Cineforum: ‘My Fair Lady'
With film critic Alvaro Zamora, 7:30 p.m., Café Liberia, 75 m. south of Ekono Store, Liberia. Info: 2665-1660.

Medardo Guido Acevedo Culture Festival
6 p.m., park, Bagaces, Guanacaste.

International Storytelling Festival
With artists from Spain, Colombia, Cuba and Mexico, through Nov. 28, at Centro Alajuelense de la Cultura, Teatro Municipal de Alajuela, Juan Santamaría Museum, Escuela Central de Atenas. All shows, 7 p.m. Events at Monteverde and Casa de la Cultura, Nov. 22-26, 7 p.m.

II Transtica Ultramarathon
25-44 km. a day with camping, from Manuel Antonio to Manzanillo, Limón, through Nov. 28, further information at www.latranstica.org

It's officially all over. After five weeks of living on the brink of qualification and elimination, the World Cup dreams of the Ticos ended in nightmarish fashion Wednesday night, as Costa Rica lost the two-game series to Uruguay by an aggregate score of 2-1.

Fittingly, the final game of the Ticos' World Cup qualifying run followed the up-and-down, hope lost-hope found formula that characterized the team throughout the 10-game CONCACAF qualifying round and the subsequent playoff with Uruguay.

Needing a win to qualify for the World Cup, Costa Rica fell behind in the 70th minute, when Uruguay substitute Sebastián Abreu headed in a cross from six meters out. Sensing victory, the crowd at Montevideo began to celebrate their eventual World Cup berth.

And then the Ticos answered.

In the 74th minute, Costa Rican Captain Walter Centeno collected a rebound at the top of the 18-yard box and drove a low shot into the corner of the net. Suddenly, the Ticos were alive again, needing only one more goal to qualify for the World Cup.

In the 84th minute, they got their chance.

After a ball was flicked on by Bryan Ruiz, forward Alvaro Saborio found himself one on one with Uruguay defender Diego Lugano. Saborio beat Lugano and carried the ball into the left side of the box with only keeper Nestor Muslera standing in his way. But, as soon as the opportunity presented itself, Saborio struck his left-footed shot wide of the near post, and like so many others that came before it, Costa Rica's final chance at World Cup qualification went untaken.

The 2009 World Cup qualifying campaign for Costa Rica will forever be remembered for squandered opportunities, capped by Saborio's miss in the 84th minute of Wednesday night's game.

The Ticos led the CONCACAF region through August, lost three games to fall to fourth place, leapt back into third place and, in the final minute of the final qualifying game, gave up a goal to the U.S. to cost themselves automatic qualification.

Costa Rica then had to play Uruguay for the final World Cup berth from the North and South American region. After losing at home Saturday 1-0, the Ticos had to win Wednesday night to advance. In similar fashion to the U.S. tie on Oct. 14, when Costa Rica needed a win to advance to the World Cup, they mustered only a disappointing tie, even while they had the opportunities to win.

Uruguay assumes the final spot in the 32-team 2010 World Cup that begins in June in South Africa.

Costa Rica's Foreign Trade Minister Marco Vinicio Ruíz confirmed rumors Wednesday that the European Union and the Central American countries are approaching an agreement relating to banana tariffs, but he said negotiations aren't as close as has been reported.

“I think (others) have been a little optimistic,” he said in a phone interview with The Tico Times. “Not only do banana tariffs have to be negotiated, but there are other issues that need to be discussed.”

Ruíz, who has played a central role in the negotiations as the trade minister for the third leading banana exporter in the world, said bananas aren't the only product being negotiated.

“Because we are negotiating this as a group of countries, we have to wait until other countries are in agreement,” he said. “There are some countries that want a better (tariff) … for (products) like rum … and flowers.”

On Wednesday, Europe's trade commissioner Catherine Ashton told Reuters news service that they are approaching “the closing stages of what could be the end of this long dispute” and that an agreement could be reached in the coming week.

Ruíz responded, “I don't want to sound negative,” adding, “The discussion has really advanced … But we haven't finished.”

An agreement over banana tariffs would mark the end of a 16-year dispute between Europe and exporters in Latin America, who pay higher taxes than their African counterparts, and would also open doors for an association agreement with the European Union.

Ruíz expects consensus to be reached before the end of the year.

That the campaign season has hit Costa Rica with full force became apparent Wednesday, when President Oscar Arias' cabinet members used the better part of their weekly press conference to deflect criticism from the opposing party.

Arias is not running for re-election, but rival group the Citizen Action Party (PAC) is using him as a primary target in its campaign; accusing him of failed social programs and a souring economy.

“Education has been abandoned (and) the Costa Rican Social Security System has collapsed,” said PAC presidential candidate Ottón Solís at the presentation of his government plan at the Holiday Inn this week, according to the financial weekly El Financiero.

Roberto Gallardo, planning minister, arrived Wednesday at Casa Presidencial armed with a laptop full of spreadsheets to defend the administration against Solís' shots.

Deflecting anticipated criticism for using time with the press for campaign issues, Minister of the Presidency Rodrigo Arias said, “The government has a right to defend itself. (PAC) said things that weren't true.”

Solís, who lost to Arias in the 2006 elections by a mere 2 percent of the vote, remains 30 points behind leading candidate Laura Chinchilla in the polls with less than three months to go on the campaign trail.

Many political analysts consider that a Chinchilla presidency, who served as vice president under Oscar Arias, will in many ways represent a continuation of Arias' government.