No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeTopicsArts and CultureFIA-sco! Arts Festival delayed, afternoon events cancelled in Alajuelita and Acosta

FIA-sco! Arts Festival delayed, afternoon events cancelled in Alajuelita and Acosta

If you were just about to head out to the first day’s events of the International Arts Festival (FIA), don’t: The afternoon events scheduled for Alajuelita and all events scheduled for today in San Ignacio de Acosta have been cancelled due to lack of permits and, crucially, lack of lighting and sound equipment.

The head of this year’s festival, Inti Picado, told La Nación on Thursday that the international bands scheduled to play in Acosta this afternoon and evening would be reprogrammed for this weekend at the National Cultural Center (Cenac), in downtown San José.

The lineup of Costa Rican bands scheduled for Acosta, including Hongo Fu, Witty y Gavina, Los Kaites and Sonámbulo, will be reprogrammed for the following weekend.

As of this afternoon, the 6 p.m. inauguration in downtown Alajuelita was still scheduled to take place.

For weeks the 2015 festival, which is put on by the Ministry of Culture, has been mired in controversy.

FIA fans have expressed safety concerns about attending events in the low-income districts of Alajuelita and Desamparados; participating artists have claimed a lack of official guidance and information; and a last-minute tiff between the Culture Ministry and lighting company LuzArt has left some of the stages without sound or lights.

Just today, the Health Ministry noted that organizers had not procured proper health and safety permits.

The Culture Ministry did not answer calls from The Tico Times, and local arts organizations declined to comment.

This story is developing.

Trending Now

Guatemala Frees Hostages After Prison Gang Riots

Guatemalan authorities freed hostages on Monday who were being held by gang members in two prisons, including a juvenile facility, in riots attributed to...

Costa Rica Drivers Face Yearlong Delays as Tárcoles Bridge Undergoes Repairs

Those who frequently use the South Coast Highway, near the Tárcoles river, will have to be more patient.  Repair works have started on the...

Route 32 Reopens Following Preventive Closure Over Landslide Risk

Route 32, which connects San José with Limón, was reopened this morning after being closed for nearly 12 hours as a preventive measure due...

Costa Rica Replaces One-Lane Bridges as Traffic and Population Grow

As the infrastructure of Costa Rica advances, with new four-lane highways and a series of bypasses around San José that avoid the narrow, congested...

San Jose Airport Achieves Top 5 Global Ranking in Passenger Experience

Juan Santamaría International Airport in San Jose, Costa Rica's main gateway managed by AERIS, has earned the prestigious Level 5 Customer Experience certification from...

Nicaragua Hosts Historic 2025 AmeriCup Basketball Tournament

The 2025 AmeriCup, the men’s basketball Copa América, tips off this Friday in Nicaragua, marking the most significant international sporting event in the country’s...
spot_img
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica