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International Flamenco Workshop
Dictated by dancer Antonio El Pipa, June 11-13; June 11, 6-8 p.m. beginners, 8-10 p.m. intermediate. June 12-13, beginners 3-5 p.m.; intermediate 5-7 p.m., place not defined at press time. Registration at 8317-5538, eridanus88@hotmail.com

Culture Night
Including acting, music, poetry, June 11, 7 p.m., Spanish Cultural Center.

Numismatic Congress
June 11-13, Museums of the Central Bank, underneath Plaza de la Cultura.

Comuni-Arte Festival
Concert by Laus Deus, June 11, 7 p.m., Catholic Church, La Asunción de Belén, San Antonio de Belén, Heredia; Serenade, June 12, 7 p.m., Salón Comunal de Cristo Rey, Belén, San Antonio de Belén, Heredia; Cimarrona Festival, School Talent Show and Concert by Akiria, June 13, noon-5 p.m., San Casimiro Boulevard, San Antonio de Belén, Heredia.

Belly Dance Show and Middle East Music
By Cardomomo, June 12, 10 p.m., Jazz Café, San Pedro.

X-TRI Race Sprint
0.9 km. swimming, 22 km. Mountain Bike, 7 km. running, June 12, 7 a.m., startline from Laguna Los Juncos, finish line at Hotel Los Lagos, www.multireto.com.

Middle East Dances
Performed by Mariel Sitka ( Argentina ), Mia Shauri (Puerto Rico), Mohamed Kazafy ( Egypt ), Nisrin ( Germany ), and others, June 12, 8 p.m., National Auditorium, Children's Museum.

Train Trip to Limón
Organized by Ecology Group Los Congos, June 12, leaving at 6 a.m. from El Pácifico Train Station, further information at 8819-3173, grupoloscongos@gmail.com

Angel Tijerino in Concert
Pop, June 13, 9 p.m., Jazz Café, San Pedro.

Bills and Coins Exchange
June 13, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Museums of the Central Bank, underneath Plaza de la Cultura.

X-TRI Race Teams
1.8 km. swimming, 90 km. Mountain Bike, 20 km. running, June 12, 7 a.m., startline Hotel Los Heroes, Arenal Lake, finish line at Hotel Los Lagos, www.multireto.com.

Canine Education Workshop
Bring your dog, June 13, 10 a.m.-noon, Children's Museum.

New H1N1 flu cases have been reported in several areas of Costa Rica, according to the Health Ministry and the Social Security System (Caja). These organizations are now scrambling to get vaccines to prevent the disease from spreading further.

Henry Wasserman, a preventive medicine specialist with the Health Ministry, said the outbreak has not spread to the entire country, but "it's been particularly bad" in certain areas.

“People who are at risk –who have the risk factors, including asthmatics, those who are obese, women in their last trimester of pregnancy, people who smoke or are diabetic – should be vaccinated,” Wasserman said.

An outbreak of the disease first occurred in August of last year.

He confirmed there have been four deaths in the northern San Carlos region, which includes towns from Los Chiles, near the Nicaraguan border, to Ciudad Quesada, further south. There have also been reports of the disease in Heredia, Cartago, Puntarenas, and the eastern San José district of Pavas.

The Caja stepped up its vaccinations against the disease Wednesday.

Rosa Climent, head of the Caja, said in a release there's an effort to vaccinate those at high-risk living in the country's high-risk zones (see box), with a specific focus on schools. Reports indicate that close to 30,000 vaccines are currently available to fight the virus, which has affected more than 1,500 people and killed several dozen. Wasserman said flu cases typically rise during the rainy season.

Four severed heads and at least two decapitated bodies appeared Thursday in public spaces in Guatemala bearing notes aimed at high government officials, security forces said.

Interior Minister Carlos Menocal said the first head was found at the entrance of Congress in Guatemala City. A second head was found outside a shopping center and a third near a fire station, both in the southern part of the capital city. Later in the day officials located a fourth head in the northern part of the city.

Menocal said police found three messages that said, “No more government impunity.”

Police attributed the slayings to the Zetas or another drug cartel, according to the Guatemalan daily La Prensa Libre.

Another message read, “This is happening for all the abuses and injustices there are in the jails in this country,” and charged the interior minister, Menocal, and prisons chief Eddy Morales with abuse of authority.

Two decapitated bodies were found, the official said, adding that none of the victims has been identified but they are all presumed to be between 30 and 40 years old.

Officials did not name a specific suspect in the case but they said the slayings are the work of narco gangs.

Menocal said imprisoned gang members have complained of abuse and lack of food, which the official denied. He said the country's 10,500 inmates receive three meals a day.

On the night of Oct. 14, 2009, in Washington D.C., U.S. midfielder Jonathan Bornstein headed in a corner kick in the 94th minute of a game against Costa Rica to even the score of the World Cup qualifying match at 2-2. Had Costa Rica held on for 20 more seconds, they would be participating in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, which begins today in Johannesburg, South Africa.

But the Ticos didn't hold on, and Bornstein's goal gave Honduras the final World Cup spot from the International Soccer Federation's North and Central America and Caribbean Region (Concacaf). Bornstein was hailed as a national hero in Honduras and offered a free vacation in the Bay Islands by then-interim-President Roberto Micheletti.

As the World Cup gets underway, Bornstein's goal haunts Costa Rica, as it will for years.

“Only God knows why it had to happen like that,” said Costa Rican defender Luis Marín a few weeks after the loss to the U.S. “I've never felt such pain after a game as I felt that night.”

The Ticos have made things even worse for themselves and their fans in recent weeks by proving they can compete with World Cup-caliber teams. In three international friendly matches against World Cup participants, Costa Rica beat Switzerland 1-0, narrowly fell to world power France 2-1 and were the victims of back luck, including an own-goal and a penalty kick, in a 3-0 loss at Slovakia.

“Overall, our three games here were very positive,” said midfielder Roy Myrie after the Slovakia game on Saturday. “We played very well at times and we faced some difficulties, but we learned a lot and proved to ourselves and our fans that we are still capable of competing with some of the better teams in the world.”

If only they'd qualified.

Italy 1990: Costa Rica's World Cup triumph

Had Costa Rica qualified for the World Cup, it would have been their third consecutive appearance and their fourth qualification since 1990, which was the country's first, and by far the most successful, World Cup showing.

In the 1990 tournament in Italy, on June 11, Costa Rica entered onto the World Cup stage in memorable fashion, beating Scotland 1-0 on a goal by Juan Cayasso in the 49th minute, forever to be remembered as a historic moment in Costa Rican soccer and national history.

For more on this story, see the June 11 print or digital edition of The Tico Times.