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02 Dic 2005 |
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Daily Edition: San José, Costa Rica, December 02, 2005
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Mother of Dog-Attack Victim to
Sue Costa Rican Government
Juana Francisca Mairena, the mother of Natividad Canda, the Nicaraguan man killed by two Rottweiler guard dogs Nov. 10, announced yesterday that she will pursue legal action in the case of her son. Mairena's lawyer, Luis Fernando Sáenz, told reporters he would first file a complaint against the owner of the property where the attack occurred and the guard on the property.
(Click for more)
First Fair to Celebrate International
Day of Disabled People
For two days, the Museum of Forms, Spaces and Sounds will become a center of creative expression during a fair in honor of the International Day of Disabled People, celebrated Dec. 3.
(Click for more)
Study Reveals that Costa Ricans
Are Misinformed about AIDS
A survey released by the Institute of Social Studies in Population (IDESPO) of Universidad Nacional yesterday, which was World AIDS Day, revealed that while discriminatory perceptions about AIDS and HIV-infected people have greatly decreased, misinformation about the disease still plagues Costa Ricans.
(Click for more)
December 02
Free Concerts
By Domine Deus Choir of Parroquia de Mercedes Norte and the Chamber Orchestra of Tres Ríos, with choir director Patricia Araya, orchestra director Verny Siles, Dec. 3, 7 p.m., María Auxiliadora Church, downtown Cartago; Dec. 4, 7 p.m., Immaculate Conception Church, downtown Heredia. Info: 833-5915.
Christmas Opening at Parque de Diversiones
Costa Rica 's only amusement park will be full of action on Dec. 4, when visitors witness the opening of its Christmas celebrations. Activities start at 8 a.m. when the characters of the park welcome children, at 1 p.m., kids will be entertained with a play; after this, Maromero Group will be offering a concert. At 4:15 p.m. kids and adults will have a great surprise, Santa will arrive in a helicopter and once he lands, he and his reindeers and elves will be in a parade. Later the Band of the Alajuela Insitute will offer more music. At 4:35 p.m. visitors will listen to some Christmas Carols. People shouldn't miss the presentation of Senderos Group, one of the best of the country, which will perform the musical “Nace Jesús.” At 6 p.m., there will be another parade with Santa, some fireworks and storytelling to bid to the day's celebrations. The park is on the parallel road between Hospital Mexico and the General Cañas Highway, 2 km. west of Hospital Mexico.
Telethon
48-hour telethon looks to raise funds for the Hospital de las Sonrisas ( Hospital of Smiles ), a future critical-care ward of the Children's Hospital, 9 p.m. Dec. 2, to midnight Dec. 3, Palacio de los Deportes, Heredia. Donations can be made year-round at Banco Nacional, account #100-02-000-617058-3, 150 m south of Lacner y Sáenz, Paseo Colón. Info: 233-2030, www.ayudemos.com.
Open-Air Art Show
The soccer field in front of Escuela Roosevelt, behind Outlet Mall in San Pedro, will fill with music, food and art exhibits from various art museums this weekend. Don't miss this one.
Edited By María Gabriela Díaz
Tico Times Staff
mgdiaz@ticotimes.net
Mother of Dog-Attack Victim to
Sue Costa Rican Government
By Leland Baxter-Neal
Tico Times Staff
lbaxter@ticotimes.net
Juana Francisca Mairena, the mother of Natividad Canda, the Nicaraguan man killed by two Rottweiler guard dogs Nov. 10, announced yesterday that she will pursue legal action in the case of her son. Mairena's lawyer, Luis Fernando Sáenz, told reporters he would first file a complaint against the owner of the property where the attack occurred and the guard on the property.
“The complaint will consist of submitting a series of facts before the Public Ministry to establish whether the people who participated in the events of that day have some type of criminal responsibility,” Sáenz said.
He added that he would later present a lawsuit against the Costa Rican government for their ultimate responsibility for the actions of the public security officials who were on the scene and, according to the lawyer, did not do enough to save Canda's life.
Canda died as he arrived at the Max Peralta Hospital in Cartago, east of San José, from blood loss after being mauled by two Rottweilers for more than an hour as police, emergency officials and a news team looked on. Firefighters sprayed water from a fire hose in an attempt to drive the animals away, but police said they could not separate the dogs from the victim, nor shoot at them for fear of hitting the victim. However, video footage of the attack showed the animals leaving the body and walking a few feet away.
