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Source: http://www.ticotimes.net/feed

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<title>A Barrio’s Pride: Keylor Navas’ Humble Beginnings</title>
<link>https://ticotimes.net/2024/04/28/a-barrios-pride-keylor-navas-humble-beginnings</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Don Mateo]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sun, 28 Apr 2024 13:36:23 +0000</pubDate>
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<description><![CDATA[I live in a typical Costa Rican barrio. I define a barrio here in much the same way I define a village. Is there a soccer field? Is there a Catholic church? Is there a place to buy the basics and a place to get a beer? If the answer to all of those is […]
The post <a href="https://ticotimes.net/2024/04/28/a-barrios-pride-keylor-navas-humble-beginnings">A Barrio’s Pride: Keylor Navas’ Humble Beginnings</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ticotimes.net">The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate</a>.
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I live in a typical Costa Rican barrio. I define a barrio here in much the same way I define a village. Is there a soccer field? Is there a Catholic church? Is there a place to buy the basics and a place to get a beer? If the answer to all of those is yes, then you are in one or the other. 
In my barrio, I live right around the corner from the soccer field. Sundays, there is usually a game, sometimes two or three, involving various nearby local squads. The excitement level is high as friends and family accompany the teams, and the sidelines are ringed with spectators. From my house, I always know when a goal has been scored. In all ways, this seems like the typical soccer pitch in the typical Costa Rican neighborhood. 
When organized games are not going on, it doubles as a massive playground, part exercise area, part family picnic, part soccer mejengas, part dog park. The main street of the barrio runs downhill for over a kilometer, ending at the edge of the city. It is a narrow street with car and bus traffic going both ways. Pedestrians walk a fine line between the vehicles and the open gutters. Recently, a man died when he parked his car with his driver’s side wheels in the gutter, and the car tipped over on him as he exited.
A heart with a halo above it was painted there afterward, signifying an accidental traffic-related death in the street. Businesses come and go here. Most are storefront operations, with the owner’s living quarters behind. The most successful is a small carry out only place that specializes in empanadas.
The name of the place is the Spanish slang for Dirty Old Man (though all the workers are young men). As often happens here, once this business appeared successful, another person opened a small place offering a similar menu a couple doors up. Then down the street, another person opened a small fried chicken outlet. 
The ‘Dirty Old Man’ and the fried chicken place remain in business. One thing separates this barrio, and its soccer field, from the rest in this city– this is where <a href="https://ticotimes.net/2014/10/28/costa-ricas-keylor-navas-wins-spains-best-goalkeeper-award-for-2013-2014-season" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Keylor Navas</a> grew up. The soccer field is where he honed his game. You know the name if you follow soccer at all. 
If you don’t follow soccer, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keylor_Navas" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Keylor Navas</a> is by most measures, Costa Rica’s best ever player on both the local and international levels. He was one of the stars of the 2014 World Cup team that stunned and entertained fans worldwide by beating Uruguay, Italy and Greece on its way to a Top 8 finish. He starred for several years as the main goalie for powerhouse Real Madrid. 
This is akin to being a star pitcher for the New York Yankees, or the point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers. When I first moved here, his grandparents’ house where he spent much of his youth was pointed out to me. It was a humble, sagging, wood frame structure, located on a corner of the main street. 
Later it was razed and replaced by a sleek modern fenced in house of concrete and glass. A <a href="https://ticotimes.net/2022/07/04/a-tourists-guide-to-taxis-in-costa-rica" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">local taxi</a> driver related to me that when Navas returned from his heroic World Cup performance, he made a much-anticipated arrival at the local soccer field– in a helicopter. 
The taxista was unimpressed. To him it was a grandstanding move that showed how far he had strayed from his roots. I didn’t see it that way. Navas was taking time out of his busy schedule to return to the pitch where he got his start. Certainly, it was a day none of his young local fans would ever forget. That day was years ago. 
If Keylor has been back to the barrio, he kept a low profile. He has been a resounding success, but the taxista’s reaction that time always stuck with me, because it reflected a feeling I have sensed from a lot of Ticos, that the humblest job is as significant as the most glamorous. 
To this day, there are no statues or plaques commemorating that Keylor Navas once walked these streets and played on the local pitch. And at this writing, the expensive, modern house that replaced his grandparents’ humble casita sits unoccupied.
The post <a href="https://ticotimes.net/2024/04/28/a-barrios-pride-keylor-navas-humble-beginnings">A Barrio’s Pride: Keylor Navas’ Humble Beginnings</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ticotimes.net">The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate</a>.
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<title>El Salvador’s “War” on Gangs Successful, Minister Claims</title>
<link>https://ticotimes.net/2024/04/27/el-salvadors-war-on-gangs-successful-minister-claims</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[AFP]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sun, 28 Apr 2024 01:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[El Salvador]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Latin America]]></category>
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<description><![CDATA[The “parallel state” created by the gangs in El Salvador was destroyed with the “war” of President Nayib Bukele, but the state of exception that allows arrests without a judicial order must continue, affirmed the minister responsible for this crusade. “What we knew as that parallel criminal state that the terrorist gangs had established in […]
The post <a href="https://ticotimes.net/2024/04/27/el-salvadors-war-on-gangs-successful-minister-claims">El Salvador’s “War” on Gangs Successful, Minister Claims</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ticotimes.net">The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate</a>.
