Cow Parade auction
Bid for your favorite cow sculpture, 9:30 p.m., Children's Museum.

Valoarte art show
150 Tico and foreign artists exhibit work, National Gallery, Children's Museum.

Amighetti dance dress rehearsal
8 p.m., National Theater.

Solo Flamenco in concert
10 p.m., Jazz Café, San Pedro, http://jazzcafecostarica.com.

Malpaís in concert
10 p.m., Jazz Café, Escazú, http://jazzcafecostarica.com.

Fed by high food costs, consumer prices in August rose 1.79 percent, adding to Costa Rica's steady inflationary rate that during the past year has surpassed 15 percent.

Groceries and nonalcoholic beverages led the upward charge, rising 2.42 percent in August and 26.6 percent since last September, according to National Statistics and Census Institute (INEC).

Transportation costs rose 3.19 percent in August, bringing their 12-month increase to just over 19 percent, while entertainment and cultural events rose 2 percent last month.

The 15.4 percent increase in consumer prices between September 2007 and August was the largest for that period in more than 10 years.

Between September 2006 and August 2007, consumer prices rose 8.56 percent, according to INEC.

It's the third month of a 100-day saturation sweep of Costa Rica's Carribean Limón province, and authorities say the results have been “surprising.”

The operation, launched in July, is intended to “clean the streets” of crack addicts and drug dealers, Public Security Minister Janina del Vecchio said at the time.

According to a press release, police since then have seized 184 firearms, 184 crack rocks, 43 vehicles and 1.3 kilograms of cocaine as a result of the campaign. The Drug Control Police claims to have destroyed 300,000 marijuana shrubs in the canton of Talamanca. So far, 61 checkpoints and 26 river patrols were set up and 100 people were arrested for drug, firearms, domestic violence, assault on a police officer and immigration violations.

The sweep has focused mostly on the city of Limón. Other areas in Limón province, such as tourist hub Puerto Viejo, have seen little police action during the operation.

Eddie Ryan, the owner of the Costa Papito hotel in Playa and vice president of the Southern Caribbean's tourism chamber, said he's seen little law enforcement activity in the area during the “sweep.”

“We're totally abandoned here,” he said.

The Nicaraguan government has called for students at public and private schools to sing the national anthem daily.

Education Minister Miguel De Castilla made the announcement Monday amid commemorative activities to mark the 187th anniversary of Nicaraguan independence from Spain.

“Nicaraguan schools are responsible for these values having gone in decline, which is why today, as part of the process of education transformation that's our country is experiencing … we've set out to approve an agreement” to make singing the anthem in classrooms obligatory, De Castilla said.

The education chief warned that authorities will sanction – through an unset amount of fines – students, teachers and school administrators who fail to comply.