Figuras Blancas in concert
Rock, 9 p.m., El Observatorio, Barrio La California, across from Cine Magaly. Info: 2223-0725.

Theater at Noon
Features a dance show by Danza Universitaria, Aug. 18, noon, National Theater.

Martes por la Noche concerts
Oscilador, 7 p.m., room 107, UCR School of Music, San Pedro.

Costa Rican President Oscar Arias will fully resume his duties Tuesday after recovering from a mild case of H1N1 flu, the government said Monday.

Arias is the only known head of state to have contracted the virus – initially called swine flu – showing signs of low fever, sore throat and headaches. The 68-year-old leader belongs to a higher-risk category because he suffers from asthma.

After it was announced a week ago, Arias stayed home but reportedly continued to work from his San José residence.

The president is expected to attend the inauguration Tuesday of the National Center of Biotechnological Innovation.

Nearly 1,000 people in Costa Rica have been confirmed to be carrying H1N1 and 28 people have died, according to the Health Ministry.

The flu has hit most of the country's seven provinces and infected people of all ages. Pregnant women and people with weakened immune systems are most vulnerable.

Search teams increased efforts Monday to find David Gimelfarb, the 28-year-old doctoral student from Chicago who disappeared last Tuesday in Costa Rica's Rincón de la Vieja National Park in the northwest province of Guanacaste.

Red Cross officials from San José said 10 extra members of the Red Cross joined the search in the park, increasing the total number to 25. Combined with park rangers and local residents, close to 70 people are looking for the Chicago resident, who was still missing as of Monday afternoon.

Officials were not sure exactly how much of the park had been searched, but Freddy Román, a press officer for the Red Cross, said that teams had covered “good portion” of the area.

If search efforts don't muster any results after eight days, teams will begin looking for signs of Gimelfarb outside the boundaries of the more than 14,000-hectare (34,000-acre) national park, he said.

Meanwhile, friends and family are helping in every way they can to locate the 28-year-old.

Gimelfarb's mother Ludmilla and father Roma Gimelfarb flew to Costa Rica last Thursday to aid local efforts.

Ratana Koka, a family friend who accompanied the couple to Costa Rica, said they are not allowed to assist directly with the search because it would be too dangerous. But Koka and the family are buying groceries and running the supplies to search teams inside the park.

Koka is informing locals of the situation and said the family is holding out hope that Gimelfarb will be found.

“We haven't reached the point where we are giving up,” she said. “If anything, we are ramping up. The people in the area have been absolutely fantastic. They all want to help out.”

On Monday night, friends back in Chicago researched private search companies that are equipped with infrared and heat seeking technology, Koka said. Officials have informed the family that this equipment may be the best way to locate Gimelfarb.

Gimelfarb arrived in Costa Rica alone last week to go hiking and relieve the pressure from his doctoral program in psychology. He was staying at the Hotel Hacienda Guachipelin in Guanacaste.

A communiqué from his family described him as an experienced hiker.

Those who have information about his disappearance or are interested in assisting are urged to contact his family at the Hotel Hacienda Guachipelin: 2665-3215.

Costa Rican specialty coffee provider Café Britt has announced plans to expand operations and construct locations in Antigua, Chile, Mexico and Peru. Café Britt also intends to build eight more locations in Costa Rica in the next 12 months.

The expansion of the Café Britt line, which originated in Costa Rica in 1985, will begin with a location in the V.C. Bird International Airport in the Caribbean island of Antigua. Café Britt will also construct a café in Iquique, Chile, as well as locations in Urubamba and Paracas, Peru. In Cancún, Mexico, Café Britt is creating a bean roasting plant to develop a line of Mexican produced coffee, according to media reports from around the region.

The new international locations, as well as the eight new Costa Rican stores, required an investment of $5 million. The next two locations planned for Costa Rica are expected to be located in the Cariari and Corobicí hotels in San José.

According to the Café Britt website, the company currently has over 50 locations in five different countries. Café Britt's first international expansion was in Peru in 2005.