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The “parallel state” created by the gangs in El Salvador was destroyed with the “war” of President Nayib Bukele, but the state of exception that allows arrests without a judicial order must continue, affirmed the minister responsible for this crusade.
“What we knew as that parallel criminal state that the terrorist gangs had established in this country is basically already destroyed,” said the Minister of Justice and Security, Gustavo Villatoro
Bukele declared “war” on the gangs on March 27, 2022, after an escalation of 87 homicides in one weekend, under a questioned state of exception that allows the military and police to make arrests without a judicial order.
“In terms of dismantling the crime industry, that criminal state with its collection apparatus, understood as income or extortion, was generating 1.5 to 2 billion dollars a year [for the gangs], which right now does not even reach 5%,” Villatoro assured.
The maras or gangs controlled 80% of the national territory, according to Bukele, and financed themselves by charging extortion to thousands of Salvadorans, mainly merchants and transporters. Those who did not pay were murdered. The massive recruitment that the maras did is “neutralized,” said the minister.
“It was an organized crime that usurped five elements of every State of Law: territory, population, collection, justice and army,” Villatoro stressed. He highlighted that 492 gang leaders who controlled the maras or gangs are in prison and “are being prosecuted,” and must answer for the 120,000 homicides they perpetrated in the last three decades.
Bukele’s crusade returned tranquility to the streets and raised his popularity, which allowed him to be re-elected in February for a second five-year term.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-almost-80-000-prisoners">Almost 80,000 prisoners </h2>
Since the “war” began, the authorities have arrested 79,800 alleged gang members, of which 7,600 have been released, Villatoro said. He affirmed that they were not released for being innocent, but because they are going to be tried in freedom by virtue of the fact that it “has been established that they were working in the gang under duress.”
However, human rights groups maintain that among those detained there are many innocent people and that the “crisis” of human rights can be “perpetuated” in the country.
In March, Amnesty International warned that the Salvadoran government tends “to minimize, hide, delegitimize and deny the accusations” made against it. This “suggests that during the second term of President Bukele there could be a deepening of the crisis [in human rights] that has been observed during the last years”, sustained the NGO.
Amnesty and other organizations demand an end to arrests without a judicial order. The same is wanted by 64% of Salvadorans, according to a university survey released two weeks ago, although 87.5% declared that they now feel “safe.”
But Villatoro maintains that the “deactivation of the state of exception” should only be done when there are no gang members left free. “We don’t want any ‘homeboy’ (gang member) free in Salvadoran territory,” he said.
Faced with complaints of overcrowding and mistreatment in prisons, he said that “in any democracy there are accusations” and assured that the government does nothing outside the law.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-fewer-homicides">Fewer homicides </h2>
The minister indicated that of the total number of those captured, almost 65% were part of the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13); the remaining 35% were from the Barrio 18 gang with its two factions, Sureños and Revolutionaries.
75% of the gang members have been arrested, indicated Villatoro, and many of the remaining 25,000 “are out of the country,” in Guatemala or Mexico. Others “returned to their origins in California” (western United States), where Salvadoran residents created the Mara Salvatrucha in the 1980s.
The minister highlighted the reduction in the number of homicides in the country, as well as the unsolved cases. From 105 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in 2015, the figure was reduced to 2.4 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2023.
And the projection is to close this year with 1.4 or 1.7 murders per 100,000 inhabitants, he said. 97% of homicides remained unpunished nine years ago, but in 2023 justice was served in 95% of the 155 homicides registered in the country, according to Villatoro.
The post <a href="https://ticotimes.net/2024/04/27/el-salvadors-war-on-gangs-successful-minister-claims">El Salvador’s “War” on Gangs Successful, Minister Claims</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ticotimes.net">The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate</a>.
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<title>Costa Rica’s Businesses Blame Central Bank for Job Losses</title>
<link>https://ticotimes.net/2024/04/27/costa-ricas-businesses-blame-central-bank-for-job-losses</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Ileana Fernandez]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sat, 27 Apr 2024 21:07:00 +0000</pubDate>
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<description><![CDATA[Costa Rica’s productive sector blames the closing of companies and loss of jobs on the Central Bank (BCCR). Thirteen private sector groups and chambers met with representatives of the Bank to explain the problems they are facing. “The Central Bank remains obstinate in its policies,” the representatives noted after the meeting. At the end of […]
The post <a href="https://ticotimes.net/2024/04/27/costa-ricas-businesses-blame-central-bank-for-job-losses">Costa Rica’s Businesses Blame Central Bank for Job Losses</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ticotimes.net">The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate</a>.
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Costa Rica’s productive sector blames the closing of companies and loss of jobs on the Central Bank (BCCR). Thirteen private sector groups and chambers met with representatives of the Bank to explain the problems they are facing. “The Central Bank remains obstinate in its policies,” the representatives noted after the meeting.
At the end of the meeting, they concluded that both the Presidency and the Board of Directors of the Bank, together with the Executive Branch, have abandoned the productive sectors of the country.
