Golf Clinics
Men's clinics, Fridays 8-9 a.m.; Women's Clinics, Mondays 8-9 a.m.; Teenagers Clinics, Thursdays 3-4 p.m., La Iguana Golf Course, Hotel Marriott, Herradura, jose.quesada@marriott.com

Mundo Loco en Vela Concert
Sonámbulo (Costa Rica) and Ollin (Mexico), “psychotropical” music, 9:30 p.m., Jazz Café, San Pedro.

Expresso in concert
Pop, 10 p.m., Jazz Café, Escazú.

Martínez lost no time and opened with Rosina's “ Una voce poco fa ” aria from Rossini's Barber of Seville, her commanding voice surely carrying to the foyer to include any late arrivals still waiting to be seated in the production.

She continued through with Bellini's Sei ariette da camera (six chamber arias) and the “ Regnava nel silenzio ” aria from Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor opera. While not the famous “mad scene” from the opera, the performance by Martínez – who often trembled during her delivery – was arresting all the same.

After the intermission, Martínez broke from the all-Italian first half of the program by delving into Russian with a Rimsky-Korsakov aria, hitting some startlingly lofty notes under the often arduous Slavic language with apparent ease. She followed next with Handel and then Donizetti again, closing with a triumphant rendition of the “ Je veux vivre ” aria of Gounod's Romeo and Juliet.

While fully able in all the pieces, the Italian pieces were clearly her forte, not only technically, but also for her exquisite expression in the language, even down to the typical Italian gesticulations. Martínez, who originally started out pursuing a career in theater, embraced the dramatic elements as much as the musical, and her lithe but strong delivery enabled a full range of emotion.

Weinmeister's accompaniment was a solid complement to, but never overshadowed, Martínez' performance, which one imagines could well be indicative of the twosome's marital collaboration, too.

In one encore, Martínez brought out one of her Tica protégés, Laura Corrales, for a duet, introducing her by saying warmly, “The student must surpass the master.” Corrales might well live up to that, but that still would be no easy task, as her teacher has set the bar plenty high.

Don't miss the printed August 22 Weekend Edition of The Tico Times for an interview with Iride Martínez.

Clara Zomer, a lawmaker and engineer, has been named to replace Fernando Zumbado as Housing Minister.

Zumbado, under investigation for possibly mismanaging a 2006 $1.5 million donation from the Taiwanese government, has announced he will resign this week on Wednesday, Aug. 20.

Zomer, 68, has broken new ground for female professionals. She was the first woman to head the National Institute for Housing and Urban Development (INVU) from 1982 to 1984.

She was also the first female dean of the University of Costa Rica's engineering school from 1991 to 1994, and the first female president of the National Training Institute (INA) from 1994 to 1998.

Now a lawmaker for the National Liberation Party (PLN), she has championed the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA), approved by popular referendum last October.

In a structural overhaul for the Arias administration, Health Minister María Luisa Avila will now coordinate government social programs, a position previously held by Zumbado in his role as Housing Minister.

Avancemos, a cash-transfer program that awards families modest donations for keeping their children in school, may be removed from the auspices of the Housing Ministry.

“We now have to decide where to put Avancemos, which, for me, is the jewel of this administration,” President Oscar Arias said in a statement.

Presidency Minister Rodrigo Arias, the president's brother, said more changes in the social sector would be announced this week.

Speeding is the number one cause of roadway deaths in the first seven months of this year, with a toll of 55 between January and July.

Drunk driving, meanwhile, claimed another 35 lives, according to the Public Works and Transport Ministry (MOPT).

But what appears to most concern MOPT is pedestrian “imprudence,” which the ministry says was the cause of 33 deaths in the same time period, just three fewer than last year.

“Investigations verify that the majority of deaths from being hit by a car could have been avoided by using pedestrian bridges, crossing at street corners and respecting the traffic light, or just walking facing traffic and with bright or reflective clothing when there are no sidewalks or at night,” MOPT said in a statement released this week.

The statement did not mention how many deaths took place on roads that lacked sidewalks, or where there were no nearby pedestrian bridges.

According to the ministry, the second leading cause of pedestrian deaths was “bicycle imprudence,” which caused 12 deaths, and the six people died because of “mechanical failure,” although they did not clarify the term.