Open-Air Art: Olga Madrigal Friday stopped to check out a series of new posters in kiosks along the pedestrian boulevard on Avenida Central. This public art exhibit, which features drawings and paintings by Costa Rican students, is a joint project by the San José Municipality and Public Education Ministry.

The annual Carnival festivities in the Pacific port city of Puntarenas were in full swing this weekend with a horse parade, or tope, music and food, along with an increased police presence to make sure it all went smoothly.

Cultural Shows
Storytelling, poetry, theater, dance, music, 6 p.m., Teatro Alterarte, Liberia, northwestern Guanacaste province.

“Casa de Cuatro Pisos” Collective Art Show
Installations and engravings, through Feb. 28, Taller del Artista, old road to Tres Ríos, east of San José. Info: 278-3594.

Pope Benedict XVI expressed concern over Costa Rica's poverty during a ceremony Saturday when the new Costa Rican Ambassador to the Vatican, Luis París, presented his credentials, according to the daily La Nación.

The Pope said he is worried about an increase in poverty in Costa Rica and asked the government to take “urgent means that take into account individuals, families and society,” adding that domestic violence, a lack of public safety and migration from neighboring countries are products of poverty that concern him and the Catholic Church.

President Oscar Arias disagreed with the Pope that poverty has increased and said that it has remained more or less the same since 1994.

However, he agreed that Costa Ricans “can't continue being witnesses to the worst form of violence: poverty, which snatches food away from families, jobs away from single mothers and education away from our youth,” according to a statement from Casa Presidencial.

Arias pointed to his administration's plans to reduce poverty by 4% by 2010 and combat school dropout through the program Avancemos (Let's Get Ahead).

The President also applauded the Pope's view of poverty as a problem that cannot be solved without an examination of the country's values. “Economic growth and a strengthening of our institutions will bring the country little benefit if as individuals we are not generous and do not act in solidarity,” he said, according to the statement.

-Tico Times

Four Costa Rican producers of organic goods plan to head to Germany this week for the BioFach organic fair in Nuremberg, according to a statement from the Foreign Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER).

These growers will display their products along with 3,500 others from 120 countries in Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa during the fair, which runs from Thursday to Sunday.

Among Costa Rican organic producers and organizations participating are the Association of Small Producers of Talamanca, in the southern Caribbean, which produces pulp from organic bananas and other fruit, and the Foundation for Costa Rican Agro-Industrial Development (PROAGROIN), which provides financial and technical assistance to Costa Rican organic farmers.

Others include Costa Rican Cacao Products and First Aloe de Costa Rica, which exports aloe vera extract for energy drinks and skin creams.

The BioFach fair, one of the most well-known of its kind, showcases not only organic food products, but also personal care and home products, the statement said.

Organic agriculture in Costa Rica accounts for more than 10,000 acres of farmland and about 6,500 farmers, according to the Production Ministry. The main organic products grown here are coffee, bananas, sugar and cacao.

-ACAN-EFE

The annual Carnival festivities in the Pacific port city of Puntarenas were in full swing this weekend with a horse parade, or tope, music and food, along with an increased police presence to make sure it all went smoothly.

The National Police were aided this year by the Costa Rican Coast Guard and the newly created Tourism Police, according to a statement from the Public Security Ministry. Tourism Police officers receive specialized training in security issues affecting tourists, and some speak a second language (TT, Dec. 22, 2005).

Additionally, lifeguards were on duty to watch over visitors who chose to swim in the ocean.

The Puntarenas Carnival continues next weekend with more music and cultural activities. The Public Security Ministry asks all visitors to watch over their belongings carefully while at the event, not bring objects of value and not leave their cars in isolated or unprotected areas.