“Despite the technical and social warnings, the Central Bank remains stubborn, so it is clear that from now on the consequences of business closures and increased unemployment with severe social impact will be the absolute responsibility of the Presidency and Board of Directors of the Central Bank,” they reported.
The Central Bank informed that during its presentation this Friday, it maintained the position it has held since 2022, which consists of stating that the price of the dollar is defined by market forces, i.e., supply and demand. Additionally, it was pointed out that BCCR does not intervene in the exchange market to reduce inflation.
The different associations have complained about the bank’s policies since 2022, when the current administration began. They, once again informed that, if such policies are maintained, hundreds of companies and thousands of jobs are at risk of disappearing.
One of the questions raised against the bank is the failure to meet its inflation target, since 2022. In fact, country has been in deflation for 10 months.
“This causes loss of credibility in the inflation targeting system and suspicion of attempting to maintain institutional investment portfolios without currency variations, anchoring the exchange rate level close to 500 per dollar,” the statement issued by the Chambers said.
Meanwhile, the productive sector emphasizes that it is not asking for artificial devaluations, subsidies, or inorganic credit issues. What they are asking for are monetary and exchange policies that take into account the control of inflation and the orderly development of the current system. This would prevent an economic crisis and massive layoffs. 
At the end of the meeting, there were no proposals for solutions or attention to address the problem of competitiveness that is being generated, which could lead to greater social.
The post <a href="https://ticotimes.net/2024/04/27/costa-ricas-businesses-blame-central-bank-for-job-losses">Costa Rica’s Businesses Blame Central Bank for Job Losses</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ticotimes.net">The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate</a>.
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<title>Costa Rica’s President: Closing Darién to Migrants is Difficult</title>
<link>https://ticotimes.net/2024/04/27/costa-ricas-president-closing-darien-to-migrants-difficult</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[AFP]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sat, 27 Apr 2024 18:01:23 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Costa Rica]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
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<description><![CDATA[The president of Costa Rica, Rodrigo Chaves, said this Friday in an interview that he considers it complicated to close the Darién jungle to migrants, as proposed by the Panamanian presidential candidate José Raúl Mulino. “It’s a policy that is going to be difficult to carry out, precisely because of the desire of those people […]
The post <a href="https://ticotimes.net/2024/04/27/costa-ricas-president-closing-darien-to-migrants-difficult">Costa Rica’s President: Closing Darién to Migrants is Difficult</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ticotimes.net">The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate</a>.
]]></description>
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The president of Costa Rica, Rodrigo Chaves, said this Friday in an interview that he considers it complicated to close the Darién jungle to migrants, as proposed by the Panamanian presidential candidate José Raúl Mulino. “It’s a policy that is going to be difficult to carry out, precisely because of the desire of those people to leave [their countries],” said Chaves, who last week received Mulino, the protégé of the disqualified former Panamanian president Ricardo Martinelli (2009-2014), in San José.
Replaced as a candidate by Mulino, Martinelli remains in asylum at the Nicaraguan embassy to avoid a prison sentence for money laundering.
Chaves indicated that he respects the decisions of neighboring countries, but considers that at an “operational” level, it is complicated to close the jungle located on the border between Colombia and Panama, through which 520,000 migrants, mostly Venezuelans, transited in 2023.
The Darién jungle is 266 km long and 575,000 hectares in area and has become a corridor in recent years for migrants from South America seeking to reach the United States. This year, more than 133,000 have already crossed, according to official figures.
“There are countries in South America where the quality of life is so poor that their citizens are willing to spend days in a jungle […]. On the other hand, there are magnet countries that attract migrants that do not have a constant and clear migration policy. One day they receive them, other days they close the border,” commented the center-right president.
On April 16, Mulino, who leads the polls for the May 5 elections in Panama, launched his proposal to <a href="https://ticotimes.net/2024/04/17/panama-candidate-mulino-vows-to-close-darien-jungle-to-migrants" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">close the Darién</a> to migrants, without giving details on how he would do it if he wins the presidency.
“We are going to close Darién and we are going to repatriate all these people as appropriate, respecting human rights,” Mulino declared during an electoral tour in the Panamanian capital.
With Costa Rica halfway through, Chaves called for “fair treatment” of migrants and to “help them in a humanitarian way to continue their passage,” because there is no clarity on what “closing the Darién in practical terms” means.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-guatemala-and-nicaragua">Guatemala and Nicaragua </h2>
Chaves also spoke about the “enormous challenge” faced by the new president of Guatemala, Bernardo Arévalo, whom he described as his “friend.”
“Guatemala is a very sad story […], where the democratic power of the people has been kept subjugated for many years with great corruption,” indicated the president, who recalled that he accompanied Arévalo with other heads of state on the complicated day of his inauguration.
“We came out strongly to say that democracy should prevail,” he added. Regarding neighboring Nicaragua, governed for 17 years by President Daniel Ortega, Chaves expressed that he maintains a “relationship of respect.” However, “I would like to see a more prosperous, more democratic Nicaragua,” he said.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-valuable-legacy">Valuable legacy</h2>
Chaves, 62, was elected president in 2022 as a candidate for the Social Democratic Progress Party, a center-right formation founded in 2018. He had been Minister of Finance for almost a year and previously worked at the World Bank. At the halfway point of his term, the president enjoys the support of 64% of the citizenry, according to a CID Gallup poll, more than his predecessors.
