Costa Rica will officially observe Juan Santamaría Day on Monday this year and The Tico Times will be closed.

The display advertising deadline for the edition of April 18 is today, at 5 p.m., and the classified advertising deadline remains the same, Tuesday at noon.

We will be open for business at 8 a.m. on Tuesday.

Luz de Luna Festival, Santa Ana
Boby Costa Band, Jazz Latino, EMAI Experimental Group; Saturday, EMAI Theater Group, Dance with Alex Guerrero; Sunday, Tango Show and Cirko Vivo, all at 6:30 p.m., in front of Santa Ana Church, 2-282-8662, 2-233-3235.

Opening of the Arts Festival
See full schedule in today's calendar in the Weekend section of The Tico Times.

Juan Santamaría Day
Including parades, plays, concerts, April 11, all day long, Juan Santamaría Park, Alajuela.

Rugby
Costa Rica Old Boys vs. Barbarians, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. at Polideportivo de Aranjuez, from Iglesia Santa Teresita 300 meters north, 250 m east down dead end road (passing Colegio México). Information: Ramón Cole, seacomercial@racsa.co.cr, tel. 88943427.

Parque de Diversiones weekend activities
Production of the play Tío Conejo en Busca de la Amistad, Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m., and 3 p.m. Folklore Dances Saturday Saturday and Sunday, 3:30 p.m., at the entrance of Pueblo Antiguo. Play Noches Costarricenses, Saturday, 5:20 p.m., Sunday, 6:15 p.m., Teatro de Bomberos. 2 km. west of Hospital Mexico, La Uruca, paralel road to the Highway. Info: 2-242-9200.

University Choir in concert
5 p.m., at José Figueres Cultural Center, San Ramón, Alajuela. Info: 2-437-9853.

Tope del Erizo
Horse parade, 11 a.m., Alajuela main road.

Swimming for Wildlife Preservation
A benefit for Renate Herberger's swim, 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Lola's Avellana Beach. Info: 2-652-9095.

Gallo Pinto National Day
Music, dancing and feasting on free gallo pinto, a typical Costa Rican dish, 9:30 a.m., Paseo Colón. 

Tribute concert to Catalan singer-songwriter Joan Manuel Serrat
10 p.m., Jazz Café, San Pedro. 

3rd Environmental Fair
9 a.m.-5 p.m., Salón Parroquial and Parquing Lot of Grecia Municipality, Grecia, Alajuela.

There's no shortage of things to do this weekend in the Central Valley, with arts festivals, national hero celebrations and outdoor food frenzies taking over the streets.

The latest ingredients to be thrown into the mix are 2,000 kilograms of beans and 1,800 kilograms of rice for the first-ever National Gallo Pinto Day Sunday in downtown San José's Paseo Colón.

The day is in homage to Costa Rica's favorite breakfast dish, gallo pinto, which consists of one- to two-day-old rice, black beans, diced peppers and onions, Lizano sauce and some other optional herbs and spices.

From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. organizers are expecting some 30,000 people to attend.

It is an unstated attempt to beat Nicaragua, which rivals Costa Rica's claim to being the birthplace of the dish, and whose record “ gallopintorama ” in September served up the stuff to more than 20,000 people.

Ticos, emboldened by today's commemoration of their national hero and airport's namesake, Juan Santamaría, could be up for the task.

The feast also comes during a weekend of spectacles in the 11th International Arts Festival (FIA) program, which runs through April 20 in San José, Alajuela, northwest of the capital, and the central Pacific port city of Puntarenas. The festival is showcasing the best of Costa Rican performing and visual arts, as well as 70 international arts from 20 countries. For more information, see interview with Tom Zabel of the German street theater group Du & Nichts at http://www.ticotimes.net/culture.htm, and look in today's Tico Times print edition for a complete FIA calendar.

In Santa Ana, southwest of San José, the Luz de Luna Festival is still underway this weekend. Tonight's “Moonlight” program sees Latin jazz, tomorrow has theater and dance and Sunday, tango and a circus, starting at 6:30 each evening outside Santa Ana Church.

The Daily News page will be on hold until Tuesday to honor Juan Santamaría Day, a public holiday in Costa Rica that this year is being celebrated on Monday.

Today, April 11, is the actual day, which commemorates one of Costa Rica's national hero attributed with saving the country from the mid-19th century U.S. citizen William Walker, who sought to turn Central America into a slave-trading colony.

Most Costa Ricans will take off work on Monday, as decreed by the country's labor law. Anyone who works that day has the right to double pay.

Many institutions and offices including the U.S. Embassy will be closed Monday.

U.S. comic Rob Schneider has been in northern Costa Rica shooting his newest film, “The Chosen One,” set to premiere in November, Costa Rican news media reported.

Schneider last weekend was shooting scenes in San Carlos, in Alajuela 70 kilometers north of San José, according to the daily La Nación. Scenes took place at a farm and ecological park, and included some footage with indigenous Maleku villagers from the Guatuso community.

The sketch-comedy star, who became famous on “Saturday Night Live,” Schneider has appeared on the big screen in the 2005 movie “Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo” and more recently “I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry.”

In “The Chosen One,” Schneider's character is named Paul, whose wife has left him, his family has estranged him and his job as a California car dealer bores him. Life couldn't be worse, when suddenly it gets better. Three shamans and an indigenous woman knock on his door to take him on a mission.

By Rob Bartlett
Tico Times Staff | editorial@ticotimes.net

Deportivo Saprissa secured their spot in the final of the CONCACAF Champion's Cup on Wednesday, beating Houston Dynamo 3-0 in a match the Costa Rican side dominated from start to finish.

However, as impressive as the men in purple were, MLS Cup champion Houston was disappointing and, missing four first team regulars, never looked like it could snatch victory.

The result and the performance will leave the Texans ruing their inability to kill off “El Monstruo,” as Saprissa is known, in the first leg, which ended in a 0-0 draw despite their superiority that night.

In addition to the success on the pitch, there was relief for authorities off it as the game passed off without any crowd trouble. CONCACAF had ordered the Tibás-based side to tighten security at the Ricardo Saprissa Stadium following an incident in the quarterfinal tie against Atlante on March 20, when an object hurled from the crowd struck a visiting player.

The result means that Saprissa is still on course for a fourth title, having won the tournament in 1993, 1995 and 2005. The winner of the competition will be invited to the 2008 FIFA Club World Cup.

In the other semifinal, defending champions Pachuca CF of Mexico endured some nervous moments at the end before securing their final spot. Despite a 2-1 loss Wednesday to D.C. United in Washington, D.C., the Mexican side's 2-0 home victory last week gave them a 3-2 aggregate score to advance them to the finals.

Read today's print or digital edition of The Tico Times for a recap of the action in Wednesday's game and stay tuned for more coverage of the April 23 and 30 CONCACAF Champions Cup finals.