Hats off to Harry: Fans of the Harry Potter books filled the Librería International store at Paseo de las Flores mall in Heredia, north of San José, Friday evening to pick up the latest installment of the series, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” which went on sale at midnight.

Mexican singer and Grammy award winner Julieta Venegas will perform at the Palacio de los Deportes in Heredia, north of San José, Aug. 8 at 8 p.m., offering fans a taste of musical “lemon and salt.”

Course on Sewage Problems in Residential Areas
For engineers and architects, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m., San José Palacio Hotel, La Uruca. Info: 283-0111. 

Costa Rica International Jazz Festival
Puerto Rican Music Conservatory, 5 p.m., José Figueres Ferrer Cultural Center, San Ramón; New York's Juilliard School of Music and University of Costa Rica (UCR) musicians, 8 p.m., Eugene O'Neill Theater, Costa Rican-North American Cultural Center, Barrio Dent; Sisters in Jazz, 8 p.m., Villa del Sueño Hotel, Playa Hermosa, Guanacaste.

A Costa Rican truck driver who allegedly tried to smuggle $2.4 million across the northern border crossing of Peñas Blancas Friday has been sentenced to six months preventive detention, according to the Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ).

The driver, identified by the last name Valverde, 48, allegedly had the cash hidden in plastic bags in a compartment of his truck when he attempted to enter Costa Rica from Nicaragua, according to the daily La Nación.

Lilian Zamora, Prosecutor General of the northwestern city of Liberia, said National Police received confidential information about the truck that led them to carry out a special operation at the border together with OIJ officials.

Upon searching the truck, they discovered the bags stuffed with $5 and $20 bills inside a hidden container.

Authorities suspect the money is linked to drug trafficking, and they deposited it into a bank account of the Costa Rican Drug Institute while the case is investigated.

-Tico Times

Costa Rican scientists are keeping an eye on Turrialba Volcano, on the Caribbean-slope, where thousands of small earthquakes have occurred over the past couple of days, according to experts from the Volcanological and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica (OVSICORI) based at Universidad Nacional (UNA) in Heredia, north of San José.

The volcano, located in the community by the same name, recently registered more than 2,000 “mini-earthquakes” too faint to be felt by residents.

“This seismic activity is characterized by its low frequencies and it is associated with an intense flux of gas and steam through volcanic channels,” said a statement from OVSICORI.

Experts, who continue to study the volcano, believe it's possible it could experience a mild eruption, spewing sediment and materials accumulated in its crater, not lava.

Turrialba is an active volcano that last erupted lava in 1866, according to OVSICORI.

-ACAN-EFE

Mexican singer and Grammy award winner Julieta Venegas will perform at the Palacio de los Deportes in Heredia, north of San José, Aug. 8 at 8 p.m., offering fans a taste of musical “lemon and salt.”

Venegas, considered one of the most important women in Latin American rock, will perform songs from her albums “ Sí, ” “ Bueninvento ” and “ Limón y Sal ” (“Lemon and Salt”), her latest. Released in 2006, the album has sold more than 700,000 copies worldwide.

“Lemon and salt are ingredients used for everything in Mexico. I believe that's the flavor of my music and of love,” Venegas said in a statement.

Venegas began studying music at the age of 8 in her hometown of Tijuana, Mexico. Her influences include David Bowie, Suzanne Vega, Prince and Charly García.

Tickets can be bought online at www.mundoticket.com or by calling 207-2025. Prices range from ¢13,000 to ¢20,000 ($25-38).