September 26, 2007

Guilty as Charged: The highly publicized trial of public defender Luis Fernando Burgos came to an end yesterday when he was sentenced to 35 years in prison for murdering his wife Maureen Hidalgo.

In Defense of Dolphins: Humane Society International representatives Gretel Delgadillo (right), Jennifer Felt (center) and Luisa Trujillo (left) yesterday held signs with the estimated number of dolphins killed each year in Japan during a peaceful protest outside the Japanese Embassy in San José. Various animal rights groups attended the protest against the killing of dolphins off Japanese coasts.

Christopher Huber | Tico Times

Colombia Gets Green Light to Export Fruit to Costa Rica

Arias Calls for Alliance with Municipalities

Public Defender Gets 35 Years For Strangling Wife

By Blake Schmidt
Tico Times Staff | bschmidt@ticotimes.net

Public defender Luis Fernando Burgos was sentenced to 35 years in prison yesterday for murdering his wife Maureen Hidalgo.

In a dramatic verdict reading that drew a packed, sweaty crowd to the courtroom in downtown San José, former state prosecutor Zulay Rojas was also sentenced to two years for failing to report Burgos' murder confession. But judges reduced the sentence of Rojas, who is also Burgos' ex-girlfriend, to a five-year probation period.

The three presiding judges in the case based their decision on the testimony of two key witnesses – one of them Rojas – who testified that Burgos had confessed the murder to them, as well as other testimonial evidence and phone records investigators seized showing who Burgos called before and after the murder.

Prosecutors faced a case with no physical evidence and an inconclusive autopsy since Burgos apparently covered up his tracks after the murder, leaving no evidence in his apartment where he kept his strangled wife's body for two days before disposing of it.

Still, the defense failed to discredit the testimonies of the prosecution's key witnesses, including Rojas and Antonio Calderón, said judge María de los Ángeles Arana.

“There was nothing about the characteristics of witnesses who supported (Rojas' testimony against Burgos ) that showed they were interested in harming Burgos,” she said as she read part of the hour-long verdict to a standing-room-only crowd, explaining that Hidalgo had long been a victim of Burgos' domestic violence.

Family, friends and acquaintances of those involved in the case, press and curious Costa Ricans started filling the courtroom three hours before the verdict reading. The crowd ended up packing the courtroom, the hall leading to the courtroom and spilling out onto the sidewalk in front of the court.

Burgos reported the disappearance of his wife July 13, 2006, two days after she was last seen (TT, July 21, 2006). Two hours after Burgos made his report, Chief Prosecutor Francisco Dall'Anese received an anonymous call from someone (later revealed to have been judge Elizabeth Tossi) who had received a tip that Burgos was the murderer.

Five days after the murder, a man riding his bike noticed some low-flying vultures circling Hidalgo's rotting body just off the highway in Atenas, a coffee town northwest of San José.

Burgos was also ordered to pay $350,000 in damages to Hidalgo's family, whom he “tortured” for days after the murder by leading them on to believe that Hidalgo could still be alive, said judge Ana Patricia Araya.

First Leatherback Turtle Arrives on Pacific Coast

By Dave Sherwood
Tico Times Staff | dsherwood@ticotimes.net

The first leatherback sea turtles of the season arrived recently to nest on the sandy shores of the northwestern province of Guanacaste.

The turtles were spotted at Playa Junquillal, a small beach community just south of Tamarindo, and Playa Grande, a beach inside Las Baulas National Marine Park, just to the north.

The turtles' unusually early arrival – almost one month ahead of schedule, according to biologists, has given conservationists hope of a fruitful season ahead.

The Junquillal nest was found by locals on the beach and then protected by a crew of local beach patrollers, known as the “Baula Boys,” who put a fence around it to prevent local dogs from disturbing it.

The turtle that built the nest is expected to arrive two to three more times at the beach, as most leatherbacks do.

