Mural with a Message: The winners of this year's mural contest sponsored by the Foundation for the Development of the Central Volcanic Range (FUNDECOR) at the José Figueres Ferrer Bilingual Experimental School in Cartago, east of San José, pose beside their masterpiece, “Uncertain Future.” From left to right, they are Elena Solano, 16; Oscar Flores, 16; Claudia Salazar, 17; and Melvin Artavia, 16.

Lorin Hollander, a U.S. pianist considered one of the best in the world, plans to visit Costa Rica to promote music education here, Culture Minister María Elena Carballo announced yesterday.

Credomatic Music Festival
Featuring the following concerts Eole Dixtou, 8 p.m., National Theater, San José; Bach Academy, 5:30 p.m., Ocotal Resort, Playa Ocotal, Guanacaste, info: 243-1900. Also Hromek Duo, 7 p.m., INBioparque, Santo Domingo de Heredia, info: 507-8107.

Free Film Presentation
Confesión a Laura , Colombian film made in 1990 directed by Jaime Osorio, 1990, 7 p.m., Sala Calle 15, Ave. 2, south side of Parque de la Democracia.

By Amanda Roberson
Tico Times Staff | aroberson@ticotimes.net

Coming to school to work hard on holidays and weekends paid off for four students at José Figueres Ferrer Experimental School in Taras, Cartago, east of San José, yesterday, when they were awarded the Grand Prize in an annual environmental mural contest sponsored by the Foundation for the Development of the Central Volcanic Range (FUNDECOR).

Through their mural, entitled “Uncertain Future,” the students adhere to the contest's theme of global warming by depicting a lush Costa Rican landscape fading into a desolate inferno after it's destroyed by a nearby factory.

The painting was inspired by the factories that spew smoke into the air outside the school's windows, said Marta Sánchez, the teacher who helped these four 16-year-old students complete the 40-square-meter mural.

More than 100 students from 19 public and private schools participated in the contest this year, and several others came away with awards for their efforts.

Best Adherence to the Theme went to two murals, both created at María Immaculada School in the northeastern suburb of Moravia. The Experimental Bilingual School in Belén, northwest of San José, won the Originality and Creativity award, and the Technical Professional School of the National Institute for Housing and Urban Development (INVU) in Alajuela, northwest of San José, won Best Overall mural.

Best Effort went to the Technical Professional School José Figueres Ferrer de La Lucha in Cartago. A few other schools received honorable mentions.

The students at prize-winning schools won trips and weekends at ecotourism establishments around the country.

The murals were judged by representatives of the Environment and Energy Ministry (MINAE), the San José Municipality's Culture Office, the artist group Andamio and Protecto, the paint company that sponsored the contest, according to a statement from FUNDECOR.

Students received a workshop on mural painting and artistic help from Andamio artists during their work.

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

While the waste-management firm Berthier EBI de Costa Rica cut the ribbon to inaugurate its new 27-hectare landfill in Aserrí, south of San José, some 60 local residents blocked the entrance to the new landfill in protest yesterday.

About five dozen angry Aserrí residents filled the road leading to their community's new landfill yesterday morning to demand that EBI meet its promise to fix two bridges and nearly two kilometers of this pothole-strewn road it promised to repair with the opening of the landfill, which has a capacity to receive 1,000 metric tons of trash a day.

Police officer Pablo Bertozzi said the protests were peaceful and came to an end in the late morning once residents were able to establish a dialogue with EBI.

EBI spokesman Guillermo López said EBI plans to have the road repairs done in 15 business days, and that they are waiting on asphalt that was to be donated by the Aserrí Municipality as part of an agreement. He said despite the inauguration, the landfill won't actually take in trash for at least three weeks.

Lorin Hollander, a U.S. pianist considered one of the best in the world, plans to visit Costa Rica to promote music education here, Culture Minister María Elena Carballo announced yesterday.

Hollander is launching a campaign to raise money to help the National Music Institute open new music schools around the country, she said. The goal is to inaugurate 12 new schools, improve nine existing schools and provide instruments for these schools.

During his visit, Hollander plans to give a master class to teachers from Costa Rican music institutes, hold a conference on creative music education, play a concert with his wife, Tara Hollander, and direct the Costa Rican National Symphony Orchestra.

He and Tara will also travel around the country to give talks on music education in hopes that the idea catches on.

Hollander's campaign has a budget of more than $500,000 and is seeking additional funding from the Inter-American Development Bank (BID), which has financed similar programs in Venezuela and Colombia.

The musician is from the U.S. city of New York, where he debuted at age 11 at Carnegie Hall. During his 50-year career, he has given concerts with orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the Cincinnati Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

He is also a co-founder of the Oliver Sacks' Institute for Music and Neurologic Function and an active participant in “creating new paradigms for medicine and integral healing,” according to a biography on his Web site.