Limón Roots Black Culture Festival
10 a.m.-1 p.m., “Fraternal Gathering Celebration,” Liberty Hall (Black Star Line); 3 p.m., Gala Parade, downtown streets. Info: 2253-2912, www.limonroots.net.

Volvamos a Nuestras Raíces Festival
Barber contest, 10 a.m., Barbería Gardner's Barber Shop No. 2, Black Star Line, Limón; Dance Fest, Aug. 31, 6 p.m., in front of Cosybo, Limón.

11th Flores de la Diáspora Africana Festival
Afro-Latin American film festival, Aug. 31-Sept. 11, 4 p.m., Channel 15; Arts Fusion show, with martial arts, Afro-Latino drums, performance by MasterKey, Aug. 31, 7 p.m., Eugene O'Neill Theater, CCCN.

The International Surfing Association (ISA) 2009 World Surfing Games, held in Playa Hermosa and Jacó from Aug. 1-8, was officially the most attended and covered event in the history of Costa Rican sports.

During the eight-day tournament, more than 70,000 spectators visited Hermosa beach, on the central Pacific coast, to watch surfers from 35 different countries compete for titles in the Men's and Women's Open and longboard competitions. According to the ISA, the 70,000-plus audience was the biggest turnout ever recorded for a surfing event. 

The Jacó and Playa Hermosa region reaped the benefit of the heavy volume of tourists. Hotels, restaurants and businesses in Jacó have reported earnings of more than $2.5 million during the eight days of competition. The money made during the competition is three times more than the average sales expected from a regular tourism high season in Jacó.

More than 100 different media outlets covered the event, including more than 50 international publications, news and radio stations. Coverage of the event was offered in Spanish, English, French and Portuguese.

“Today, the country of Costa Rica, thanks to the results that transcended our expectations for the event, has shown that it is a country that surfs at the highest level and receives great support from fans across the country,” José Ureña, president of the Surf Federation of Costa Rica and coach of the national team.

A new method for processing residency requests is expected to slice the wait time by a third and create greater fluidity in legalizing professional immigrants.

A four-step process that takes upwards of 15 days will be cut down to two steps, requiring fewer than 10 days and allowing all paperwork to be processed over the Internet, according to a news release from the Economy Ministry.

“The initiative complements a government commitment to eliminate unnecessary and highly bureaucratic procedures and improve competitive conditions in the country,” said Jorge Woodbridge, minister for competitiveness. “(It will) benefit the climate of investment – both domestic and foreign – and ensure better opportunities and employment for Costa Ricans.”

The new digital system will be used with residency applications for scientists, technical support personnel, professionals and managers, as well as their spouses and children.

For Alejandro Rodríguez, a lawyer who processes residency applications on behalf of Sony Ericsson, the new system converts a “very difficult, very bothersome, very complicated system” into a “more efficient, more convenient” one.

“Historically, it was a challenge because Costa Rica receives many applications for residency,” he said. “Now we can submit a residency request at any time during the day … and we can file the paperwork two to three months before an employee arrives in the country.”

Approximately 58 companies have been preapproved for the digital system, with a pilot phase beginning Sept. 1.

“This new system represents improvements in care and services to users, offering a greater number of tools to facilitate and expedite immigration services throughout the country," said Mario Zamora, general director of immigration. He said the simplification promotes foreign investment and retention of transnational corporations.

Campaigning for Honduras' Nov. 29 presidential election is set to begin this week amid high tensions as domestic and international pressure continues to build in the Central American country, two months after the ouster of President Manuel Zelaya.

Elvin Santos and Porfirio Lobo are launching campaigns for their respective parties, the Liberal Party of Honduras and the National Party of Honduras. Despite being marred by one of the region's worst political crises in decades, the politicians said they will set forth on their campaigns with optimism.

Lobo said Sunday his government would consist of an “integration of ample participation so that all of us together can make the changes necessary to build a future with hope,” newswire EFE reported.

Santos pledged to create employment and improve participation of municipal governments to spur development in the country, one of the Americas' poorest.

Followers of Zelaya – who was elected in 2005 on the Liberal Party ticket – consider both candidates to be coup sympathizers.

The United States raised the pressure Thursday, threatening to characterize Zelaya's ouster as a coup d'etat, which effectively would suspend millions in development aid to Honduras, the Associated Press reported.

The move came after the different branches of the Honduran government rejected a Costa Rica-brokered plan for reconciliation, which gained international backing after tense negotiations in President Oscar Arias' living room. The proposed San José Agreement calls for a return of Zelaya to the presidency and amnesty for alleged political crimes committed – by Zelaya or the de facto government.

Roberto Micheletti, Honduras' de facto president, last week sent a communiqué to Arias proposing alternatives to the Costa Rican Nobel Peace Prize laureate's plan, reported Honduras' Radio América. Although details of the document were not immediately available, Micheletti has said restoring Zelaya's presidency is unacceptable, that the exiled leader should sit on trial if he returns and that Honduras should go ahead with elections slated for November.