Zapote Traditional Fair
Rides, food, games, concerts, bullfights, Dec. 25-Jan. 3, Zapote.

Movie Premiers

“Alvin and the Chipmunks 2” (Alvin y las ardillas 2): Dubbed in Spanish The world famous singing pre-teen chipmunk trio return to contend with the pressures of school, celebrity, and a rival female music group known as The Chipettes. Starring Zachary Levi, David Cross, Jason Lee, Justin Long. Directed by Betty Thomas. Cariari, Cinemark del Este, Cinemark Escazú, Cinépolis Desamparados, Cinépolis Terramall, Flores, Internacional, San Carlos, San Pedro, San Ramón.

“Cherry Blossoms” (Las flores del Cerezo – Hanami): When Trudi learns that her husband Rudi is dangerously ill, she suggests visiting their children in Berlin without telling him the truth. As Franzi and Karl don't care much about their parents, Trudi and Rudi go to the Baltic Sea, where Trudi suddenly dies. Rudi is thrown out of gear, even more when he learns that his wife wanted to live a totally different life in Japan. Starring Elmar Wepper, Hannelore Elsner. Directed by Doris Dörrie. Cinépolis Terramall.

“Princess and the Frog” (La princesa y el sapo): Dubbed in Spanish. A fairy tale set in Jazz Age-era New Orleans and centered on a young girl named Princess Tiana and her fateful kiss with a frog prince who desperately wants to be human again. Starring Anika Noni Rose, Bruno Campos. Directed by Ron Clements and John Musker. Cariari, Cinemark del Este, Cinemark Escazú, Cinépolis Desamparados, Cinépolis Terramall, Flores, Internacional, Plaza Mayor, San Carlos, San Pedro, San Ramón.

See the Tico Times “Weekend” section for more movie offerings and details on cinemas in Costa Rica.

Tope
Horse parade, Dec. 26, noon, Paseo Colón. 

Middle East concert
By Cardamomo including belly dance, flamenco, Dec. 26, at 9:30 p.m., Jazz Café, San Pedro.

Eladio Mujica in concert
Dec. 26, 5:30 p.m., Villa Caletas, 9 km before Jacó, Puntarenas, 2630-3000, concierge@villacaletas.com.

Miami Jazz Quartet in concert
Jazz, Dec. 26, 9 p.m., Jazz Café, Escazú, www.jazzcafecostarica.com.

Electronic World 09
With Van Dj, Dj Full, Dec. 26, 7 p.m., Enfasis Discotheque, 1 km east of the Bailey bridge, Cartago, 8950-8417.

Desamparados Carnival
Bands, cheerleaders, bikes, motorcycles, mascaradas, comparsas, Dec. 27, noon, Desamparados, leaving from Escuela Joaquín García Monge to the park.

Dogandul in concert
Ska, Dec. 27, 9 p.m., Jazz Café, San Pedro.

IX San Silvestre Long Distance Race
10.4 km., Dec. 31, 8 a.m., all ages, wheelchairs, also children's free race at 9:30 a.m., start and finish line at Runners Store in Pavas, registration deadline Dec. 27 (includes shirt), at Runners Stores in Pavas, Curridabat and Heredia, 2290-7212, 2296-1905, www.gsxg.net

Fiestas at Pueblo Viejo
Dec. 24-27, Pueblo Viejo, Santa Cruz, Guanacaste.

Santa appeared to be coming late this season after a Christmas shopping bonanza nearly collapsed the mail service from the United States to Costa Rica.

Courier services said they were caught off guard by the binge of holiday shopping that came this month, which they said was a positive consumer response to the buzz they started about “Black Friday,” the day after Thanksgiving when sales kick off the Christmas shopping rush in the United States.

The couriers promoted online shopping for residents here to take part in the U.S. sales –that's when the bottleneck emerged.

“Internet shopping was huge this year in Costa Rica,” said Jeff Duchesneau, general manager of Aerocasillas. He said this month Costa Rica's holiday-time online purchases from stores in the United States have doubled the amount of last December, attributing the growth partly to low prices and also to what he believes is a trend that's catching on.

An estimated 100,000 people in Costa Rica use courier services such as Aerocasillas, as well as Interlink Express, Jetbox, Speedobox and a host of others. They provide the logistics, from setting customers up with a Miami, Florida mailing address to sending the parcels and delivering them to a Costa Rican address.

