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Workshop “Dances from India ”
Dictated by Andrea Vargas, March 28, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., 2-5 p.m., Signos Teatro Danza, San Pedro, across from del Colegio Dante Aligheiri, 2234-5584, 8876-0541, 8313-7467.

Allan Guzman in Concert
Trova, March 28, 10 p.m., Jazz Café, San Pedro.

Cattle Exhibit and Fair
Including activities for children, bull riding shows, rodeo, food sales, March 26-29, fair ground Tomás Batalla Esquivel, behind Herradura Hotel, Ciudad Cariari, Heredia.

Calamares Festival
Including concerts, popular dance classes, contests, and free servings of rice with squid, March 28, 9 a.m.-1 p.m., Parque de la Paz, road to Desamparados.

Holy Week: a Brief inside on what Costa Ricans Do

Special activities start on Holy Thursday Night with a mass remembering the Last Super, afterwards people visit “ Los Santos Monumentos ,” (stages set in a corner of the temples with scenes of the Bible) until midnight. On Good Friday, processions start between 9-10 a.m. (check schedules with the closest church) with the Stations of the Cross, remembering Jesus Christ's Crucifixion. Most highlighted processions happen in San Joaquín de Flores, east of Heredia province and Tierra Blanca, in Cartago because they have “life characters.” At 3 p.m., Catholic temples hold the “Mass of the Silence,” and a procession with Virgin Mary and John the disciple. By 6 p.m. Catholics celebrate the Holly Burial Procession. On Holy Saturday, priests hold the Easter Mass at night (between 6-8 p.m. depending on the town's church schedule). This mass normally starts with a solemn tone and in the middle of the celebration the sad environment turns to a more vivid ambiance, contributors run set flowers and a clothe in the altar, and music is more joyful. At the end, people shares some coffee, cookies, homemade bread. Some youngsters normally have the traditional “ Quema de Judas ,” (Judas' Incineration). That is, they get together with pieces of clothe and make a maniquí, which is burn out on Saturday night.

Except for the religious activities, Central Valley towns become deserted because all business close on Holy Thursday and Good Friday. Government offices are already on vacation and will be back on operation on April 5.

Good news is that there is not vehicle plaque restriction March 26-April 4 and it's very nice to drive or hike. Public commuters have to take into account that normally, there are no bus services on Good Friday and bus schedules decrease on those days. It is always good to check with bus companies for their special services on those days.

12TH INTERNATIONAL ARTS FESTIVAL

SAN JOSE

National Theater: “Flamenco Republic,” dance by María Pagés (Spain), March 27-28, 8 p.m.

Melico Salazar Theater: “Aire frío,” play by Teatro Avante (U.S.), March 27-28, at 8 p.m.

Teatro de la Danza (CENAC): “Futuros difuntos,” play by La Zaranda (Spain), March 26-28, at 8:30 p.m.

Teatro 1887 (CENAC): “Los Velásquez,” play directed by Alejandro Casavalle (Argentina-C.R.), March 27-28, at 6:30 p.m.

La Aduana Theater (Ca. 23, Av. 3): “Hecho en el Perú,” play by Yuyachkany (Peru), March 27-28, all at 7 p.m.

La Aduana (Ca. 23, Av. 3/7): “Andersen's Dream,” play by Odin Teatret (Denmark), March 26-28, 7 p.m.

Eugene O'Neill Theater (CCCN): “El Quijote,” play by La Candelaria (Colombia), March 27-28, at 7 p.m.

Club Vértigo (Centro Colón, Paseo Colón): “Sí, pero no lo soy,” play by CDN (Spain), March 26-28, 7 p.m.

Vargas Calvo Theater (National Theater): Colectivo Brecha (C.R.), March 26, 7

and 9 p.m.; “El ogrito,” play by Génesis (C.R.), March 28, 2 p.m.

Contemporary Art and Design Museum : Piel de Naranja and Alejandra Sol, film “Smoking Room,” March 26; Yamil de la Paz and Alejandra Sol, film “La región perdida,” March 27, all performances at 6 p.m., films at 7 p.m.

La Sabana Park: Lake Stage –March 26, Beselch Rodríguez (Spain), 6:30 p.m., Reyes Vallenatos (Colombia) and Yamo-Yamo (Africa), 7:30 p.m.; March 27, Gandhi (C.R.) and Fito Páez (Argentina), 8 p.m.; March 28, Gilberto Santa Rosa (Puerto Rico) and National Youth Symphony (C.R.), 7 p.m.

