Iguana in the Midst: Lisa Defuso plays Maxine Faulk, Wayne Dawson plays Hank and Tom Humes plays Reverend Lawrence Shannon in “Night of the Iguana,” a production by the Little Theatre Group of this Tennessee Williams play. They and the rest of the cast are bringing this tale of personal struggles and fear take to the stage Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2.30 p.m. through June 10 at the Blanche Brown Theater in Escazú, west of San José; call 355-1623 for more information.

The Costa Rican economy grew at a rate consistent with 6.9% annual growth during the first quarter of 2007, which is slower than the 7.2% during the same period last year, according to the Central Bank.

Regata 2007
Today through Sunday, Puerto Azul Resort and Marina, Puntarenas, 395-0607, www.puertoazulcr.com 

Culture Night Party
With musician Manuel Monestel, Sonambulo, raffles, bocas, beer, and more, 8 p.m., Teatro Calle 15, San José, Ave. 2, in front of Plaza de la Democracia.

Cuajiniquil Fair
Including sports, food sales, cultural activities, 9 a.m., Cuajiniquil, La Cruz, Guanacaste. Info: 874-6311, 679-1140.

*III Grand Prix of Canine Ability Costa Rica/USDAA.
With judges certified by the U.S. Dog Agility Association and international judge Karen Holik, today and tomorrow, Pets' Paradise, El Roble de Heredia, 4 km. northeast of Ferretería Acosta. Info: 381-8285.

Trova Concert
By Rubén Pagura and Luis Diego Solórzano, both performing original music, 8 p.m., Cuartel de la Boca del Monte, Barrio la California, San José, opposite Cine Magaly. Info: 221-0327.

Hansel and Grettel
Puppet Show performed by the Balagan Theatrical Group, 11 a.m., Eugene O'Neill Theater, Costa Rican-North American Cultural Center, Barrio Dent, Los Yoses. Info: 207-7554, 207-7555.

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

Best Western Irazú Hotel, in western San José, is betting that banning prostitutes and their clients from using the hotel's facilities will, in the long run, make their business more profitable.

But for now, the hotel is bracing itself for potential backlash after launching its campaign against prostitution and commercial sexual exploitation – an effort that involves posting signs and banners that read “We do not allow prostitution-related activities” throughout the hotel, training employees on why the hotel doesn't want sex tourism and denying guests who bring prostitutes back to their rooms.

“It's not easy to do when you have a drunken guest at the front desk,” said Rodrigo Coto, Best Western Irazú's Corporate Director.

Additionally, the hotel is participating in an initiative by the nonprofit child protection foundation Paniamor through which tourism businesses sign the “Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Commercial Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism,” an agreement through which businesses agree to file a yearly report on their actions to combat sex crimes against children. About 125 businesses have signed the agreement or expressed interest in the program.

“What is the tourism we want, and what is the tourism we don't want?” asked Paniamor director Milena Grillo at the conference. “We have to educate our tourists.”

Paniamor is working with hotels, taxi drivers, car rental companies and other tourism companies to educate about the risks of child sexual exploitation in the tourism industry, according to Grillo.

As Costa Rica's sex tourism industry has grown hand-in-hand with the tourism industry at large in the last two decades, Best Western Irazú has become part of a handful of hotels that has been taking actions to prevent prostitution. The Best Western in the central-Pacific beach of Jacó, for instance, launched a similar program four years ago, and Coto said the hotel is now recognized by the community as a hotel intolerant to prostitution.

"It's a decision about social responsibility, not just business," said Karla Salazar, the manager of Grupo Marta, which owns Best Western Irazú and Jacó.

The 20-year-old from Kyrgyzstan being investigated for allegedly kidnapping a fellow Krygstan citizen in the Russian Embassy in San José May 11 turned himself in to police Wednesday after a new court ruling called for him to receive three months of preventive detention.

The man, Román Bogdanyants, had been released by a court the day after he was arrested, drawing criticism from Costa Rica's Chief Prosecutor Francisco Dall'Anese (TT, May 15)

This week, the First Circuit Court in San José revoked the decision made May 12 by a lower court to release Bogdanyants, according to a Judicial Branch statement. The tribunal considered that preventive detention was the only way to guarantee the former Soviet country native, who has requested refugee status in Costa Rica, will appear at his trial.

On May 11, a dispute over a business debt led Bogdanyants to allegedly kidnap Andrey Yurenkov, a fellow Russian citizen from the former Soviet state Krygstan, which led to a four-hour standoff between Bogdanyants and authorities outside the embassy.

The Russian ambassador and other embassy employees stayed in the embassy to help control the crisis, in which Bogdanyants was allegedly armed and demanded money for him to let Yurenkov free (TT, May 15).

-Tico Times

By Peter Krupa
Tico Times Staff | pkrupa@ticotimes.net