Witnesses and the guard of the property said that Canda, as well as two others who escaped the animals, had entered the property of the auto shop Taller Zuñiga in Cartago, east of San José, illegally and the dogs attacked defending the property. Canda was an illegal immigrant with a criminal record.
In a surprising development, the victim's brother, Regino Canda, said at the press conference yesterday that the guard on the property knew him and his brother well, information that in the three weeks since the attack had yet to come to light. He explained that he has been married to one of the guard's daughters for eight years and living in the same home, and the victim had been with another daughter of the guard for three years, and had stayed at the guard's home on multiple occasions. However, the victim and the guard's daughter had ended the relationship prior to his death, and Regino Canda said that there had been problems between the two brothers and the guard as of late.
The Tico Times was unable to contact the guard or anyone from the shop to confirm this information by press time.
See next Friday's print or online pdf version of The Tico Times for more on the dog attack and lawsuit.
First Fair to Celebrate International
Day of Disabled People
By María Gabriela Díaz
Tico Times Staff
mgdiaz@ticotimes.net
For two days, the Museum of Forms, Spaces and Sounds will become a center of creative expression during a fair in honor of the International Day of Disabled People, celebrated Dec. 3.
From 9 a.m.- 2 p.m., today and tomorrow, the museum, located in the former train station to the Atlantic, in downtown San José, will exhibit Christmas decorations, artwork and toys made by disabled youth, said María Elena Masís, communications chief for the Museum of Costa Rican Art.
The Christmas articles will be for sale and all funds collected will go to the artists, Masís said.
Activities at the fair will include a dance presentation by the group Tejedores de Esperanza (Weavers of Hope), today at 9:30 a.m., and a presentation by the Mercedes Norte School band, from the province of Heredia, at 10:00 a.m.
Saturday at noon, the theater group Alma (Soul) will put on a performance about the abuse disabled people face in Costa Rica.
Disabled artists form all three groups, Masís explained.
The activity, held this year for the first time, was organized by El Roble High School in Heredia, which includes a program for disabled students; the Museum of Forms, Spaces and Sounds; and its mother institution, the Museum of Costa Rican Art, she said.
“We want to make a call to the public's conscience …so people learn about the disabled population. Sometimes it's as if they were invisible,” Masís told The Tico Times.
The Museum of Forms, Spaces and Sounds was created in 2002 as an extension of the Museum of Costa Rican Art.
“It was created specifically for people with disabilities. The type of artwork it has is art that you feel, works meant to be touched, smelled and manipulated,” she said.
The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed Dec. 3 the International Day of Disabled People in 1992.
For more information on the fair, entry to which is free of charge, call the Museum of Forms, Spaces and Sounds at 222-9462.
Study Reveals that Costa Ricans
Are Misinformed about AIDS
A survey released by the Institute of Social Studies in Population (IDESPO) of Universidad Nacional yesterday, which was World AIDS Day, revealed that while discriminatory perceptions about AIDS and HIV-infected people have greatly decreased, misinformation about the disease still plagues Costa Ricans.
Of the 800 people interviewed, the vast majority showed good general knowledge about the disease.
For example, 97.1% knew the only way to know whether a person is infected with HIV is through a lab test, 95.1% knew HIV-infected people do not necessarily look unhealthy, and 94.6% agreed HIV is a virus that attacks the body's defenses.
However, an alarming 22.4% answered that AIDS can be cured if the infected person receives medical treatment in time.
According to IDESPO researcher Rodrigo Vargas, who coordinated the investigation, this belief could negatively affect AIDS prevention.
“If people believe medication exists to cure AIDS, then they might think preventing the disease is unnecessary,” Vargas told journalists.
In terms of discriminatory attitudes toward HIV-infected people, 94.6% of Costa Ricans agreed people are not infected with HIV because they deserve it, and 91.4% agreed AIDS is not a punishment from God.
However, 17.3% answered that people with AIDS should be “locked up in a special place,” an attitude that Vargas called “discrimination from any way you look at it.”
Also, 59.7% of interviewees answered they should know who the HIV-infected people are in their community.
According to Vargas, there is no reason to know this information, and when people know who is infected, this can cause discrimination.
The idea for the study was conceived by IDESPO, the Social Security System (Caja) and the Ministry of Public Education to understand the population's thoughts on the illness in preparation for a possible AIDS prevention campaign.
