 |
|
|
||||||
|
||||||
 |
||||||
 |
||||||
|
|
||||||||||||||
 |
||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||
 |
 |
|||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||
|
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
||
 |
|||
Romeros Complete Their Journey To Cartago
By Amanda Roberson and Katherine Stanley
Tico Times Staff
aroberson@ticotimes.net
kstanley@ticotimes.net
Thousands of Costa Ricans finished a long journey on foot to pay tribute to the country's patron saint, Nuestra Señora de los Angeles (Our Lady of the Angels) at the basilica by the same name in Cartago, east of San José, yesterday.
Religious groups, families and giggling teenagers filled the 22-kilometer route from San José to Cartago, with the largest crowds traveling Tuesday afternoon and evening.
The journey was a peaceful and uneventful one in terms of crime, according to a statement from the Public Security Ministry. Only two cases of robbery were reported, and three people identified by the last names Méndez, Barboza and Barboza were arrested.
One death occurred, however. Cristhian Rodríguez, 26, was hit by a car and killed while walking through Curridabat, east of San José, Sunday. A man identified by the last name Campos, 53, was also hit and injured. The driver, identified by the last name Montenegro, 26, was arrested five hours later with a blood alcohol level more than twice the legal limit, the daily La Nación reported.
Many walkers also fell victim to dehydration and/or fatigue – Red Cross officials treated 3,620 people for these and other minor conditions, Red Cross spokesperson Gelson Rodríguez said.
Efforts by event organizers to reduce noise and advertising during the pilgrimage appeared to have paid off. The route was quieter and less cluttered than last year, and two long banners from the dairy cooperative Dos Pinos that ran the length of the church in August 2005 (TT, Aug. 5, 2005) were replaced by banners bearing messages about the Virgin Mary.
Upon reaching the church yesterday morning, walkers listened to messages of peace from Episcopal Conference president José Francisco Ulloa during a mass to honor the virgin, known as La Negrita, according to the wire service ACAN-EFE.
President Oscar Arias seconded wishes for peace in the world, particularly in the Middle East.
“I pray for the men and women in the Middle East, that the echo of love resounds over the machine gun, that the dove of peace flies higher than the missiles,” Arias said.
See this Friday's print or online pdf edition of The Tico Times for more on the story.
Costa Rica Celebrates World Breastfeeding Week
Countries around the world are celebrating World Breastfeeding Week this week, and Costa Rica will join in the celebration tomorrow at an inauguration ceremony organized by the National Commission on Breast Feeding (CNLM), the Social Security System (Caja) and the Costa Rican branch of the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF).
World Breastfeeding Week is an initiative to promote breastfeeding during the first six weeks of life, considering the “immense health benefits” it gives babies, including providing essential nutrients, protecting against deadly diseases and promoting their growth and development, according to a statement from UNICEF.
In developing countries, children who are breastfed have a three times greater chance of surviving infancy than those who are not breastfed, the statement said.
Additionally, the nutrition breastfeeding provides can help countries achieve their U.N. Millennium Development Goals, which include decreasing the mortality rates of children under age 5 by two-thirds and eradicating extreme hunger and poverty by 2015.
-Tico Times
Surf Competition Raises Money For Charity
By Adam Foxman
Tico Times Staff
editorial@ticotimes.net
Surfers and local businesses raised more than $20,000 for charities this weekend at the Century 21 Costal Estates Charity Surf Classic in Playa Tamarindo, in the northwestern Guanacaste province, according to a statement from the event's organizers.
The money, which came mostly from sponsors including Century 21 Coastal Estates, Banco Nacional and Stewart Title, will fund ecological and beach safety efforts by the Tamarindo Blue Flag Committee, the Tamarindo Lifeguards and the Tamarindo chapter of the nonprofit Surfrider Foundation.
Sponsors and charity representatives called the event a success.
“For the first time ever, we got a great result from a charity event, and Tamarindo needs it,” said Century 21 Coastal Estates president Nicholas Viale.
