Rock shows
By Vision Armonica del Caos, Parlour, Santos y Zurdo and Poper, starting 5 p.m., Curridabat Park. 

Cultural nights in the city
Concert by William Ramos, 6 p.m.; Saturday, cimarrona, noon, and concert by Marfil, 6 p.m., all at former Monumental Radio Station, Avenida Central.

Angelicus Chorale Choir
Performing Christmas carols and rock and roll musical, 7 p.m., El Fortín amphitheatre, Heredia; Saturday, 6 p.m., Santa Cruz park, Guanacaste; Sunday, 7:30 p.m., Cartagena, Guanacaste.

Festival de las Flores 2008 in Heredia
Friday: Concert, cimarronas, mascaradas, 7 p.m., Central Park; choir recital, 8 p.m., and Enviaje in concert, 9 p.m., Casa de la Cultura. Saturday: educational and environmental activities, 10 a.m., athletic race, 3 p.m., and marching band parade, 6:30 p.m., Central Park; Beatles tribute concert 9 p.m., El Fortín amphitheater. Sunday: Heredia Band in concert, 10 a.m., dance show by Merecumbé, noon, trova concert, 3 p.m., clowns and storytelling, 7 p.m., and fireworks and closing concert, 8 p.m., Central Park, all in Heredia.

Master Key Christmas Concerts
Gospel, 7 p.m., Casa Turire Hotel, Turrialba; Saturday, 6 p.m., Casa del Angel Hotel, Dominical; Sunday, 7 p.m., Auto Mercado, Heredia.

María Pretiz in concert
Trova, 8:30 p.m., Marrakesh, Tres Ríos, 600 meter east of La Galera, opposite Bar Shots, 2272-0984.

Evolución in concert

Direct Transmition of the Opera Thais
Dec. 20, 11 a.m., Eugene O'Neill Theater, CCCN.

“ElectroBeatz Fest 2008”
Hip Hop, House and Electronic, Jan. 20, 8 p.m., Doce Lunas Hotel, Jacó, 2290-2760 ext. 200.

Wakeboarding Event
Demonstrations, lessons, 2009 wakeboard collection testing, barbecue, Dec. 20-21, Puerto San Luis, Arenal Lake, info@flyzone-cr.com, 8339-5876.

Concert by Camerata Acadèmica Bach
Performing works by G.F.Haendel, J.S.Bach,    A.Corelli, G.F.Haendel, Dec. 21, 7 p.m., at the park, opposite the San Pedro de Montes de Oca Church.

Hanukkah Menorah Lightings
Dec. 21, family program, 4 p.m., lighting, 5:30 p.m. at La Sabana Park, behind León Cortés statue, Ca. 42, Paseo Colón. Info: 2296-6565.

“Kabila: Unión de Tribus”
Dance show presented by Academia Danza O Fusión Cultural, with live music, performance by Persian folkloric dancer Shahrzad Khorsandi, Dec. 21, 4 p.m., National Auditorium, Children's Museum. Info: 2296-2022.

Starting Monday and continuing till Jan. 5, the Public Works and Transportation Ministry will temporarily suspend its program of ticketing cars that drive into San José on days when they are prohibited from doing so.

The vehicle restriction law was passed last July, and prevents certain cars, according to their license plate number, from driving in the city between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m. for one day each week.

Transport Minister Karla González said that fewer people will be driving during the holidays, which makes enforcing the law less of a priority.

There is one shared trait among all streaks: They end.

After 20 consecutive winless games against their archrival in the national soccer league, perennial bridesmaids LD Alajuelense finally beat Deportivo Saprissa 2-0 in front of their home crowd on Wednesday night in the first game of a two-part final of the Winter Tournament.

Alajuelense controlled the whole game, but the last 10 minutes of the first half particularly deflated the visitors. In a tense 35th minute, Alajuelense volleyed the ball around Saprissa's penalty box before midfielder Pablo Herrera sent a sharp header to the upper right V for the game's first goal.

Two minutes later, Saprissa defender Andrés Núñez received a red card, leaving his team to play down a man for the rest of the game.

Saprissa thought they'd finally got the ball in the net in the 43rd minute, only to have the goal called back by the line referee for offside.

Head Coach Jeaustin Campos then followed suit, getting himself ejected after arguing with the referees in injury time. In the second half, team (and national squad) captain Walter Ceteno sent a shot from the point-blank penalty mark over the cross bar in the 73rd minute.

Liga striker Marco Ureña got his own red card in the waning minutes of the second half, bringing both teams' number of players on the field to 10. But any hopes Saprissa had of equalizing were dashed when Liga midfielder Cristian Oviedo got taken down inside the box. He easily scored on the resulting penalty kick, putting the home squad up for good as the final whistle blew.

José Carlos Monge, 18, of Curridabat, was one of the dozens of fans who hoisted themselves on the field's gated fences while swinging jackets and pumping fists in cheer. The second goal, he said, was the key. “Anything can happen when you're just one goal ahead, but with two, we were more confident,” said.

The spry home side trumped their visitors' much-touted maturity. Saprissa looked old as they lumbered on the field, failing to mount any serious momentum. In the second half alone, Alajuelense had seven shots on goal and nine corner kicks to Saprissa's two and one. Saprissa, on the other hand, received five offside calls while Alajulense drew none.

Liguistas glowed as they walked out of the stadium, telling each other “It's already over,” and that they would soon be celebrating a championship for their team.

Liga players, on the other hand, weren't getting ahead of themselves. Striker Jean Carlos Solorzano said after the match the attitude in the locker room was “calm, happy to have gotten the job done, that's all.”

The match was the first in the two-leg final of the Winter Tournament. Tomorrow, Saprissa will host La Liga at Ricardo Saprissa Stadium in Tibás, to the capital's north. In these pairs of matches, often considered one 180-minute game, the team with the better goal differential – more goals scored versus goals allowed – after the ida and vuelta legs will take the tournament championship. Should the teams be tied after the end of regulation – in this case, if Saprissa is leading 2-0 at the end of regulation on Saturday – the teams will play two 15-minute overtimes, and, if necessary, will go to penalty kicks after that.

Alajuelense's last win against the Tibás squad came in May 2005.

While Saprissa's run might be over, at least one fan wasn't down.

“We've been champions for the last four years. Change is good,” said taxi driver and saprissísta Juan Rodríguez Nieto, 45. Besides, he said, “We're hoarse from shouting ‘champion.'”

TAMARINDO, Guanacaste – Residents once again scraped together funds this week to keep a 24-person police force from being evicted from town – for now.

Meanwhile, nearby local communities are reporting recent surges in crime on the eve of the high tourism season.

In August 2007, a local property owner withdrew land that used to house the Tamarindo police headquarters. Since then, the public has directly contributed ¢15 million (about $27,000) toward renting a police station, without which the busiest tourist town on Costa Rica's northwest Pacific coast would be without centrally located law enforcement.

“We've been asking the government for funds for over a year,” said Federico Amador, director of the Tamarindo Improvement Association.

Separately, a group of local business people also solicited funds from the Public Security Ministry this week.

“There's still a risk that we'll lose the police because of the lack of funding,” said one of the letter's signatories.

The Municipality of Santa Cruz has donated a 1,800-square-meter parcel of land in Tamarindo for a future police headquarters, but the community is still looking for funding for the project.

According to local business leaders, Tamarindo contributes 35 percent of the Santa Cruz canton tax revenue yet receives little to no return.