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Toro Toro! The Corrida de Toros a la Tica, a bullfight with a Costa Rican twist, pits man vs. bull in San José's southeastern Barrio Zapote. Only, this “bullfight”, unlike its Spanish or Mexican counterpart, lets the toro get away unscathed. At the annual New Year festivity running through Sunday, ordinary young men – not matadors – enter the ring to prove their courage by trying to touch the bull's horn without getting gored. Human revelers, more than the beasts, had better watch their hides. |
| Ronald Reyes | Tico Times. |
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| High Times for Drug Patrol |
| The bounty from the largest marijuana bust in Costa Rican history is sitting in a forensics lab, awaiting its demise. |
| See More... |
| Second Referendum a Possibility in Costa Rica |
| Costa Rica may have another referendum on two patent bills, thanks to a recent decision by the Supreme Elections Tribunal (TSE) allowing environmental groups who oppose the laws to collect signatures. |
| See More... |
| Costa Rica Serves Up Junior Tennis Tournament |
| Tennis champs of tomorrow are competing this week in Costa Rica in the Coffee Bowl, which in its 44 years has become one of the top junior tennis tournaments in the world. |
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| Alajuela and Heredia Buses Back on Paseo Colón |
| Buses headed from Alajuela and Heredia to San José have returned to Paseo Colón after almost two years rerouting to Avenida 10. |
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‘Michael Clayton' Well
Done but Nothing New |
I asked my friend if he wanted to go with me to see “Michael Clayton.” His response: “Why do you need to see him?”
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| High Times for Drug Patrol |
By Alex Leff
Tico Times Staff | aleff@ticotimes.net
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The bounty from the largest marijuana bust in Costa Rican history is sitting in a forensics lab, awaiting its demise.
Police made the record seizure last week – 4.4 metric tons, or enough to roll 17,600 joints, according to the Public Security Ministry's calculations.
During a patrol Dec. 22 with the U.S. Coast Guard off Costa Rica's Pacific coast, police spotted a vessel carrying pot from Colombia, destined for the United States.
The 48-foot-long ship's crew fled, abandoning their boat, which according to the Public Security Ministry, was in such decrepit conditions that it sank while agents tried to toe it.
No arrests were made.
The ship's cargo, if it had survived the journey north, would have grossed about $106 million.
Instead, the 4,400 kilos of marijuana are being held in a lab in San Joaquin, Heredia, north of San José, pending authorization to be incinerated, security ministry spokesman Jesús Ureña told The Tico Times.
The bust beats the country's record set in 1993 when police seized 3,789 kilos of marijuana off a ship called the Fénix.
The record was broken just days before another crackdown – this time of cannabis plants growing camouflaged among cornfields in the southern Caribbean region of Talamanca. Narcotics agents Thursday uprooted 148,726 marijuana plants to be bought and sold closer to home, said a police statement. The plants grew 10 centimeters to 4 meters tall, in 19 different fields. They join the total 2 million pot plants impounded in Costa Rica before year's end.
“The marijuana grown in Talamanca was probably meant to be dealt here in Costa Rica,” said Ureña, “while the shipment headed from Colombia was most likely going for sale in the United States.” |
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| Second Referendum a Possibility in Costa Rica |
By Gillian Gillers
Tico Times Staff | ggillers@ticotimes.net
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Costa Rica may have another referendum on two patent bills, thanks to a recent decision by the Supreme Elections Tribunal (TSE) allowing environmental groups who oppose the laws to collect signatures.
More than 133,000 signatures must be collected within nine months to hold a referendum on the bills, which are required in some form for Costa Rica to enter the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA).
The decision is a blow to the executive branch and the 38 legislators who support CAFTA and are working hard to pass 11 bills that would put Costa Rica in compliance with the treaty. The deadline for the bills, which include the two patent proposals, is Feb. 29.
