, except that for the past few months many tourists have entered or left the country with the bad experience of having to wait in line for a very long time at the Juan Santamaria Airport. The posts on different...

Most expats and Ticos alike remember the infamous death of multi-millionaire hedge fund manager John Felix Bender in Florida de Baru in 2010, and the subsequent three trials of Bender's wife, Ann Patton Bender, for Intentional Homicide. The Bender case put the Southern Zone of Costa Rica in the international news spotlight, and its infamy was spread far and wide by extensive television coverage on...

Over 100 free activities for the entire family will be part of the Amon Cultural Festival that will take place Saturday, March 3 in one of the most historic and emblematic neighborhoods in Costa Rica, Barrio Amon. This is one of the most important urban festivals in San Jose, and this is its third edition. Concerts, art exhibits, dancing shows, video mapping, theater, workshops, tours are just ...

The rural areas of Costa Rica are full of traditions that many times go unnoticed and that perhaps do not receive the credit deserved for their cultural and historic value; one of this traditions is the National Mules Festival. Celebrated every year in February in the area of Parrita, Puntarenas, this tradition began in properties in Esterillos in 1989, it started as a form of entertainment, an...

Two passengers of an Air Canada flight that had as destination Costa Rica, suffered minor injuries after the plane hit severe turbulence which forced the flight to be returned to Pearson Airport in Toronto. Flight AC1806 declared the emergency as it was flying over Knoxville at around 8 p.m. this Thursday, February 15. The two patients had to be taken to the hospital by Peel Paramedics, whil...