Pixilation workshop
By French video artist Armel Hostiou, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-noon, Galería Amón, Barrio Amón. Info: 2221-6971.

Un Rojo in concert
Reggae, Mundoloco concert series, 10 p.m., Jazz Café, San Pedro. Info: 2253-8933, www.jazzcafecostarica.com.

Santos y Zurdo in concert
Trip-hop, electro-jazz, 10 p.m., Jazz Café, Escazú. Info: 2288-4740, www.jazzcafecostarica.com.

Costa Rican exporters sustained a considerable blow from the global economic crisis in January, grossing only $600.6 million, 19 percent below the January 2008 total, the Foreign Trade Ministry (COMEX) reported.

The recession in the United States, the chief importer of Tico-made goods, continued to cut into company earnings here. Last month saw $220.7 million in goods exported to the U.S., down by 17.6 percent from January 2008.

Computer parts were hit the hardest, said COMEX, citing losses of as much as $56 million, or 30 percent.

“One of the principal causes of the lower level of operation of exporting companies is based on the difficulty in this sector to attain lines of credit,” Foreign Trade Minister Marco Vinicio Ruiz said in a statement.

Amid the grim figures, the Foreign Trade Promotion Office found a ray of hope: Canada. Against the grain, exports to the U.S. northern neighbor rose by 9.7 percent in January compared with the same month last year, with ornamental plants, tires, pineapples and textiles driving the increase.

Costa Rica's University for Peace announced a new master's program designed as an MBA for sustainable development professionals.

The United Nations-charted university near Ciudad Colón, west of San José, will launch the M.A. Program on Responsible Management and Sustainable Economic Development in September, UPEACE said in a press release.

“We believe that it is essential for those interested in international affairs, the prevention of conflict, and the advancement of human rights and equitable social progress to have a thorough understanding of the world of economics and business,” UPEACE rector John J. Maresca said.

The program is 11 months long, requiring 40 credits – 32 in coursework, eight for an internship or project and final written assignment – to graduate.

Anyone interested in applying can visit the university's Web site at www.upeace.org.

MANAGUA – Spanish hotel chain Barceló has opened a new, six-story, 147 room hotel here, the company's second property in Nicaragua.

The five-star Barceló Managua is located in the southern section of the capital, near the Masaya highway, according to Barceló's executive in charge of Central Ame rica and South Ame rica, Carlos Ruiz.

The Spanish hospitality and travel company's other hotel in this country is the Barceló Playa Montelimar Resort & Casino, located on the Pacific coast some 55 kilometers south of Managua.

Barceló will manage the hotel for Grupo Amano, which owns the property and has invested $10 million in developing it, Ruiz said.

The hotel offers a la carte and buffet restaurants, a bar, meeting facilities, a swimming pool, gym, gift shop and ample parking, Barceló Managua general manager Gerardo Caligari said.

The hotel, which opened for business on Friday, will be officially inaugurated in April.

Barceló Hotels & Resorts operates four- and five-star hotels in Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Ecuador and Guatemala.