Junquillal is the site of a community project funded by the World Wildlife Fund and directed by Argentine biologist Gabriel Francia that seeks to educate locals on the importance of turtles to both the ecosystem and local tourism.

Francia reports that turtle poaching during the two-year program has dropped from nearly 100% to 15%.

In nearby Playa Grande, five turtles arrived in so many days, according to park director Rodney Piedra. He says the accelerated pace bodes well for surpassing last year's total of just 58 turtles – the lowest return of nesting females since record-keeping began, and perhaps the lowest ever.

“We're hoping for a much greater number of turtles this year, improving our chances for conserving the species,” Piedra said. Leatherback sea turtles in the Pacific Ocean are on the brink of extinction, their numbers having plummeted 90% during the past 20 years.

Both biologists caution that increasing development on local nesting beaches, which leads to lights that disorient baby turtles, is threatening populations, as is mortality at sea and egg poaching.

U.S. Consulate Short Staffed

The U.S. Consulate in Costa Rica is recommending that those requesting a visa to travel to the United States in December or January make their appointments promptly since the consulate is currently short-staffed.

Getting an appointment for a visa now takes about five weeks. The consulate is working on reducing this time and hopes more workers come to the country soon to allow more visa interviews to be conducted and reduce waiting time, according to a statement from the U.S. Embassy released yesterday.

Information about getting a U.S. visa is posted at http://sanjose.usembassy.gov. Those wishing to make an appointment should call 0800-052-1465.

Colombia Gets Green Light
to Export Fruit to Costa Rica

Bogota -- Colombian fruit growers will be able to export their products to Costa Rica and Brazil, thanks to agreements reached during bilateral meetings with authorities from these countries yesterday in Bogota, according to a statement from the Colombian Institute of Livestock and Agriculture (ICA).

The institute, which sets sanitation standards for the country's exports, said Costa Rican authorities approved granadilla, papaya, pitahaya amarilla, curuba, uchuva and asparagus to be imported from Colombia.

Brazilian authorities gave the green light to import Colombian feijoa, passion fruit, granadilla, curuba and lulo.

To gain access to these markets, Colombia worked to improve sanitary controls by combating the insects that tend to plague these fruits, said ICA manager Andrés Valencia.

Costa Rica and Brazil make the sixth and seventh countries Colombia has opened its agricultural market to so far this year.

-EFE

Arias Calls for Alliance with Municipalities

Presidency Minister Rodrigo Arias yesterday called for stronger ties between the central government and municipalities, independent of their political leanings, during a ceremony to sign an agreement giving local governments more resources for urban planning.

The minister's statements came almost three weeks after a memo leaked to the press co-authored by then Second Vice-President and Planning Minister Kevin Casas and National Liberation Party (PLN) legislator Fernando Sánchez shocked the country by suggesting that the government use questionable tactics in its campaign for the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA), including withholding money from mayors whose cantons don't vote in favor of the controversial trade pact in an upcoming referendum (TT, Oct. 14).

“The central government is and will continue being an ally and friend of all cantons, local governments and their authorities, without asking for anything in exchange besides an efficient, transparent, honest commitment to their communities and to the real need of the population,” Arias said.

Since the memorandum took the national and political spotlight, the question has been raised as to whether the government shares the sentiments Casas and Sánchez expressed. Casas has since stepped down from his posts as Planning Minister and Second Vice-President and Sánchez has stepped down from the two legislative commissions on which he served, though he remains in the Legislative Assembly.

Arias yesterday made this statement among dozens of mayors at Casa Presidencial during a ceremony to sign an agreement between the Institute for Municipal Development, National Institute for Housing and Urban Development and the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) to allow local governments and municipal councils access to technical assistance for urban planning.

-Tico Times

Avocado: The Aphrodisiacal Pear

When the conquistadors first gazed upon this pear-shaped fruit, they did not expect to find such an amazing new discovery. A regular in the diet of the Aztecs, Toltecs and Olmecs, Persea americana, the avocado, has been consumed by humans for thousands of years.