And he said that the more than 30 complaints against him before the Prosecutor’s Office for alleged <a href="https://ticotimes.net/2023/08/05/costa-rica-president-chaves-faces-influence-peddling-allegations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">acts of corruption</a>, nor the accusations of harassment of the press made by the U.S. State Department and the Inter American Press Association, do not keep him up at night.
“I have never violated the law as far as I know, I sleep like a baby,” the president stated. Despite the difficulty in making reforms with a Congress that rejects his projects, Chaves indicated that in the two years remaining in his term, he will seek to leave a “valuable legacy” in Costa Rica.
Among the reforms he is promoting are projects to reduce bureaucracy in public works contracts, reform the Costa Rican Social Security Fund, sell the Bank of Costa Rica, and toughen penalties to combat <a href="https://ticotimes.net/2023/06/04/costa-ricas-fight-against-organized-crime-new-law-reforms" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">organized crime</a> and drug trafficking.
“At the end of my administration, I ask God that what has happened so far be maintained. A people that woke up” in the face of decades of immobility. “If that happens, I will die peacefully one day with a smile,” he concluded.
The post <a href="https://ticotimes.net/2024/04/27/costa-ricas-president-closing-darien-to-migrants-difficult">Costa Rica’s President: Closing Darién to Migrants is Difficult</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ticotimes.net">The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate</a>.
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<title>Costa Rica’s Water Infrastructure Fails to Meet Community Needs</title>
<link>https://ticotimes.net/2024/04/27/costa-ricas-water-infrastructure-fails-to-meet-community-needs</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Tico Times]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Sat, 27 Apr 2024 13:50:00 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Costa Rica]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://ticotimes.net/?p=172966</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Residents of several communities in Alajuelita and Tibas who have been affected by the lack of water in recent months raised their voices to respond to the statements made by the executive president of AyA, Juan Manuel Quesada. Quesada said last Tuesday that “it seems disproportionate to demand that drinking water be supplied 24/7, in […]
The post <a href="https://ticotimes.net/2024/04/27/costa-ricas-water-infrastructure-fails-to-meet-community-needs">Costa Rica’s Water Infrastructure Fails to Meet Community Needs</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ticotimes.net">The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate</a>.
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Residents of several communities in Alajuelita and Tibas who have been affected by the lack of water in recent months raised their voices to respond to the statements made by the executive president of AyA, Juan Manuel Quesada. Quesada said last Tuesday that “it seems disproportionate to demand that <a href="https://ticotimes.net/2024/01/26/costa-rica-acts-over-toxic-drinking-water-emergency">drinking water</a> be supplied 24/7, in a context in which we are going through an extremely dry and hot summer.”
The head of the AyA denies that the affected communities spend more than 4 days without potable water. However, community members describe a different reality.
“I urge him to come to our homes. The neighbors are willing to open the doors of their homes, so that he can see that what we tell him is not a lie and we aren’t just making things up,” said the representative of the neighbors of Alajuelita. The neighbors allege that the palliative measures implemented by AyA, such as cisterns, are insufficient to address the water crisis.
“He says (AyA president) that we do not go without water because he sends a cistern and the cistern is not equivalent to the potable water that comes through the pipes for which we pay,” Calderón argued. A senior citizen from the community of Tibás also commented that water shortages impact the whole area. 
“The executive president of AyA insists that the communities are liars when the reality is that it is true that it is three or seven days in the houses, which affects daily life. The executive president lies to the communities,” he said. AyA plans to incorporate 30 new sources that will produce more than 82 million liters per day during the remainder of the year and by 2025.
The population of Alajuelita assures that while these measures are necessary, they do not provide a solution to their current problems. Another concern of the affected neighbors lies in the billing of a service they have not received for weeks.
While the effects of climate change are undeniable, Quesada had pointed out in a recent interview that Costa Rica doesn’t have a water supply problem but rather lacks sufficient infrastructure due to poor planning from the AyA.
The post <a href="https://ticotimes.net/2024/04/27/costa-ricas-water-infrastructure-fails-to-meet-community-needs">Costa Rica’s Water Infrastructure Fails to Meet Community Needs</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ticotimes.net">The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate</a>.
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<title>Constitutional Court Upholds Cocos Island National Park Expansion</title>
<link>https://ticotimes.net/2024/04/26/constitutional-court-upholds-cocos-island-national-park-expansion</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Ileana Fernandez]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 26 Apr 2024 21:12:00 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Travel and Tourism]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://ticotimes.net/?p=172962</guid>
<description><![CDATA[The Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) and the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC-MINAE) annouced the Constitutional Court rejected the action filed by several fishermen associations against the expansion of the boundaries of Cocos Island National Park established through Executive Decree No. 43368-MINAE. The constitutional judges unanimously considered that the aforementioned decree does not […]
The post <a href="https://ticotimes.net/2024/04/26/constitutional-court-upholds-cocos-island-national-park-expansion">Constitutional Court Upholds Cocos Island National Park Expansion</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ticotimes.net">The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate</a>.