But the logistical operation hit a snag, said Duchesneau. Planes have been hard to come by as Costa Rican exports continue to slump, in a recession that has made it less desirable for air carriers to fly full of cargo to Costa Rica and then nearly empty on the U.S. return flight, he said.

“The middle two weeks of December were just brutal. The real bottleneck came from the airline shipping to Costa Rica,” the Aerocasillas manager said.

Duchesneau said his customers were not happy, and just as fast as they clicked through their online purchases they've been filling his inbox and sending Tweets on the online social network Twitter to voice their frustrations with the delays.

“Things are finally starting to flow again,” he said Tuesday.

But for some Costa Rican and expat families here, it remains to be seen if Santa makes it in time.

Costa Rica slows down for the holidays, with some venues including the National Theater closed for vacation. But that doesn't mean there's nothing open at all. Here's a list of some businesses such as banks and museums and details about when they will be open and closed during the holiday season.

Museums: The Central Bank Museums (also known as the Gold Museum, 2243-4202) underneath Plaza de la Cultura will be closed Dec. 24 to 25 and Dec. 31 to Jan. 3. The Children's Museum (2258-4929) at

Ca. 4, Av. 9, and the National Museum (2257-1433) at Ca.17, Av. Central/2, will be closed Dec. 24 to 25 and Dec. 31 to Jan. 1. The Contemporary Art and Design Museum (2257-9370) at CENAC, Av. 3/5, Ca. 15/17, will close Dec. 18 and reopen Jan. 4. INBioparque (2507-8107) in Santo Domingo de Heredia will be closed Dec. 24 to 25 and Dec. 31 to Jan. 1.

Banks: BAC San José (2295-9595) will be closed Dec. 25 to 27 and Dec. 30 to Jan. 4. Banca Promérica (2519-8090, 2258-2212) branches will be closed Dec. 25 and Jan. 1. On Dec. 26, the branch in Escazú (Cedral) will open 10 a.m.-1 p.m., while offices in Pavas, Heredia, Alajuela, San José, San Francisco and Plaza del Sol, Curridabat, will open 9 a.m.-noon. On Dec. 27 and Jan. 2 and 3, only the Novacentro and Zapote branches will open, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. On Dec. 31, all offices will close at 2 p.m. Banco de Costa Rica (2287-9000) branches will be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 24, and closed Dec. 25 to 27 and Dec. 31 to Jan. 3. Banco Nacional (2211-2000) will be closed Dec. 25 to 27 and Dec. 31 to Jan. 3. Banco Popular (2211-7000) will be closed from noon Dec. 24 through Dec. 28 and from Dec. 31 to Jan. 4. Bancrédito (2550-0202) will be closed Dec. 25 to 27 and Jan. 1 to 3. HSBC (2287-1111) will be closed Dec. 25 and Jan. 1. Mutual Alajuela (2437-1000) will close most of its offices at 4 p.m. Dec. 24 through Dec. 27, and Dec. 31 to Jan. 2. Scotiabank (2210-4000) will be closed from 3 p.m. Dec. 24 through Dec. 26, Dec. 31 and Jan. 1; some branches may effect additional closures.

For a longer list, including embassies, supermarkets and veterinarians, see this week's Tico Times print or digital edition.

Ofelia Taitelbaum, a former National Liberation Party (PLN) legislator, was named Costa Rica's new ombudswoman last week, but her appointment has drawn questions about whether she can remain neutral in her duties at the helm of an office designed to be the public's government whistleblower.

On Sunday, hundreds of citizens marched through downtown San José to protest the choice of an ombudswoman criticized for an alleged bias and for being sympathetic to fellow party members in the Legislative Assembly and the government of President Oscar Arias.

Rafael Román, a Moravia resident, attended the march and told the daily La Nacíon that “the naming of Taitelbaum is a slap in the face to the principles and values of democracy.”

The Ombudsman's Office is a legal agency that acts as an independent intermediary between citizens and their government. It handles civilian complaints against state actions and rules in favor or against national legislation.

Rulings are not binding, but they play a major role in determining if a bill is fair to citizens and is in line with Costa Rica's constitution.

Opponents to Taitelbaum's naming fear that someone who was once so closely tied to the PLN agenda will not be able to work along non-partisan lines.

PLN members have backed Taitelbaum, saying that she won the position fairly with the majority of legislator votes – 30 in favor out of 57. But 23 of those 30 yeas came from PLN lawmakers.

President Arias announced his support of the new ombudswoman, bestowing presidential clout to the ostensibly non-political post.