Native to Mexico and Central and South America, the Spanish word aguacate comes from the Aztec ahuacuatl, literally meaning “the tree of testicles.” No doubt the name derived from the way the fruit of the tree hangs in pairs, reminding those ancient peoples of the human male anatomy.

Spanish and British shipmen embraced the fruit as a gift sent from the heavens to satiate their longing for the flavor of butter. By the time Cortés entered Tenochtitlán in Mexico, avocado was present in a number of dishes served in the Aztec imperial court, such as the ahuaca-mulli sauce of mashed avocados, onions and fresh cilantro. It is interesting to note that today's humble guacamole was originally a delicacy served in hopes of increasing the male libido.

The conquistadors discovered that avocado seed yields a milky liquid that becomes red when exposed to air. They found that this reddish-brown, or even blackish, indelible liquid could be used as ink; some documents written in this ink are still in existence today. The English living in Jamaica called avocado “alligator pear” for its slightly bumpy skin.

New-World Delicacy: Loaded with “good” fat, avocado is a highly versatile ingredient in tropical cuisine. Pictured here, grilled avocado with curried pejibaye.

Marco González | Tico Times

Throughout the centuries, the popularity of the avocado kept spreading, until the fruit became massively grown in the early 1900s in the southern United States. California postman Rudolf Hass discovered the avocado that bears his name in 1926. His original tree is still growing in La Habra Heights, California. Little did he know that his name would be used for the most popular avocado variety in the world today.

Although the avocado is high in fat, 60% of it is monounsaturated or “good” fat, 20% is polyunsaturated and only 20% is saturated. The edible portion of a nine-ounce Hass avocado yields about one ounce of fat. Nutritionally, the avocado leads all other fruits in beta-carotene content and exceeds even the banana in potassium content.

While other fruits gain sugar as they ripen, the avocado's sugar content decreases as it matures. Avocados are rich in B vitamins, especially niacin, as well as calcium, iron and potassium. In fact, avocados contain more protein, potassium, magnesium, folic acid, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, biotin, pantothenic acid, vitamin E and vitamin K per ounce than any other fruit.

Though the avocado is calorie-dense (one half-cup of pureed flesh contains 204 calories), it packs a protein content of 2.4 grams, with 3.1 grams of fiber and only 8 grams of carbohydrates in a half-cup serving. Though it has numerous nutritional benefits, avocados should be eaten in moderation because of their high fat content.

Recently, avocados have been recognized as a good source of two beneficial compounds: beta-sitosterol and glutathione. Beta-sitosterol is a widely prescribed anti-cholesterol compound that interferes with cholesterol absorption, thus promoting lower cholesterol levels. Glutathione is made up of three amino acids, glutamic acid, cysteine and glycine, which function as antioxidants, therefore improving blood circulation.

Gastronomically speaking, the avocado has transcended all borders to be absorbed by numerous types of cuisines, from its original Mexican table magic to new approaches in French, Italian and even Asian cooking. In many restaurants, it is not uncommon to find dishes ranging from pasta with creamy avocado sauces to tempura-battered avocado.

In Costa Rica, the green-skinned variety (known as “ Florida ” avocado) is most common. Some farmers have begun to cultivate “Hass” varieties with decent results, since Ticos do enjoy the taste of Mexican and Californian cuisine. In typical Tico cuisine, the avocado can be found in salads, accompanying casados or ceviches, or in the quintessential avocado dip, guacamole. Similar in style to its Mexican counterpart, Costa Rican guacamole may include chopped tomatoes and is usually not too spicy.

Few fruits can be so versatile in the savory kitchen as the avocado. Don't be afraid of breaking the rules and using avocado in unorthodox ways; your palate will thank you for experimenting with this exquisite tropical delicacy.

Today's recipe: grilled avocado with curried pejibaye (peach palm) ¡Buen provecho!