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Art Exhibit “Jardinero en el Umbral”
By Alvaro Gómez, engravings, Aug. 4-29, National Gallery, Children's Museum, north end of Ca. 4. Info: 2258-4929.

Cartago Band in Concert
Aug. 4-6, 8 p.m., Melico Salazar Theater, Av. 2, Ca. Ctrl./2. Info: 2257-6005.

“L'italiana in Algeri”
Opera by Gioachino Rossini, with national and international cast, music director Dan Saunders (U.S.), stage manager Oscar Grassi (Argentina), the National Symphony and the National Symphonic Choir, Aug. 4, 7:30 p.m., National Theater, Av. 2, Ca. 3/5. Info: 2221-5341.

The eighth edition of ExpoCasa, the Costa Rican national housing exposition, kicks off Wednesday afternoon at the Centro de Eventos Pedregal in San Antonio de Belén, in Heredia, northwest of San José. The expo, which runs through Sunday evening, will feature over 250 stands with information on renting or buying a home or property, financing a home, and real estates agencies, as well as items for home construction and décor.

Fifty of the stands will be dedicated to housing and property offerings in different regions of the country, including the Central Valley, mountain areas and beaches. Jason Alvarado, the spokesperson for the expo, said the sales prices of the homes offered range from $49,000 to $560,000 and that 12 national banks will be on hand to provide interested home owners and buyers with financing options.

“The reason ExpoCasa has always been so helpful for visitors is that it allows them to take care of many of the steps involved in buying a house or property all at the same place,” Alvarado said. “It makes the entire process of home ownership much easier.”

As many as 14,000 people are expected to visit ExpoCasa during the five-day event.

ExpoCasa Schedule
Wednesday – 1 to 10 p.m.; Inauguration at 5 p.m.
Thursday – 1 to 10 p.m.
Friday – 1 to 10 p.m.
Saturday – 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Sunday – 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Entry fee:
Wednesday through Friday: Free
Saturday and Sunday: ₡ 1,000; free for senior citizens and children under the age of 12.

For more coverage of ExpoCasa, see the Aug. 6 print or digital edition of The Tico Times.

The Osa Peninsula, home to some of Costa Rica's rarest and most treasured wildlife, is at risk of losing many of its wonders to human development.

According to a report released last week by Costa Rica's Environment Tribunal, a growth and construction “boom” in the past three years in the southern peninsula along the Pacific coast has “provoked an overdraft for the environment” and “put constant pressure on the area's natural resources.”

The report, entitled “Osa, an Endangered Treasure,” cites 60 environmental violations in the peninsula since the tribunal began performing sweeps in the area in 2008. Among the principal cases cited in the report are illegal deforestation, invasion of protected public zones and interference with aquifers and other bodies of water.

Real estate developers and sawmill operators are the main culprits, according to the report. Most of the damage has been concentrated in Osa's northern sector and along the coastline.

Violations have lead to erosion, threatened water supplies and destroyed land and marine habitats, the tribunal said.

The report attributes the environmental impacts in the Osa to a spike in building permits.

In 2006, the Osa Municipality issued 100 building permits. The following year, the local government issued 406 and the impact on the area's natural resources soared.

“In general, the Environment Tribunal has been able to confirm the opening of numerous roads inside forested areas, large quantities of nurseries for construction and excavations for real estate lots,” the report stated.

The report called the Osa “an unrivaled haven” for flora and fauna and declared it necessary to “jealously monitor the type of development that goes on in this region of the country.”

The Environment Tribunal is an administrative court under the Environment, Energy and Telecommunications Ministry.

Outgoing Canadian Ambassador to Costa Rica Neil Reeder announced a program that will open opportunities for cultural exchange for young professionals living in Costa Rica and in Canada.

The Youth Mobility Program is on the verge of approval by both governments and would facilitate work visas for Ticos aged 18-35 to spend up to six months in internships or other jobs in Canada. The program would also allow for a fixed number of young Canadians to work in Costa Rica.

“We will be offering Costa Ricans six-month work visas … to work in Canada … to learn English or French, make a little money and live in a different country,” Reeder said. “Under the auspices of this program, Canadians can come down here, work for six months with an employer and learn Spanish.”

Canada has similar programs with Chile, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Poland and France, among others, which have been a great success, said Reeder.

“Each country will develop a roster of interested candidates and they have to pay their own travel,” Reeder said. “But we give them the work visas.” He pointed to an example where in Whistler, a popular ski resort area in the western Canadian province of British Columbia, dozens of Australians and New Zealanders are at work on the ski slopes. “They come because they want to live in snow.”

The program is currently awaiting approval in the Costa Rican Legislative Assembly and in Canada, and could get the go-ahead as soon as this fall. A pilot program has been under way for two years, involving 25 Ticos who are currently working in parts of Canada.

“It's a great opportunity for cross-cultural exchange,” Reeder said.

For an interview with Ambassador Reeder, see the Aug. 6 print or digital edition of The Tico Times.