In 2006, more than 1,000 families in extreme poverty, most of them Nicaraguan immigrants, were evicted from a shantytown called La Candela behind the Juan Santamaría International Airport, north of Costa Rica’s capital.
During Thursday's massive horse parade that initiated the Palmares Festival, 73 people were detained or arrested and 122 needed medical attention, according to data from the Red Cross. That included 23 injuries to festival-goers who entered the bullfighting ring.
Costa Rica welcomed some 2.4 million tourists during 2013, an increase of 3.6 percent compared to 2012, the Costa Rican Tourism Board reported Thursday.
The ruling National Liberation Party candidate for president, Johnny Araya, unveiled two social welfare programs aimed at addressing the nearly 340,000 Costa Ricans who live in extreme poverty.
Araya proposed a food benefit program that would provide approximately $40 per month to each Costa Rican living in extreme poverty. Araya’s second proposal would build new houses or improve the current houses of 125,000 Costa Rican families.
The first major earthquake of 2014 rocked Costa Rica around 3:02 p.m. Friday. The epicenter of the magnitude-5.2 temblor was about 30 kilometers off the central Pacific coast, just southwest of Jacó, according to the University of Costa Rica's National Seismological Network and other reports.
All along Palmares’ main street, officially known as La Recta, the crowd was like a parted sea of cowboy hats. They flanked the empty avenue in growing anticipation, swigging beer from Pilsen cans, eating skewers of barbequed chicken, and taking selfies in front of waiting horses. So began the Palmares “tope,” or horse parade, on that sunny Thursday.
Mexican vigilante militias battling drug-traffickers in the restive state of Michoacán said Thursday they had returned several hundred acres of land seized from villagers by a notorious drug cartel.
Costa Rican opposition presidential candidate José María Villalta says he'll cut tax deductions and boost salaries of police and teachers if elected president, calling concerns about the country's widening budget deficit "alarmist."
Like a tropical Bonnaroo, Jungle Jam continues to rock the rainforest this weekend, overtaking Jacó beach with bands and fans from all over the world. If you haven't caught the first couple days, you can still hightail it to DoceLunas hotel for a wild weekend.