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The Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) and the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC-MINAE) annouced the Constitutional Court rejected the action filed by several fishermen associations against the expansion of the boundaries of Cocos Island National Park established through Executive Decree No. 43368-MINAE.
The constitutional judges unanimously considered that the aforementioned decree does not violate constitutional rights.
“A consultation process was carried out prior to the issuance of the challenged decree in which the fishing sector was given ample participation and in which it was able to raise issues, doubts, request additional hearings and provide evidence,” the Constitutional Court declared.
The plaintiffs claimed that the Decree was contrary to Articles 11, 28, 33, 34, 45, 46, and 50 of the Political Constitution, and that it violated the constitutional principles of regulatory power, legal reserve, free enterprise, right to work, innocence, legality, reasonableness, legitimate trust, and pro homine.
The judges also pointed out that there are technical studies that demonstrated the viability of issuing the decree, in order to provide greater protection to the Cocos Island National Park and the Bicentennial Marine Area.
“The permits, concessions, and authorizations of the fishermen have not been modified or affected, and the scope of the decree seeks to provide greater protection to the marine resource, so that neither legal certainty nor legitimate trust is harmed,” the Chamber said.
The process of expanding the area was based on technical-scientific studies prepared by academia and researchers, a model for defining sites of conservation importance, and various other sources.
Prior to the publication of the Executive Decree, MINAE-SINAC had carried out a series of participatory roundtables with key stakeholders, such as academia, non-governmental organizations, public institutions, the tourism, and fishing productive sector, among other stakeholders involved in the process.
Because of its category, <a href="https://ticotimes.net/2022/04/25/costa-ricas-coco-island-national-park-declared-natural-shark-sanctuary" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cocos Island National Park</a> is a protected area that limits its uses to ecotourism, research, and environmental education.
“With the expansion, the country meets the international commitments made to conserve 30% of the marine territory by 2030, through the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People initiative,” commented Franz Tattenbach, Minister of Environment and Energy.
Gina Cuza, Regional Director of the Cocos Marine Conservation Area, also noted that this expansion aligns with similar regional efforts by countries like Ecuador, Colombia, and Panama. These efforts are aimed at achieving greater connectivity in the Eastern Tropical Pacific region and safeguarding a marine area that is home to highly migratory, threatened, and vulnerable species.
The post <a href="https://ticotimes.net/2024/04/26/constitutional-court-upholds-cocos-island-national-park-expansion">Constitutional Court Upholds Cocos Island National Park Expansion</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ticotimes.net">The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate</a>.
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<title>Expat Living: Our Many Houses in Costa Rica</title>
<link>https://ticotimes.net/2024/04/26/expat-living-our-many-houses-in-costa-rica</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Vincent Losasso]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 26 Apr 2024 17:00:00 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Expat Living]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://ticotimes.net/?p=172957</guid>
<description><![CDATA[As I take a break from throwing all of my family’s worldly belongings into totes with duct tape labels, I start to reflect on the fact that I’m moving, yet again, to a new house in Costa Rica. In the midst of preparing to leave house number 6 for house number 7, memories of my […]
The post <a href="https://ticotimes.net/2024/04/26/expat-living-our-many-houses-in-costa-rica">Expat Living: Our Many Houses in Costa Rica</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ticotimes.net">The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate</a>.
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As I take a break from throwing all of my family’s worldly belongings into totes with duct tape labels, I start to reflect on the fact that I’m moving, yet again, to a new house in Costa Rica. In the midst of preparing to leave house number 6 for house number 7, memories of my former homes come flooding back. Each home has earned a label that my wife and I use to describe them. 
In order, they are Yorleny’s house, the dust house, the Italian house, mudslide house, the old white house, and our house. Each one has a few core memories associated with it, and I’ll share them with you now.
Yorleny’s house was actually a tiny second floor apartment located in the yard of our landlord, Yorleny. It was the first place we moved into after arriving from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Yorleny’s family constitute the majority of my memories of this house. I spoke literally zero Spanish at this time, but that didn’t stop Yorleny from interacting and conversing with me on a daily basis. 
She had plenty of practice talking to confused gringos because she often hosted homestays from a local language school. Her young son and his sidekick cousin couldn’t have cared less about my language skills because their entire focus was the fact that I was willing to play soccer with them in the front yard just about every day.
After a few years at Yorleny’s house, we wanted something a little bigger with a little more privacy, so we moved a few blocks over to the dust house. The dust house was located on a straight stretch of dirt road that was a great place for local drivers to really pick up speed. 
This resulted in a constant cloud of dust that infiltrated every crack and open window in the house resulting in a fine layer of dust on just about everything. We welcomed our first son into the dust house and probably would have stayed longer if the neighbor hadn’t embark on a never-ending home remodel that included screaming saws for at least ten hours a day.
To escape the noise, we moved a few more blocks away into the Italian house. So named for the old Italian couple who rented it to us. I’ll never forget meeting them to tour the house. We brought a friend who spoke Spanish and Italian, but not English. She translated to my wife who then translated to me. 