Part of the proceeds will pay for four new lifeguard chairs at Playa Tamarindo, the statement said. The remainder will go toward efforts to build a lifeguard tower, improve the beach's water quality and establish the Coastal Estates Foundation, which will sponsor future charity events, Viale said.
Juanita Hayman, head of the Blue Flag Committee, was also pleased with the results of the contest.
“I was really surprised to see the community finally come together for a cause that directly benefits everyone. The most valued possession here is not real estate, it's the beach,” Hayman said in the statement.
The tournament, which drew 100 surfers from around the world, was held at the Tamarindo Estuary.
Costa Rican National Surf Champion Isaac Vega won the Open division; Pan-American Junior Champion Jason Torres won the Men's Junior division, and Nataly Bernold won both the Women's and Junior Women's divisions.
-Tico Times
Number of People Hit and Killed by Cars Increases So Far This Year
During the first seven months of this year, 518 Costa Ricans have been hit and killed by cars on the country's roads, marking 63 more of these deaths than during the same period last year, according to the daily Al Día.
Additionally, 922 people were taken to hospitals in delicate conditions from January to July.
Red Cross assistant director of operations Jorge Rovira told the daily these numbers are “worrisome.”
“Even with all the prevention campaigns, people think ‘this doesn't have to do with me',” Rovira said. “On the streets, people play with life as if it were Russian roulette.”
Carelessness, speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol are among the leading causes of deadly road accidents, the daily reported.
-Tico Times
‘Superman Returns’ Sinks Faster than a Speeding Bullet
 |
Finally, the last son of Krypton is back to fight for justice – Superman flies again. Directed by Bryan Singer, “Superman Returns” is based on a vague history established in “Superman” (1978) and “Superman II” (1980), starring the late Christopher Reeve.
After several years away from Earth, Superman returns to a world that apparently doesn’t need his help anymore; even his beloved Lois Lane has moved on to a new relationship and has a son. Only his nemesis Lex Luthor – played in a big way by Kevin Spacey – recently released from prison, refuses to forget his hated enemy. Now Superman must adjust to this new reality and stop an evil plan that could destroy Earth – sound familiar?
It took Hollywood a long time to bring this mega project to fruition; rumors about the actors and scripts circulated throughout the Internet and on entertainment news sources until Warner Bros. Studios finally put together a remarkable group of people to bring back the man of steel.
 |
New Man of Steel: Unknown Brandon Routh dons the red cape in “Superman Returns.” |
The performances are fine, but not great. The unknown Brandon Routh, who quit his job as a waiter to don the blue uniform and red cape, won’t disappoint fans as an acceptable Superman. Kate Bosworth, on the other hand, is never believable as the workaholic journalist Lois Lane. However, Oscar winner Kevin Spacey definitively transmits the essence of the fiendish Lex Luthor – if it were true that a movie is as good as its villain, this one would have been a smash. And the late Marlon Brando returns from the grave as Jor-EL, Superman’s father, thanks to archive footage and computer technology to recreate Brando’s voice.
Though Singer has experience directing successful big-screen comic-book adaptations, such as “X-Men,” it would seem that the setting of Metropolis did little to inspire his creativity, because he never achieves the magic that captivated audiences in the 1980s films starring the late Christopher Reeve. With a weak plot lacking any originality, the movie offers nothing new, neither in the story nor in the action scenes. The last minutes of the film look like a cheap soap opera and seem an unfortunate way to close a movie that promised to be an epic film – a promise that ended up broken.
However, as long as Hollywood needs something to rescue the box office, it’s likely we will continue to see sequels of this profitable franchise. Let’s hope they find different and new ideas with which to deliver them to us.
 |
Editorial Cartoon | Weekend | Exchange Rates | Fishing | Culture | Classified Ads
Display Ads | Subscribe! | Travel Guide | Archives | Links | About Us | Newsstand Locations
Contact Us | Policies