The Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) could see a rise in cash flow for investments in infrastructure, thanks to a loan approved this week by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

Latin American-Iberian Equestrian Cup
Noon-7:30 p.m.; Saturday, 7 a.m.-7:30 p.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m.-7 p.m., Club Hípico La Caraña, Santa Ana, 1.5 km. west of Forum. Info: 282-6106, 282-6754.

Teletón
27-hour telethon of music and dancing to raise money for the National Children's Hospital's Cardiology Unit, organized by Club 20-30, starting at 7 p.m. through midnight Saturday, National Gymnasium, La Sabana Park, San José. Info: 233-2030, 233-4281, donations to Banco Nacional account #123452030-2.

“The Nutcracker” Ballet
Performed by the Costa Rican Youth Ballet and Cuban dancers Rómel Frómeta, Elier Bourzac and Ernesto Fariñas, today and Dec. 12-14, 7:30 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, as well as Dec. 16, 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., National Theater, San José. Info: 221-9417. 

Puntarenas Food Festival
Featuring popular Puntarenas restaurants, organized by Puntarenas Tourism Chamber, Plaza del Pacífico, in front of cruise ship dock, through Sunday.

Helping Hands Costa Rica Fundraiser Yard Sale
9 a.m.-noon, Out Of Bounds, Calle Vieja a Santa Ana, across from the Taj Mahal Restaurant.

Christmas Parade "Luces y Viento"
5 p.m., Tilarán, Guanacaste, 845-7619.

Art and Music Show
With artists Angel Lara, Diego Arnedo and Thornton Cohen, and music by DJ Ricky Pilurzu and DJ SweetBo, 7 p.m. $10 cover includes glass of wine.

Community Meeting
To discuss marina project, 2 p.m., Casa de Cultura, Puerto Viejo.

Proyecto Jirondai in Concert
Indigenous music infused with techno beats and video, 7:30 p.m., free entrance, Casa de Cultura, San Vito de Coto Brus.

5th Sexual Diversity Festival
Concerts, belly dancing, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Parque de la Paz, San Sebastián, San José.

Scholarship Fundraising Festival
With silent auction, bocas, live music, door prizes, 5-10 p.m., Flamingo Marina Resort, Flamingo Beach, Guanacaste. Info: 654-4532.

“Reaffirming our Afro-Costa Rican identity” is the motto for a festival set today and tomorrow in the towns of Siquirres and Limón, on the Caribbean coast, giving center stage to the culture of residents whose ancestors migrated from the West Indies, mostly in the 19 th century.

Costa Rica pays precious little attention to its inhabitants of African dissent, say activist groups such as the Afro-Costa Rican Women's Center, based in San José.

The country's Afro-Costa Rican population is about 3% of the population.

But for Karla Samuels, a vocal member of the women's group, the community is virtually “invisible” in Costa Rican society's eyes.

The festival, organized by the Culture and Youth Ministry, is an initiative to raise public awareness of the community, as an additional program to the traditional Black and Afro-Costa Rican Culture Day on Aug. 31.

It kicks off at 2 p.m. at the vocational school gymnasium, in Siquirres, with a children's story, Tía Luísa (Aunt Luísa). Then at 6 p.m., revelers will get a taste of what spicy rhythms and melodies the local musicians can cook up.

The program repeats tomorrow in Limón, starting at 2 p.m., at the Black Star Line.

However, it is not merely Afro-Caribbean culture that needs a sharper focus, Afro-Costa Rican rights advocates say, but also the marginalization they've suffered here.

For a close-up look at how some Afro-Costa Rican women feel about being the “invisible” visible minority, see Suzanna Starcevic's special report in the Weekend section of today's print or electronic edition of The Tico Times.

-Tico Times

By Gillian Gillers
Tico Times Staff | ggillers@ticotimes.net

Legislators moved to crack down on bribery and corruption late Wednesday, approving the second of 11 bills required to implement the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA).

Under the bill, companies that engage in corruption would be shut down for up to five years, and their concession would be canceled. People who bribe public officials, as well as officials who accept bribes, would go to jail for two to eight years.

The bill was approved unanimously in one of the assembly's three 19-member committees that have the power to pass laws. Two legislators from the anti-CAFTA Citizen Action Party (PAC), voted for the bill, which cannot become law until it is approved in a second vote and signed by President Oscar Arias.

Legislators have been working long hours – sometimes meeting until 11 p.m. – to discuss the bills required to implement CAFTA. If they do not pass these bills before Feb. 29, Costa Rica must ask for an extension from the treaty's other signers.

The first CAFTA bill legislators passed will regulate the relationship between foreign firms and their representatives in the United States

The Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) could see a rise in cash flow for investments in infrastructure, thanks to a loan approved this week by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

The bank will make a $381 million loan, meant to refinance part of the debt that has burdened the national power and telecom institution.

“The new financing will help ICE free up cash currently used for debt service and devote more resources to investments in infrastructure to continue improving service quality and coverage," said IDB project team leader Javier Molina in a statement from the bank. "It will also assist ICE in meeting working capital requirements to grow its operations."