The old man said they needed to move back to Italy because he had a health problem that he described by rubbing his belly and making a truly horrible face. I hope that guy’s ok, but his dramatic pantomime gives me doubts. Our time in this house was punctuated by a wildfire that arrived a few meters behind our house in the middle of the night just outside of my infant son’s window. 
I woke up and ran outside, in my underwear, with a hose to put it out, where I was joined by Rambo, a neighbor and maintenance guy, who was already spraying the fire clad only in little purple undies.
My wife got a new job that compelled us to move to a new town, so our time at the Italian house was pretty short. From there we moved to the mudslide house. The obvious highlight of the mudslide house was the mudslide provoked from Tropical Storm Nate. Hours of an unceasing deluge of pounding rain caused a significant portion of the small mountain behind our house to pour into our kitchen. My wife was nine months pregnant with our second son at the time and let’s just say she wasn’t in the mood for mudslides, so we moved.
We stayed in the same town but moved from the edge of town into the heart of the pueblo into the old white house. When I say this house was in the heart of the town, I mean there were neighbors on three sides within a few meters. We quickly learned that with close proximity comes a lot of noise. 
Our neighbor to the left was a middle-aged single guy who enjoyed loud music and must have had allegories because he’d sneeze so loud that we’d say ‘salud’ from our living room. That same neighbor liked my older son and always said ‘Hola Denis’ even though my son’s name is not remotely close to Denis. We ran into him a few months ago and he was pumped to see Denis again.
We moved from the old white house after three years because we sold our home in Pittsburgh and used those funds to build a little house close to the beach, which is our house. Well, I suppose it will only be our house for a few more days. Since we built the place, both our family and the community have done a lot of changing and it felt like the right opportunity to open our sails to the winds of change and move on to the next place. 
Our new house is only a few kilometers away and it comes with a big sign on the front gate that declares the name of the house. Of course, that name is probably not what will be remembered in our family history. House names are earned.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-about-the-author">About the Author</h2>
Vincent Losasso, founder of <a href="https://guanacastewildlifemonitoring.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Guanacaste Wildlife Monitoring</a>, is a biologist who works with camera traps throughout Costa Rica. Learn more about his projects on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/guanacastewildlifemonitoring" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">facebook</a> or <a href="https://www.instagram.com/guanacastewildlifemonitoring/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">instagram</a>. You can also email him at: <a href="mailto:vincent@guanacastewildlifemonitoring.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">vincent@guanacastewildlifemonitoring.com</a>
The post <a href="https://ticotimes.net/2024/04/26/expat-living-our-many-houses-in-costa-rica">Expat Living: Our Many Houses in Costa Rica</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ticotimes.net">The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate</a>.
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<title>Chaves Suggests “Lobbying” Behind Norway’s Refusal to Help</title>
<link>https://ticotimes.net/2024/04/26/chaves-suggests-lobbying-behind-norways-refusal-to-help</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Tico Times]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Fri, 26 Apr 2024 12:18:00 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Environment and Wildlife]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://ticotimes.net/?p=172955</guid>
<description><![CDATA[President Rodrigo Chaves insinuated that Norway was influenced by “lobbying” in rejecting Costa Rica’s request for cooperation to calculate the value of alleged natural gas and oil reserves in the country and move towards these non-existent extractive industries. During the press conference, a Costa Rican media outlet asked him about the Norwegian government’s refusal to […]
The post <a href="https://ticotimes.net/2024/04/26/chaves-suggests-lobbying-behind-norways-refusal-to-help">Chaves Suggests “Lobbying” Behind Norway’s Refusal to Help</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ticotimes.net">The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate</a>.
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President Rodrigo Chaves insinuated that Norway was influenced by “lobbying” in rejecting Costa Rica’s request for cooperation to calculate the value of alleged natural gas and oil reserves in the country and move towards these non-existent extractive industries. During the press conference, a Costa Rican media outlet asked him about the Norwegian government’s refusal to help the country explore for oil and gas.
“Norway didn’t say no,” the President clarified. However, the Norwegian government clearly <a href="https://ticotimes.net/2024/04/13/norway-declines-costa-ricas-request-for-oil-and-gas-exploration-studies" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">turned down the proposal </a>according to a letter delivered by Ambassador Ragnhild Imerslund.
The Norwegian authorities argued that they do not have the resources for tasks such as the one requested by Costa Rica and that some time ago they closed their international oil cooperation program, while moving forward on a path of transition towards renewable energies and economic diversification in accordance with global trends.
However, President Chaves believes that the reasons are different from those voiced by the Norwegian delegation. “I have no proof but I have no doubt that there was lobbying against the proposal,” the President argued. The President assured that the Norwegian response does not block the objective and there are already contacts with other governments.
“We are still not giving up. We have talked informally with other governments and we are looking for routes. We don’t want to open holes in the ground, we want to evaluate how much (oil or gas) is there,” Chaves added.