Legislators can continue discussing the patent bills until the required signatures are collected and elections officials announce a referendum July 7 at the earliest, according to a TSE statement. Some 5% of registered voters, or 133,545 people, must sign a petition for the referendum to go forward. It could be held Oct. 7 at the earliest, one year after voters approved CAFTA in the country's first nationwide referendum. |
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| Costa Rica Serves Up Junior Tennis Tournament |
Tennis champs of tomorrow are competing this week in Costa Rica in the Coffee Bowl, which in its 44 years has become one of the top junior tennis tournaments in the world.
This year will see about 128 boys and girls from 45 countries, battling it out through Saturday at the Costa Rican Country Club in Escazú, a suburb southwest of San José. Players fit in the 18-and-under and 14-and-under age brackets.
The Coffee Bowl, included in the International Tennis Federation Junior Circuit, was first held in 1968 and has through the years hosted such talents as a young Björn Borg, Sweden's former world tennis champion.
Top players include 17-year-old Salvadoran Marcelo Arévalo, second seed to Russian Alexei Grigorov, who turns 18 next month and who holds the 33rd spot among juniors worldwide.
Eastern Europe also leads in young women players, with Russia's Elena Chernyakova, Slovenia's Polona Hercog and Romania's Ana Bogdan.
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-ACAN-EFE
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Alajuela and Heredia Buses Back on Paseo Colón |
Buses headed from Alajuela and Heredia to San José have returned to Paseo Colón after almost two years rerouting to Avenida 10.
The busy San José street now sees two bus routes connecting the capital with the northwest city of Alajuela – one provided by the TUASA bus company and another by Station Wagon Alajuela – and another route with service to Heredia, northwest of San José, the daily La Nación reported.
In March 2006, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport moved all three to Avenida 10, where they shared a lane with buses to Escazú, Flores and La Aurora.
Entering San José through Paseo Colón, the buses connect with routes to Pavas, La Uruca, other areas of the Alajuela province, Guanacaste and Puntarenas.
This recent rerouting, according to transport authorities quoted in the daily La Nación, was necessary to avoid traffic jams caused by construction work on Avenida 4.
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-Tico Times |
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‘Michael Clayton’ Well Done but Nothing New |
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I asked my friend if he wanted to go with me to see “Michael Clayton.” His response: “Why do you need to see him?”
Named for its protagonist, a “fixer” in a New York law firm, “Michael Clayton” the movie is the latest legal-suspense thriller to be offered up by Hollywood. With a superb cast headed by George Clooney and Tilda Swinton, the only reason a film like this would fail would be because of those behind the camera. Thankfully, that is not the case. Tony Gilroy, who makes his directing debut with this film, has crafted a textbook example of how to successfully write and direct a suspense thriller not for dummies.
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| Title Role: George Clooney plays a “fixer” in a big New York law firm in “Michael Clayton.” |
Photo courtesy of
Clayton Productions LLC |
The movie is well executed, though the pace is a bit slow and the plot somewhat predictable. In a recent surge of end-of-movie twists and turns that we've seen come out of Hollywood, “Michael Clayton” makes no effort to tease you along toward a mind-blowing twist at the end, yet it manages to keep you interested the whole way through. And the predictability seems not to be a weakness but rather a strength that helps to establish tension and a solid storyline.
Despite all this, the film doesn't have the entertainment value you might expect. With the possible exception of legal thriller addicts and John Grisham buffs, this movie can definitely wait for home viewing. The formula used here offers nothing new for those familiar with the genre.
The performances are excellent, however. The presence of a large number of unknown actors in supporting roles does not go unnoticed; they perform well in the backdrop of the story and their unknown faces add a sense of genuineness to the film. With this and other movies such as the “Ocean's Eleven” series, Clooney and fast friend Steven Soderbergh – executive producers of “Michael Clayton,” along with James Holt and Anthony Minghella – seem big on seeking out new talent to complement already known names.
Though new to directing, Gilroy – who has some excellent writing credits under his belt, including the Bourne series – definitely has an eye for stimulating shot compositions. I will be first in line when his next film, “Duplicity,” starring Clive Owen and Julia Roberts, comes out, with what I'm sure will be a more mature and experienced approach.
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