Parking Lot (opposite Costa Rican Art Museum) –March 26, Ballet Folclórico (Panama), 1 p.m., storytelling by Seberiano, 4 p.m., Vaca Lula show, 5 p.m., concert by Los Garífunas and Vibration, 6:30 p.m.; March 27, storytelling by Anancy the Spider, 10 a.m., tango show by Patricia Velázquez, 1 p.m., Lucho Calavera, La Canalla and Canteca de Macao, 6:30 p.m.; March 28, “Naturaleza artística” show by Proartes, 10 a.m., “Pinoccio verde” show by Proartes, noon, “Mirando al norte” play by Proartes,

5 p.m., storytelling by Aldo Méndez (Cuba), 6 p.m.

El Farolito Stand –March 26, puppet show, 3 p.m., cardboard puppet workshop, 4 p.m.; March 27, puppet show by Grupo Ticotíteres, 11 a.m., workshop for kids by Fernando Thiel, noon, music, dance and theater show by Grupo Orquesta, 3 p.m.; March 28, “Uvieta” play by 4 Vientos, 11 a.m., string doll-making workshop, noon.

LIMÓN

Casa de la Cultura: “Mar y naturaleza,” art exhibit, March 26-28.

Park Stage: March 26, “Un guisante para la princesa” play by Balagam theater group (Germany) 5 p.m., concerts by Plan B and Canteca de Macao (Spain), 7 p.m.; March 27, “Sancho Panza gobernador” play by El Papel theater group, 2 p.m., folkloric show (Panama), 3:30 p.m., monologue show (Spain), 5 p.m., concert by Beselch Rodriguez (Spain) and Reyes Vallenatos (Colombia), 7 p.m.; March 28, concerts by Sege (C.R.), 5 p.m., Cantoamérica and Calipsonian (C.R.), 6:30 p.m., Yamo-Yamo (Africa), 7:30 p.m.

ALAJUELA

Municipal Theater: March 26, “Timbre 4” play, 7 p.m.; March 27, dance show by Proartes, 7 p.m.

Park Stage: March 26, play by Proartes Group, 11 a.m., concerts by Humberto

Vargas, María Pretiz, Bernardo Quesada and Javier Ruibal, 8:30 p.m.; March 27, concerts by Sege, Cantoamérica, Calipsonian and Yamo-Yamo, 8:30 p.m.; March 28, folkloric show (Panama), 3:30 p.m., concerts by Ig Blech (Germany), 5 p.m., and Chocolate, 8:30 p.m.

Five beaches lost their “blue flag” in 2009, meaning they did not perform up to standard when measured for pollution and the health of their ecosystem.

The beaches include Bejuco, El Rey, Hermosa de Garabito and Quesera, all in Puntarenas.

Of the 81 beaches participating in the program, 61 were recognized with blue flags.

Topping the list with five stars are Guanacaste's Punta del Madero and Playa Blanca de Punta Leona near Jacó.

Flags were also awarded to communities, protected areas, schools and watersheds in recognition of activists' commitment to environmental protection and conservation. Three hundred and thirteen entities were recognized with blue flags in total.

“Since 1996, the Blue Flag Ecological Program has been a national distinction, with international significance, for these communities, beaches and institutions that excel in the common objective of living in a better Costa Rica,” said Ricardo Sancho, president of the Costa Rican Water and Sewer Institute (AyA).

“Today, I celebrate with the winners, who have accomplished their highest hopes for the environment and the protection of water resources … making Costa Rica an environmental leader, which is where we want to be.”

President Oscar Arias, who was present at the award ceremony in INBio Park on Friday morning, said, “We've done everything possible to contribute to sustainable development in Costa Rica. Each one of the millions of trees planted … each square kilometer of forest we've protected … each school that received the Ecological Blue Flag, each beach we've cleaned, each river we've rescued, each species we've defended are testimonies to a government deeply committed to environmental issues.

“Today, our country – Costa Rica – is greener than it was four years ago, and the world knows it.”

Costa Rican President Oscar Arias slipped in his approval rating, dropping six points since the last CID-Gallup poll gauging his popularity.

According to a study of more than 1,200 Ticos, he received the thumbs-up from 67 percent, and a thumbs-down from 27 percent.

Perhaps the real surprise was the support behind newly-elected Honduran President Porfirio “Pepe” Lobo. Recovering from violently divided country, which saw its last president marched out of his home at gunpoint, a period of curfews and isolation from the rest of the world, Lobo's approval ranked second in Central America.

