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Death march: A solemn procession on Good Friday last year in San Joaquín de Flores, Heredia, which re-enacted Christ's walk to crucifixion, just one reminder that Easter celebrations in devout Catholic countries are not for the faint of heart. This procession culminates with Roman guards standing before this actor, now almost nude, posing on a crucifix with fake blood trickling from his limbs, and two actors “crucified” on either side of him. This year Good Friday falls on March 21, which is the spring equinox. |
| Robert Goodier | Tico Times |
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The Tico Times office will be closed March 17-21 for the Easter Holy Week holiday and will reopen March 24 with our normal office hours, 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Please look for the next online Daily News page on March 24 and the next print edition on March 28. Happy Holiday ! |
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| Costa Rica gets mixed grades
in U.S. human rights report |
Costa Rica got a host of high marks on a human rights report card published recently by the United States. |
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| Costa Rica-Nicaragua
commission takes on ecotourism |
GRANADA, Nicaragua – Costa Rican and Nicaraguan tourism and environment officials sat down behind closed doors yesterday to lay the groundwork for opening up the border for ecotourists traveling between the countries and protecting binational ecological corridors. |
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| Who's 'gone fishing' during
Costa Rica's Easter break? |
Everybody loves the holidays. The chance to forget work and enjoy the sun is gratefully accepted by Ticos and expats alike, with many taking to the beach. |
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Edited By Alex Leff
Tico Times Staff | aleff@ticotimes.net |
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| March 14 |
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Universidad Nacional 35th Anniversary
Parade with bands, masks, 8-10 a.m., from the Central Park to the campus. Also dance shows and concerts, 1-7:30 p.m., Plaza de la Diversidad, at the campus.
Dance show: '70% Agua'
Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m.; 5 p.m., Teatro de la Danza, CENAC, 222-2937.
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| March 15 |
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Supercross
Motorcycle show, 7 p.m., Ricardo Saprissa Stadium, Tibás.
“Sol y Arena” race
Sign-up is between 9 a.m.-noon. The 10-km race starts at 3 p.m. at Puntarenas Hospital, finish line in front of Paseo de los Turístas, registration at www.clasicasolyarena.com.
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| March 16 |
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Palm Sunday
Most Catholic churches will hold a special celebration including a procession, in which either the priest or a person performing the part of Jesus Christ rides in on a donkey in the morning. Residents decorate the streets with flowers and white and yellow balloons.
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| March 20 |
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Holy Thursday
Costa Rican Catholics traditionally make a pilgrimage from one church to another. |
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| March 21 |
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Good Friday
Around 10 a.m., colorful processions re-enacting the Christ's Passion. San Joaquín de Flores in Heredia and some towns in Cartago are distinguished for having live Passion street processions while most churches use statues and iconic displays.
After mass at 3 p.m., the burial procession. Heredia's procession is particularly popular.
See the latest Tico Times for more information on Easter celebrations and details on worship for non-Catholic Christian denominations. |
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Costa Rica gets mixed grades
in U.S. human rights report |
By Nick Wilkinson
Tico Times Staff | nwilkinson@ticotimes.net |
Costa Rica got a host of high marks on a human rights report card published recently by the United States.
This country graded well on the lack of police corruption and brutality but poorly on press freedom, jail overcrowding and sanitation, judicial process delays, child sexual exploitation and marginalization of indigenous people.
The country was hailed for not having any politically motivated disappearances and not practicing torture. Meanwhile, the United States has faced international scrutiny for endorsing controversial interrogation tactics such as waterboarding.
China lashed out yesterday at its report card from the United States which was critical of its human rights record. China accused Washington of causing the modern world's “biggest human rights tragedy” in Iraq and of hypocrisy for passing judgment on other nations, the Associated Press reported.
One of the more serious problems mentioned in Costa Rica's report included housing pretrial detainees with convicted felons, which is a violation of Costa Rica's laws. The report also emphasized that the country's “court overcrowding and antiquated legal system” greatly compromised its response to crime.
Costa Rica is weak on enforcing labor laws and has declined to enforce a 12-year-old law requiring all buildings to be handicap-accessible, states the report.
According to State Department staff, the agency has been compiling these reports since 1977. |
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Costa Rica-Nicaragua
commission takes on ecotourism |
By Blake Schmidt
Nica Times Staff | bschmidt@ticotimes.net
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GRANADA, Nicaragua – Costa Rican and Nicaraguan tourism and environment officials sat down behind closed doors yesterday to lay the groundwork for opening up the border for ecotourists traveling between the countries and protecting binational ecological corridors.
The two-day commission, which will culminate today with a meeting between the presidents of both neighboring countries, is the first substantive work session since Costa Rican President Oscar Arias and his Nicaraguan counterpart, Daniel Ortega, pledged to smooth out rocky relations between the neighboring countries last year (TT, Aug. 24).
