A Resounding “No!” Several groups gathered Saturday at the auditorium of the Episcopal Conference in San José to launch the official campaign against the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA). Costa Ricans will vote on this controversial trade pact in a referendum Oct. 7, and those on both sides are out to sway their opinions.

The Public Health Ministry and members of Costa Rica's gay community launched a campaign Friday to educate citizens on AIDS.

Dance Performance
With Oscar González and Grettel Méndez, 7 p.m., Teatro de la Danza, National Culture Center (CENAC), San José, Ave. 3/5, Calle. 11/15. Info: 221-2154.

Music Conference
“The Organ,” with Professor Elena Keylina, 6:30 p.m., auditorium of Bach Music Academy, behind San Pedro Church. Info: 281-2332.

Mundoloco Concerts
Featuring Ensamble Etnico, Kabuto and Kojil and DJ Elena, 10 p.m., Jazz Café, San Pedro.

Representatives from Costa Rica and Panama Friday agreed to sign a free-trade agreement between the two countries after nine rounds of negotiation, according to the daily La Nación.

The agreement will allow 90% of Costa Rican products to enter its southern neighbor tariff-free, while the other 10% will be exempted from taxes for five to 17 years.

During the final round of negotiations, the two countries reached agreements on financial services, telecommunications and ketchup, among other goods and services, the daily reported.

Costa Rican Foreign Trade Minister Marco Vinicio Ruiz said he is “very satisfied” with the agreement and that he hopes it will be signed within one month after a legal review.

His Panamanian counterpart Alejandro Ferrer agreed “we have reached a historic agreement, in a moment when there is an excellent relationship between the two countries. I think that with this treaty, our commercial relations will benefit greatly,” according to the wire service ACAN-EFE.

During 2006, Costa Rica exported $196.2 million worth of goods to Panama and imported $159 million worth of goods from that country.

-Tico Times

A tornado ripped the roofs off of more than 20 houses in the low-income San José neighborhood of La Carpio Thursday, leaving their owners among the many in the Central Valley whose homes have been damaged by recent violent weather, according to a statement from the National Emergency Commission (CNE).

Additionally, flooding caused by torrential rains damaged more than 80 homes in the Alajuela communities of San Rafael, La Guácima and El Roble, the statement said.

The commission has invested about ¢5 million ($9,615) in assisting La Carpio and these Alajuela communities. Emergency workers have brought sheets of zinc to repair damaged houses and provided food, blankets and other supplies to families affected.

This inclement weather follows a series of floods, landslides and a tornado that occurred this month, hurting cantons around the Central Valley including Belén and Alajuelita. President Oscar Arias last week ordered a state of national emergency to free up funds to aid those affected (TT, June 22).

-Tico Times

The Public Health Ministry and members of Costa Rica's gay community launched a campaign Friday to educate citizens on AIDS.

Health Minister María Luisa Avila said at a press conference that the campaign aims to promote condom use and faithful relationships and to teach the public about the rights of those who have contracted HIV/AIDS.

“The first case of AIDS in Costa Rica was discovered in 1980, and 27 years later there are people with false concepts about the ways it is transmitted and many who continue discriminating against those who are sick,” the minister said.

The campaign involves placing 1,500 posters in health care centers and educational facilities and holding workshops around the country explained Abelardo Araya, president of the Diversity Movement, a national gay-rights organization.

Araya said the posters are intended to send a message of solidarity to those suffering from AIDS and to promote the respect of their rights.

The goal is to educate the public that AIDS can affect anyone, not just those belonging to a certain race, economic level, gender, sexual orientation or age group.

Statistics show that from 1995 to 2006, there were 2,700 cases of AIDS recorded in Costa Rica, 1,500 of which resulted in death.