And the Prize Goes To... Tico Times photographer Mónica Quesada won this year's María Roa photojournalism award, presented by the Costa Rican Journalists' Association, for this photo she took during the eviction of the Alajuela shantytown of La Candela, northwest of San José, in May 2006.

Taxi meters will soon be creeping to higher digits, thanks to a 10% fare increase approved yesterday by the Public Services Regulatory Authority (ARESEP).

Concert by Demorama
Rock, 8 p.m., Spanish Cultural Center, Barrio Escalante, San José.

Dance Show by University of Colorado at Boulder Dancers
7:30 p.m., Eugene O'Neill Theater, Costa Rican-North American Cultural Center, Barrio Dent, San José.

Concert by Editus
Classical instrumental music, 5:30 p.m., Villa Caletas Hotel, 3 km. from Punta Leona main entrance, central Pacific coast. Info: 630-3020, 257-3653.

Mango Welcome Party
With DJ Babylon, 8 p.m., Mango Store, Tamarindo.

Children's Race
Kids 2-14, grouped by age, also activities for parents, registration 7:45-8:45 a.m., competition begins at 9 a.m. Info: 550-2556.

“El Arca” Ballet Show
Performed by Magníficat Ballet, 7 p.m.; Sunday, 5 p.m., Melico Salazar Theater, San José, Ave. 2, Calle Ctrl. Info: 257-6005.

Groups opposing the controversial U.S. trade pact that will be voted on next week in a nationwide referendum are staging a march this Sunday in a final effort to convince Costa Ricans to vote “no” on the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA).

The protest, which will mark the close of the “no” campaign, is scheduled to start at about 9 a.m. along downtown San José's Paseo Colón, according to a statement from the Patriotic Movement for No on CAFTA, one of several groups gearing up to participate.

The protest is scheduled to cumulate at about 11:30 a.m. on the main stage, next to the Toyota building. Two additional stages will be set up in front of the Mercedes tower and near the pedestrian bridge to hold cultural events including face painting, the statement said.

Traffic Police did not know yesterday whether streets will be blocked off Sunday for the protest; in any case, drivers in San José may want to avoid Paseo Colón.

Smaller protests are also scheduled in major towns and cities around the country.

The “yes” camp also seems to be pulling out all the stops in these final days before the vote. A full-page ad ran yesterday in the daily La Nación with a photo of Costa Rican astronaut and national hero Franklin Chang, who has openly supported CAFTA, beside a photo of outspoken CAFTA opponent and Broad Front legislator José Merino. Readers are asked to choose one of the two sides, Chang's “yes” or Merino's “no”.

Below Chang's photo, he is described as a “Costa Rican astronaut who said ‘yes,'” while Merino is billed as a “Communist leader, friend of Hugo Chávez and Fidel Castro and promoter of ‘no'.”

-Tico Times

Costa Rica got mixed rankings on the recently released U.N. Human Development Index, which showed some parts of the country on par with developed countries such as Germany and others with human development levels similar to some developing African countries.

U.N. Development Programme (UNDP) Costa Rica representative José Manuel Hermida said the index showed great disparity among cantons. It was calculated using data from 2005 on life expectancy, education and economic well-being.

“In general terms, the human development index has improved (since the last one conducted in 2001). There are more cantons on a high level and less on a low level,” he said.

Hermida lamented that the canton of Talamanca, in the Caribbean province of Limón, showed human development levels similar to those of some of the poorest countries in Africa. The canton's largely indigenous population has poor access to health, education and material goods.

Costa Rica has a total of 81 cantons divided into seven provinces, of which six ranked high on the human development index, 34 ranked medium, 40 ranked middle to low and one ranked low.

The 10 cantons that scored lowest on the index were Upala and Los Chiles, near the Nicaraguan border; Matina, Pococí and Talamanca, in the Caribbean; and Buenos Aires and Coto Brus, in the Southern Zone. Some of these cantons were on the same level as Botswana.

High on the other end of the spectrum is the canton of Escazú, west of San José, where real estate development in recent years has attracted businesses and higher income families, as well as nearby Santa Ana and Curridabat, east of San José.

These cantons show human development levels similar to developed countries such as Germany, Hermida said.

Some parts of the country have improved considerably since the last index was calculated, including Santa Cruz, in the northwestern Guanacaste province, and Garabito, in the central Pacific. Hermida attributed this improvement to tourism development, but said poverty still lingers.

“What we have taken is a snapshot, empirical evidence of what exists. To be able to analyze the reasons for these inequalities, it's necessary to research more,” he said.

-ACAN-EFE

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