The Granada summit marks the revival of the Bilateral Commission, a 1990s project to create a permanent dialogue to address issues of common interest between the two nations. The commission was suspended in 1997 during an escalation of tensions over the San Juan River (TT, Aug. 24).
Despite previous appeals from Ortega, Arias has said he would not drop a case over navigation rights to the San Juan River, now under consideration in the International Court of Justice in The Hague (TT, Nov 23, 2007).
A major issue to be confronted will be recent allegations in Nicaragua's National Assembly that Costa Rican farmers have been causing serious contamination of Lake Nicaragua, the hemisphere's largest tropical lake, with pesticides and fertilizers that drain into the water from irrigation runoff.
“We'll look at these issues of reducing agricultural production contamination coming from Costa Rica,” said Nicaragua's Environment Minister Juana Vicenta Argeñal.
Attendees, including both countries' environment ministers, tourism ministers, vice ministers of foreign affairs, and border town mayors, will also discuss expanding the limited number of border crossings, reducing visa costs and procedures, and efforts to protect threatened flora and fauna shared by the two countries.
Based upon yesterday's work session, the commission will draft a formal agreement, to be signed by Ortega and Arias today. Though the presidents had originally planned to meet in Granada, Nicaragua's Foreign Affairs Ministry spokeswoman, Vilma Aburto, said they will most likely meet in Managua now.
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Who's 'gone fishing' during
Costa Rica's Easter break? |
By Rob Bartlett
Tico Times Staff | editorial@ticotimes.net
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Everybody loves the holidays. The chance to forget work and enjoy the sun is gratefully accepted by Ticos and expats alike, with many taking to the beach.
However, a surefire way to put a downer on the season is to get caught without food, money or any of life's other little essential s, such as beer.
Here is a list of what is open and what is closed during Semana Santa (Easter Holy Week), to ensure your break goes swimmingly.
Government offices: Following an edict from the Casa Presidencial, most government offices will be closed on Wednesday March 19.
Hospitals and pharmacies: Rest assured that public hospital emergency rooms will remain open 24 hours a day. The Red Cross (128) and National Insurance Institute (INS) (800-800-8000) also attend to emergencies at all hours.
The emergency rooms and pharmacies at private hospitals Clínica Biblica (522-1000), in downtown San José, Clínica Católica (283-6616), in the suburb of Guadalupe, northeast of San José and CIMA Hospital (208-1000) in Escazú will also be open 24 hours throughout the holiday period.
Banks: Branches of BAC San José (295-9797), Banco Popular (211-7000), Scotiabank (210-4000) and Banco de Costa Rica (287-9000) will be closed on March 20 and 21. Banco Cuscatlán (299-0200), HSBC (287-1111) and Banco Nacional (211-2000) had not confirmed their opening hours at press time. Opening times for Banca Promérica will vary over the holiday period – contact your branch for more information. Telephone numbers are available at http://www.promerica.fi.cr/sucursales.
ATMs will, of course, remain in service.
Supermarkets: All those who enjoy a tipple should be aware that the nation's dry law will be in effect on March 20-21. Bars will be sealed shut and restaurants and supermarkets are prohibited from selling liquor for 48 hours on Thursday, March 20 and Friday, March 21. Of the major supermarket chains, Más x Menos (243-7100), Palí (243-7100) and Megasuper (246-0400) had not confirmed their hours at press time. Muñoz y Nanne (253-4646) in San Pedro, east of San José, will be operating as normal, but Saretto (228-6703) in the western suburb of Escazú will be closed on March 20 and 21.
PriceSmart (283-9464, 288-0008, 262-6365) stores in Escazú, Heredia and the southeastern district of Zapote will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on March 20 but will be closed all day March 21.
Hipermás (286-0033) in San Sebastián, south of San José, Heredia, Cartago, Escazú, Curridabat, and Guadalupe will be open between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. on March 20 and between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. on March 21.
Auto Mercado (257-4242) stores are open from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on March 20 with the exception of the branch in downtown San José, which will close at 3 p.m. On March 21, all stores in the Central Valley will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., with the exception of the branches in San José and Los Yoses, which will be closed. The branches at Herradura and Tamarindo will be open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Mail and shipping: Correos de Costa Rica (202-2900) will close on March 19 at midday and will not reopen until Monday, March 24. Similarly, Aerocasillas (208-4848) will close at 3 p.m. on March 19 and will not reopen until the following week. DHL (209-7070) will be open as normal on March 19 but will be closed on March 20 and 21.
Embassies: Holiday closures at major embassies are as follows: The British Embassy (258-2025) will be closed March 20, 21 and 24. The Canadian Embassy (242-4400), U.S. Embassy (220-3939) and French Embassy (234-4167) are all closed on March 20 and 21.
For ideas of things to do during Holy Week and beyond, consult the listings in the Weekend Section of the print or pdf edition of The Tico Times. |
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