The Minister of the Environment said that Norway’s rejection position affected the government’s plans. However, President Chaves doesn’t necessarily see it that way. “What if (the reserves) are worth 1.5 billion dollars? They say that tourism contributes 8% of GDP, but what argument would you give if natural gas was 200% of GDP per year? I do not know. Talking based on ideology does not make sense. One has to be based on data, numbers, costs, and benefits,” the President of Costa Rica argued.
Manuel Morales, a congressman of the same party as the President, presented a bill to prohibit the exploration and exploitation of natural gas and oil, as has been established by decree by the last five governments.
Several deputies and political parties have expressed their opposition to any proposal involving oil and gas exploration, citing concerns about the potential destruction of natural resources.
The post <a href="https://ticotimes.net/2024/04/26/chaves-suggests-lobbying-behind-norways-refusal-to-help">Chaves Suggests “Lobbying” Behind Norway’s Refusal to Help</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ticotimes.net">The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate</a>.
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<title>Firefighters Battle Blaze in Caño Negro National Wildlife Refuge</title>
<link>https://ticotimes.net/2024/04/25/firefighters-battle-blaze-in-cano-negro-national-wildlife-refuge</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Tico Times]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 25 Apr 2024 23:54:55 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Environment and Wildlife]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://ticotimes.net/?p=172951</guid>
<description><![CDATA[Since last Sunday, forest fire departments of the Arenal Huetar Norte Conservation Area have been dealing with a forest fire in the sector of Amparo in Caño Negro de los Chiles, within the Caño Negro National Mixed Wildlife Refuge. Unfortunately, it has expanded, affecting the State’s Natural Heritage land and the ecosystems present in the […]
The post <a href="https://ticotimes.net/2024/04/25/firefighters-battle-blaze-in-cano-negro-national-wildlife-refuge">Firefighters Battle Blaze in Caño Negro National Wildlife Refuge</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ticotimes.net">The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate</a>.
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Since last Sunday, forest fire departments of the Arenal Huetar Norte Conservation Area have been dealing with a forest fire in the sector of Amparo in Caño Negro de los Chiles, within the <a href="https://ticotimes.net/2021/05/29/visiting-costa-ricas-cano-negro-national-park-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Caño Negro </a>National Mixed Wildlife Refuge. Unfortunately, it has expanded, affecting the State’s Natural Heritage land and the ecosystems present in the site.
This emergency is currently declared as level 2 in terms of damage and is active. According to experts, to date, 110 hectares have been affected. Fifteen members of the fire department have responded to the emergency and are carrying out control and extinguishing tasks to contain the advance of the fire.
“Forest fires in our country are classified as an emergency and require immediate attention due to the multiple impacts and effects they entail. Therefore, SINAC has instructed all personnel in the regional offices, subregions, and protected wildlife areas on the application of the Permanent Alert to prevent and combat forest fires on State Natural Heritage lands,” said Franz Tattenbach, Minister of Environment and Energy.
According to data from the National Fire Management Program of SINAC-MINAE, 98% of forest fires in the country are caused by man’s hand, due to circumstances such as vandalism, carelessness, pollution, among others, so the institution calls on the population to be aware and not to perform actions that may cause fire.
Mariana Jimenez, Regional Director of the Arenal Conservation Area, praised the work carried out by the firefighters. “The work being done by forest firefighters and volunteers is fundamental to reduce the number of hectares affected. We have worked tirelessly to extinguish the fire in this protected wildlife area, which is of great importance for our country,” she said.
The refuge was declared a <a href="https://www.ramsar.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">RAMSAR</a> Site on December 27, 1991. In its lagoons lives the Gaspar fish, a freshwater species that has a body covered with huge strong scales and an elongated snout-shaped mouth armed with a large number of fine teeth. Said species is of great interest for scientists.
Since 2007 it has been part of the Agua y Paz Biosphere Reserve and the Ruta Los Malecus Biological Corridor. Some of its lagoons are considered sacred sites of the Malecu indigenous culture. The area functions as a flood controller, as it is the overflow site of the Frio River.
There are diverse aquatic environments such as slow-moving rivers, streams, swampy areas, seasonally flooded grasslands, savannas, palm groves, swampy forests, and temporarily flooded forests.
The post <a href="https://ticotimes.net/2024/04/25/firefighters-battle-blaze-in-cano-negro-national-wildlife-refuge">Firefighters Battle Blaze in Caño Negro National Wildlife Refuge</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ticotimes.net">The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate</a>.
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<title>The Rise of Brazilian Funk: Anitta, Beyoncé, and Beyond</title>
<link>https://ticotimes.net/2024/04/25/the-rise-of-brazilian-funk-anitta-beyonce-and-beyond</link>
<dc:creator><![CDATA[Tico Times]]></dc:creator>
<pubDate>Thu, 25 Apr 2024 20:30:00 +0000</pubDate>
<category><![CDATA[Brazil]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[Latin America]]></category>
<category><![CDATA[News]]></category>
<guid isPermaLink="false">https://ticotimes.net/?p=172947</guid>
<description><![CDATA[From Anitta to Beyoncé, through exhibitions and artistic residencies, funk has left the favelas of Rio to become a global phenomenon. However, prejudices still persist in Brazil. With influences from hip hop, electronic music, and a good dose of Afro-Brazilian percussion, this music emerged in the late nineties in Rio, from where it expanded to […]
The post <a href="https://ticotimes.net/2024/04/25/the-rise-of-brazilian-funk-anitta-beyonce-and-beyond">The Rise of Brazilian Funk: Anitta, Beyoncé, and Beyond</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ticotimes.net">The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate</a>.
