Art Show: ‘Ambulatoria Crónicas de Eidolá … la búsqueda romántica'
By Cuban artists Antonio Bustamante, through Jan. 16, Sophia Wanamaker Gallery, Costa Rican North American Cultural Center, Los Yoses.

Copa del Café
Teenagers of 46 countries compete in this tennis competition at Costa Rican Country Club, Escazú. Watch the finals on Jan. 9.

Palmares Classic Long Distance Race
13 km. cross country, Jan. 23, 3 p.m., start and finish line at north side of A.C.P. offices, Palmares, Alajuela. Registration deadline Jan. 19 at Importadora Monge, Palmares (2453- 9797); On The Road, Pavas, across from Bomba Shell (2220-0060); Lux Sport Center, Av. 2 (2262-8675), Decatlón, 100 m. east of Fuente de la Hispanidad, San Pedro (2524- 2014); DO sport, 200 m north, 25 east of Hipermás, Cartago (2553-5858).

Costa Rica's Turrialba volcano spewed a large cloud of smoke and ash Tuesday afternoon, in what scientists said was the first activity of its kind in nearly 150 years, which prompted the evacuation of families who live at the foot of the mountain.

Red Cross spokesman Freddy Román told The Tico Times, as of 7 p.m. Tuesday, there were no reports of injuries but emergency workers were staying alert. He said contact with volcanic ash can cause respiratory or other health problems particularly among young children, people with asthma or pregnant women.

The Red Cross dispatched three ambulances and teams of rescue workers to the area, east of San José in the province of Cartago, in what Román described as “prevention and assistance operations.”

The National Emergency Commission (CNE) said in a news release late Tuesday that emergency workers evacuated 21 people from the town of La Pastora.

In May 2007 Turrialba began to show signs of increased activity, according to Juan Segura, director of Volcanological and Seismological Observatory of Costa Rica (OVSICORI). Scientists with the observatory have noticed higher seismic activity and gas emissions that burn and cause discoloration in the vegetation near the volcano, which hurts local agriculture and the livestock.

Segura said Turrialba's last major eruption was in 1864.

The Red Cross spokesman said for several months emergency teams have been planning and training with locals to prepare for a large-scale evacuation in the event of an eruption.

The 46th edition of the Copa del Café, Costa Rica's international tennis tournament, took to the court Monday at the Costa Rica Country Club in Escazú, west of San José. The youth competition, which was first held in Costa Rica in 1965, features 128 youth tennis stars from a tournament-record 49 countries.

The Copa del Café will be played throughout the week, concluding Saturday with the championship round.

The first round of the tournament wasn't particularly kind to the home team. On Monday, all eight of the Ticos competing in singles competition were eliminated. Alan Reifer almost carried the Tico torch to the second round. Reifer won the first set 6-3 against Israeli Alon Faiman, though fell in the following sets 3-6 and 5-7. The Ticos still have several players competing in the doubles competition, which began Tuesday afternoon.

The Copa del Café touts an impressive list of alumni who have competed in the tournament throughout the years, including tennis greats such as Bjorn Borg, Ivan Lendl, 2009 U.S. Open winner Juan Martín del Potro and current tennis king Roger Federer. On the women's side, stars such as Amanda Coetzer and Jana Novotna competed in the Copa del Café.

This year's tournament has its share of young tennis stars as well. On the boy's side, Mate Zsiga of Hungary, Renzo Olivo of Argentina, John Morrissey of Ireland and Alexis Carlos of Mexico are all ranked among the world's top 100 youth players by the International Tennis Federation (ITF). Morrisey was upset in the first round by U.S. player Bjorn Fratangelo, who advanced to the third round, which will be played on Wednesday.

On the girl's side, Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada tops the list of female players. Dabrowski, the number one seed in the competition, is ranked 13 th in the world and has cruised through the first two rounds. The number two seed, Polina Leykina from Russia, who was ranked 27 th in the world, lost her first round match to Tristen Dewar from the U.S., who was ranked 535 th prior to the tournament. Aside from Leykina, the other top six seeds on the women's side have advanced to Wednesday's third round.

Matches will be played throughout the week at the Costa Rica Country Club. Play begins at 8:30 a.m., continuing through the day and into the evening. A full schedule and summary of the events can be found at www.copacafe.com.

See the Jan. 8 print or digital edition of The Tico Times for more on this story.

A new ambassador to Costa Rica is taking the helm at the Chinese Embassy this month at a pivotal time in the two countries' bilateral relations.

Given that the Chinese are halfway through the construction of an $83 million soccer stadium in La Sabana Park that they are donating to Costa Rica, and Tico legislators are debating the merits of a free trade agreement with the Asian giant, the newly arrived diplomat Li Changhua will play a crucial role in seeing those projects to fruition.

Changhua has worked in foreign service in Latin America for nearly 30 years, most recently as the ambassador to Colombia.

He is replacing Wang Xiaoyuan, who served as China's first ambassador to Costa Rica and propelled China into its current position as one of this Central American country's most important diplomatic partners. In addition to his role in the donation of the stadium, several rounds of trade negotiations and talks toward the expansion of Costa Rica's oil refinery, he laid the first brick in the development of a planned Chinatown in downtown San José.

“Relations between the two countries have been developing quickly and consistently and the common points of interest have increased every day,” said Xiaoyuan, about halfway through his time here. “We are applying all our efforts to promote friendship between China and Costa Rica and to foster mutually beneficial bilateral cooperation.”

Costa Rican President Oscar Arias hopes to conclude free trade talks with China before he leaves office in May, but he needs a vote from the legislature before it can take effect.

Changhua, a father and husband, will inherit the free trade talks as one of his primary responsibilities as new ambassador.