'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'
Peformed by Kamuk School , today and tomorrow, 7 p.m., National Auditorium, Children's Museum.

Bass workshop for musicians
Led by Zeta Bosio, formerly of Soda Stereo, 6 p.m., Jazz Café, San Pedro.

Electro-jazz fusion
Zeta Bosio, Zurdo and Parque en el Espacio, 10 p.m., Jazz Café Escazú. http://jazzcafecostarica.com 

The much anticipated Festival Imperial finally kicked off Saturday in front of thousands of music fans at La Guácima near Alajuela, northwest of the Costa Rican capital, San José.

With approximately 46,000 people expected over the course of the two-day festival, the event is one of the biggest ever held in Costa Rica, and follows the sell-out success of a concert by metal icons Iron Maiden at the Ricardo Saprissa Stadium in February.

An ensemble of musicians from several Costa Rican bands opened the festival on Saturday, singing a variety of hits from the country's rock scene. This was followed up by a performance from homegrown group Le*Pop, who told reporters that they were “very happy and excited” to be performing at the festival. These bands braved the onslaught of a host of big acts from abroad.

Grammy-award-winning Mexican group Café Tacvba, who came up next, was well received by the enthusiastic crowd. Café was followed by Argentineans Babasónicos, promoting their new album “Mucho.” The first single from the album, called “Pijamas,” was released April 7.

However, there was no doubting that the final two acts, Californian group Incubus and Chicago-based rockers Smashing Pumpkins, were the two most eagerly anticipated performances.

Incubus played first, performing some of their best-known tracks such as “Nice to Know You” and “Are you In?,” from the album “Morning View,” alongside newer tunes such as “Anna Molly” from their latest album, “Light Grenades.” A particular highlight was their classic track "Drive," which had vast swathes of the crowd singing along.

“Thank You, Costa Rica!” screamed charismatic frontman Brandon Boyd.

Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan, dressed in a striking layered silver skirt, was similarly willing to engage with his audience during a long set, which featured the hits “Today,” “Ava Adore” and “1979.”

“It is very nice to be here for the first time,” said Corgan. “It only took us 20 f---ing years to get here.”

Reaction from fans was overwhelmingly positive. “I hadn't really heard of any of the Spanish bands, apart from Café Tacvba,” said Brittney Barker, 20, a student from Tennessee on exchange in the country. “But I thought they were pretty good. And I really, really loved Incubus,” she said.

“Incubus were very good,” agreed a local fan, Sebastian Loaiza, 21, adding, “although it was quite a short set.”

“To be honest I just came to see Smashing Pumpkins,” admitted fellow Costa Rican Diana Mejías, 24.

The festival was set to continue after press time yesterday with performances by Costa Rican group PorPartes, Mexican alternative band Zoé as well as UK singer-songwriter Seal and Spanish-American pop star Enrique Iglesias. Headline British group Duran Duran, a 1980s rock icon, was scheduled to close the festival.

Bus fares in Costa Rica will go up today by an average of 4.86%, while taxi prices are up 3%, according to the Public Services Regulatory Authority (ARESEP).

The increase is to meet bus and taxi companies' higher operation costs, including a wage raise in January as well as rising fuel prices, said Carolina Mora, spokeswomen for ARESEP, which recently approved the new prices.

For many journeys, the price hike spells out just a few cents higher than before. The San Pedro-San José bus route, for example, has risen from ¢155 to ¢165, or about 31 cents to 33 cents. The bus ride from the capital to central Pacific Playa Jacó is up from ¢1,440 to ¢1,510 (about $2.94 to $3.08).

Meanwhile, taxis' starting rate is now ¢420 (85 cents), up from ¢405 (about 83 cents).

The last increase of public transport rates occurred in September 2007, Mora said, when buses upped fares by an average of 3.83%, and taxis by 10%.

Costa Rica, for the first time, will have a film shown next month at the 61st Cannes International Film Festival in France by way of director Ishtar Yasir's “El Camino” (The Way).

The film premièred in February at the Berlinale Film Festival in Berlin, Germany.

At Cannes, which runs May 14-25, Yasir's movie will not compete but will show in a section of seven films by women directors, reported the daily La Nación.

“'El Camino' is the first Central American film to be in Cannes and, for us, who've given support to this project, it's a great honor to have contributed to this dream,” Luis Javier Castro, the film's co-producer, told La Nación. “We hope more companies are encouraged to invest in these important cultural initiatives.”

“El Camino” tells the story of Saslaya, a Nicaraguan girl who runs away from her sexually abusive grandfather. Saslaya, along with her brother, set off in search of their mother, who had left them in the care of their grandfather years before.

Yasir, a child of an Iraqi refugee and Chilean exile, has said she always identified with “those who are obliged to abandon their homes for reasons beyond their control.”