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Spanish Film Festival
“El ángel exterminador,” Aug. 9, 7 p.m., Spanish Cultural Center, Barrio Escalante, Av. 13, Ca. 31. Info: 2257-2919, www.ccecr.org..

2010 Pan-American Fencing Championships
Male and female foil, saber and épée categories, through Aug. 9, La Aduana. Info : www.panamericanoesgrima2010.com.

Art Camp for Kids
Aug. 9-13, afternoons, register at 8346-3030, ro.artcamp@gmail.com.

Mundoloco Concerts
Features Sonámbulo, psychotropical, Aug. 9, 9:30 p.m., Jazz Café, San Pedro. Info: 2253-8933.

Hundreds of guests sat in the pews of San José's Metropolitan Cathedral with their heads cranked toward the back of the room – toward the organist. Playing the gigantic church organ and delighting the congregation was acclaimed Russian pianist Kirill Gliadkovsky, who was performing as part of the opening weekend of the Credomatic Music Festival.

Gliadkovsky and several other musicians helped kick off the 20th annual Credomatic Music Festival. The concert series, which started Saturday and finishes on Aug. 22, began with performances in Alajuela, Guanacaste and Manuel Antonio. On Sunday, Gliadkovsky put on the first show in downtown San José inside the spacious Metropolitan Cathedral.

Festival director Jordi Antich introduced each concert piece. Gliadkovsky played Pachelbel, Clérambault, Handel, Bach, Liszt and Boëllman. The Russian musician has performed throughout the world, including the United States (where he also teaches), Mongolia, Italy and Japan.

The highlight of the show came when he was joined by his 11-year-old daughter Anastasia. Dressed in a gold-tinged dress, she accompanied her father in playing a movement by Bach.

The audience listened to each piece intensely, as if they were listening to a Sunday sermon. But when each song ended, the tranquil reverence for Gliadkovsky erupted into uproarious cheers and applause.

In addition to Gliadkovsky, opening weekend performers included the Spanish quartet Albéniz, Korean chamber music group Jeong Ga Ak Hoe, German-Costa Rican duo Hanstedt-Schöpp and U.S. a capella group Tenet.

Those musicians and several others, including the popular Vienna Boys' Choir, will continue to perform throughout the country over the next two weeks. The festival will utilize a wide variety of venues, form San José's National Theater to the Hotel Cristal Ballena on the southern Pacific coast.

“What's most important to us is the high quality of these performances,” Antich told The Tico Times in July.

For a complete schedule, check the Weekend section of the July 6 edition of The Tico Times.

Costa Rican legislators have decided not to let a disagreement over the Joint Patrol agreement with the United States stand in the way of humanitarian aid.

In a 45-3 vote this week, the Legislative Assembly granted docking permission to the 800-meter navy ship USS Iwo Jima, scheduled to arrive in the Caribbean port of Limón in late August.

The ship will carry doctors, medical supplies, education material and teddy bears to impoverished families on the Caribbean coast.

“The support in services and supplies for our country is around $500,000; this is what we will receive with a ship of this type. The cost of the entire mission is greater than $3 million,” said Viviana Martín, legislator with the National Liberation Party, which holds a plurality of seats in the assembly. “This is a mission known as ‘continuing the promise of 2010.' … (It is helping) in many countries, not just in Costa Rica, but in Colombia, Guatemala, Haiti, Nicaragua and Panama.”

The legality of the Joint Patrol Agreement between Costa Rica and the United States, which allows U.S. naval vessels to enter Costa Rican waters to counter drug trafficking, is under review by the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court (Sala IV). The agreement was signed in 1999 as a way to stem the flow of drugs northward.

Many also are questioning the efficacy of the agreement. The flow of drugs and related criminal activity only seem to have worsened in recent years, argue those who want to send U.S. troops home. Many of these critics argue that the U.S. should fight the battle to curb demand for drugs at home, rather than bring the war to Central America. Others in Costa Rica, however, point to this country's small and poorly equipped security forces and see no alternative to accepting U.S. assistance in combating drug traffickers.

A final ruling by the constitutional court regarding the Joint Patrol agreement is expected in the coming weeks.

In the meantime, the U.S. Embassy to Costa Rica has invited Costa Ricans to see the USS Iwo Jima during its stay in Costa Rica. Details of the visit will be forthcoming.

Costa Rica's Supreme Elections Tribunal (TSE) announced Thursday that it received petitions containing a sufficient number of valid signatures to require a nationwide referendum on legalizing civil unions for homosexual couples.

In order for an issue to be subjected to a referendum, the TSE must receive at least 136,750 signatures, which represents 5 percent of registered voters. As of Thursday, the TSE had received over 150,000.

However, the decision on whether to hold the referendum remains in the hands of the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court (Sala IV). In early July, the Sala IV announced it would review complaints over the constitutionality of holding a referendum on civil unions for homosexuals. Opponents of the referendum among the gay community argue that issues involving what they consider basic constitutional rights should not be subjected to a popular vote.

“This is not about permitting marriages, this is about giving us equal rights,” Abelardo Araya, president of the Diversity Movement, told The Tico Times. “There is a large gay community in the country and its members are denied the rights given to married heterosexuals simply because of sexual preference. There are very clear laws guaranteeing equal rights to citizens.”

Should the Sala IV permit a referendum, it would likely be held on Dec. 5, the same day as the national mayoral elections. However, as that date nears, there is concern that ample time will not be granted to prepare for the referendum vote. By law, the TSE must announce the date of the referendum at least three months prior to its being held.

If the TSE holds a referendum after Dec. 5, the process of organizing a new voting date could cost an estimated ¢ 2.5 billion ($5 million).

“I feel the number one priority for the TSE now will be to save money,” Araya said on Friday. “It is now a race against time and they are going to want to limit expenses. If there is a referendum and the TSE hurries to get it done, I feel like that will be such a terrible insult to civil rights in this country.”

Last week, the Supreme Court of Mexico legalized homosexual civil unions and marriages throughout the country. Last month, the Argentinean legislature voted to permit gay civil unions and gay marriages in that country.

Related Story:
Sala IV orders review of gay union referendum