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From Anitta to Beyoncé, through exhibitions and artistic residencies, funk has left the favelas of Rio to become a global phenomenon. However, prejudices still persist in Brazil.
With influences from hip hop, electronic music, and a good dose of Afro-Brazilian percussion, this music emerged in the late nineties in Rio, from where it expanded to Sao Paulo, Recife, Belo Horizonte, and other large cities in the country. “Funk feeds the self-esteem of the favela,” said writer Taisa Machado, creator of the Afrofunk Rio promotion platform.
“Those of us who work with funk have always known about the strength, musical and cultural quality of the movement, and we were already waiting for this moment,” she notes about its international momentum.
She celebrated, as many did, that American superstar Beyoncé included in her most recent album, “Cowboy Carter”, a song (“Spaghettii”) with a sample from Brazilian artist O Mandrake, a legend of the genre.
Brazilian artist Anitta, the biggest architect of this global projection, proclaims that pride in her new album “Funk Generation”, which hits the market this Friday. Meanwhile, her colleague Ludmilla performed at the recent Coachella festival in California.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-live-off-my-art">Live off my art</h2>
In Lapa, a central working-class neighborhood of Rio, a dozen young people from the suburbs and favelas rehearse their final show for #estudeofunk, an “artistic residency” taught at the Fundição Progresso cultural center.
It’s the turn of four girls who, dressed in sports tops and shorts, do “quadradinhos” with their hips under the watchful eye of Celly, the dance director. The idea of the project is to “professionalize” their knowledge and turn their passion into a profitable career, summarizes its creator, Vanessa Damasco.
The success of “funkeiros” artists inspires thousands of people who see them, like soccer players, as a model for economic advancement and life improvement.
“To be able to live off my music, my art, that’s what I want,” confirms Gustavo de França Duarte (MC Gut Original) after the rehearsal. At 35 years old with four children, he has been singing funk for years but works as a night watchman.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-museum-piece">Museum piece </h2>
The Rio Art Museum also echoes the phenomenon. In “Funk, a Cry of Boldness and Freedom”, hundreds of paintings, photos, videos, and installations mark emblematic moments of dances in poor neighborhoods and nightclubs.
The exhibition also addresses the demand for sexual freedom in Rio’s funk and its dimension of self-management thanks to the internet. It highlights moments such as when Olympic medalist Rebeca Andrade set her performance in Tokyo-2021 to the song “Baile de favela”.
The good public reception led the museum to extend the duration of the exhibition. One of the exhibitors is French photographer Vincent Rosenblatt, based in Brazil, whose powerful portraits taken over 15 years at funk parties were also exhibited in Paris this year. He recalls that funk “had to go through a great struggle to be recognized as Rio’s cultural heritage” in 2009.
On the same day that the Rio legislative assembly granted it that recognition, it revoked a law that restricted funk parties, the massive street celebrations in favelas and other urban spaces.
<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-like-a-phoenix">Like a phoenix </h2>
Funk speaks about “the daily life of the favela, the new habits of the youth, the way of speaking, the expressions, and the slang,” says anthropologist and documentary filmmaker Emílio Domingos, responsible for the script of the Netflix series “Anitta: From Honorio to the World”.
“The lyrics cite the favela as a space of pride and leisure,” he adds. But, by sharing territory with drug trafficking, they also talk about violence, which fueled the stigma that still hangs over the movement.
Because paradoxically, while its popularity explodes outside, there are fewer and fewer funk parties in Brazil. “Funk moves a lot of money, employs many people, raises relevant debates, and has the power to promote new lines of behavior, and yet there is a real police and state persecution,” Machado denounces.
“There are many prejudices, racism, machismo, and elitism when dealing with the movement,” she laments. Rosenblatt agrees but celebrates that funk is “like a phoenix: the more they repress it, the more it is reborn somewhere else.”
The post <a href="https://ticotimes.net/2024/04/25/the-rise-of-brazilian-funk-anitta-beyonce-and-beyond">The Rise of Brazilian Funk: Anitta, Beyoncé, and Beyond</a> appeared first on <a href="https://ticotimes.net">The Tico Times | Costa Rica News | Travel | Real Estate</a>.
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</channel>
</rss>

If you would like to create a banner that links to this page (i.e. this validation result), do the following:

Download the "valid RSS" banner.
Upload the image to your own server. (This step is important. Please do not link directly to the image on this server.)
Add this HTML to your page (change the image src attribute if necessary):

<a href="http://www.feedvalidator.org/check.cgi?url=http%3A//www.ticotimes.net/feed"><img src="valid-rss-rogers.png" alt="[Valid RSS]" title="Validate my RSS feed" /></a>

If you would like to create a text link instead, here is the URL you can use:

http://www.feedvalidator.org/check.cgi?url=http%3A//www.ticotimes.net/feed

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