He received a 75 percent approval rating, just under top-ranking Central American president, Mauricio Funes of El Salvador, at 82 percent.

The least-liked president in Central America and the Caribbean continues to be Nicaragua's Daniel Ortega. Forty-eight percent of Nicaraguans approve of his job performance versus 43 percent who disapprove.

Even though Arias is slipping, his approval is still well above where it was 15 months ago. A CID-Gallup study published in the daily La República in the fall of 2008 found only 24 percent approved of his work (TT, Nov. 2008).

According to CID-Gallup, this will be the last time Arias' job performance is measured, as he will hand over the presidency to Costa Rica's first female president Laura Chinchilla on May 8 th of this year.

Honduran journalists Bayardo Mairena and Manuel Juarez were shot to death on March 26, raising the death toll for journalists to five in the month of March, Honduran police spokeswoman Elsa Rodriguez told Bloomberg news.

Rodriguez said that police have no suspects in the case and have not established a motive. Mairena and Juarez were murdered after directing a program for the local station Radio Excelsior in the town of Catacamas.

Even before the latest murders, the United Nations last week had stepped up the global outcry over Honduras' recent journalist killings, calling for the new government of that Central American country to take action.

Nahúm Palacios, 34, a TV and radio journalist who covered drug trafficking and politics, was gunned down on March 14 in Tocoa, a city in the north Atlantic department of Colón, his car peppered with 42 bullet holes, according to press reports.

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, an autonomous body of the Organization of American States, reportedly had urged the Honduran government in July 2009 to provide protection for Palacios because of threats and harassment that he had received. However, local media reported that this protection never arrived.

According to the independent nonprofit Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Palacios had received threats from the military in June 2009 after his critical coverage of the coup that ousted former President Manuel Zelaya.

“The murder of Mr. Nahúm Palacios Arteaga is a denial of freedom of information, a fundamental right that is a cornerstone of a democratic society,” said Irina Bokova, director-general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The organization is the only U.N. agency with a mandate to defend freedom of expression and press freedom.

“I call on the authorities to do their utmost to bring the perpetrators to justice, to show that impunity will not be tolerated in Honduras,” Bokova said.

The killing of Palacios was the third deadly attack on the media in two weeks. The International Press Institute ranks Honduras the second most dangerous country for journalists this year, after Mexico.

On March 11, radio reporter David Meza was killed in La Ceiba, also on the Atlantic coast. Government officials told the CPJ that police were investigating whether the journalist's work, in a region rife with organized crime, was a possible motive.

Though Costa Rica may be faced with antiquated press freedom legislation and a slow-moving congress, barriers to journalists are minor when compared with some of its neighbors.

There are no hunger strikes as in Cuba, where journalist Guillermo Fariñas is demanding the release from prison of 27 independent journalists by refusing to eat. In the last half-year, there were no reporter murders as there were in Mexico, Brazil, Honduras and Colombia.

While Costa Rica did not move forward in enacting measures that benefit press freedom, it also didn't go backward, as was the case with countries such as Argentina, Bolivia and Ecuador, where dozens of radio stations and on-air and cable television channels were shut down arbitrarily.

“Reports of the majority of the countries of the hemisphere show there has been a continual worsening of disagreements, warnings and verbal intimidation leveled against people of the press, editors and reporters attempting to practice their profession,” read a news release from the Inter American Press Association (IAPA), which presented 6-month progress reports for hemispheric countries during a conference in Aruba this week.

Contrary to the tone of reports of many sister countries, Costa Rica showed signs of advancement. Perhaps the most significant turning point was when the Supreme Court overturned a 50-day prison sentence for a journalist found guilty of libel.

Challenging a 108-year-old law, judges ruled that José Luis Jiménez, a reporter for the local daily Diario Extra, did not deserve jail time for a defamation case involving a public employee suspected of misusing government funds.

Instead, judges said there had been an implied repeal of the relevant portion of the criminal code in 1971.

Press agencies throughout the hemisphere celebrated the decision, but encouraged government leaders to take it one step further and repeal legislation making defamation a crime.

"We consider the Supreme Court's decision an important step forward toward what we hope will be the total elimination of criminal defamation in Costa Rica," said Carlos Lauría, the hemispheric coordinator with Committee to Protect Journalists. "We now urge Costa Rica's legislative assembly to eliminate defamation provisions from its Penal Code."

The IAPA reports are filed biannually and can be found on its Web site.