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3rd International Travelers' Philanthropy Conference
July 20-23, San José, Monteverde, info with David Krantz, krantz@responsibletravel.org.

Theater at Noon
“Frida: viva la vida,” with Corbata Teatro and Jahel Palmero, July 20 at 12:10 p.m., National Theater.

Art Show “Bubble Women”
Performed by Raquel Bolaños, July 20-Aug. 15, Galería 1887, CENAC.

The antiquated custom of numberless buildings in Costa Rica's capital – which has always been half-charming and half-headache – may soon be a thing of the past.

On Monday, San José's mayor Johnny Araya announced a $1.2 million initiative to place street numbers on the long-empty facades of homes and office spaces.

“In the 21st century, it is not acceptable that Costa Ricans give directions the way they do,” Araya told the daily La Nación.

As members of a traditionally rural society, Costa Ricans have always identified addresses based on reference to landmarks.

The street address for the Mercedes-Benz in Escazú? Eight-hundred meters south of the Mulitplaza roundabout. The Scotia Bank in San José ? Behind the National Theater. The Belgian Embassy? Twenty-five meters south of the Subaru in Los Yoses.

The new initiative might bring greater organization to private entities and government services, municipal leaders said.

“Sectors such as tourism, health care, public transportation, business transport, citizen security, statistics and the private sector will find an immediate benefit in the reduction of costs in finding addresses,” read a press release from the municipality.

The project is expected to begin in December and will be funded in part by the Banco Nacional and in part by the Banco de Costa Rica. In return for their financial commitment, each bank will be able to place its logo beside the street name and number.

In two separate announcements over the past five days, President Laura Chinchilla and Vice President Luis Liberman each put forth plans to improve the prospects for Costa Rica's small and mid-sized businesses. In order to accomplish this, Chinchilla and Liberman said the administration will work with banks to offer small companies easier access to credit, simplify the bureaucratic processes used in regulation and lessen government control to provide more autonomy.

Overseeing these improvements will by the Economy Ministry (MEIC), which in early June announced the creation of the National Strategy for Better Regulation and Simplification of Bureaucratic Processes, designed to reduce the stumbling blocks created by trámites, the bureaucratic processes used to obtain licenses, permits and documents (TT, June 4). According to Liberman, the simplification of processes “is necessary to reduce unnecessary stresses for business owners.”

In addition to the reducing of trámites, the administration said that it is in discussions with Banco Nacional and Banco Popular to modify the existing laws to allow banks to offer more funding for small companies.

“Micro, small and medium-sized businesses are large providers of employment in our country and are a necessary motor for social and economic integration,” Liberman said. “I am sure that the more we work with them, the more that will translate into prosperity.”

In response to this announcement, Fundecooperación, a cooperative that offers funding to environmentally sustainable companies, announced plans to provide financial support for small businesses that demonstrate sustainable development, as well as assist them in marketing their products.

“We will support and promote sustainable projects of companies with a vision,” said Marianella Feoli, general manager of Fundecooperación.

Fundecooperación backs more than 50 small and mid-sized businesses, including agricultural companies, artisans, sustainable tourism operators and clean technology producers.

An earthquake rumbled through the floors of El Vegetariano café in the eastern San José suburb of San Pedro during a late May press function. Hilda Hidalgo fled out the door of the restaurant. A panicky reporter followed her out. Nobody else in the café had time to react to the minor earthquake.

When the tremors stopped, the Costa Rican film director returned to El Vegetariano, laughing. “Valiant or brave,” Hidalgo said, “I am not.”

Not brave? Earthquakes notwithstanding, others might disagree. This year, Hidalgo made her feature-length moviemaking debut, with a script that was not made for the gutless.

For her first ever full-length film, Hidalgo adapted Colombian author Gabriel García Márquez's novel “ Del amor y otros demonios ” (Of Love and Other Demons). It takes some courage to interpret the work of one of the world's greatest living writers for the big screen. But Hidalgo's movie opened to strong reviews in Colombia and Costa Rica in the spring. She earned a spot in last month's Los Angeles Film Festival, and dazzled the critics again. All along, as the film gained momentum, Hidalgo carried the banner of Costa Rica's fledgling film industry.

Fewer than a dozen Costa Ricans have directed a feature film. Yet four movies helmed by Costa Ricans have debuted in 2010, with more expected before the year's end. These select few local filmmakers have had honors and critical acclaim accompany their releases since this generation emerged a little more than five years ago.

For more on this story, see the July 23 print or digital edition of The Tico Times.