Palmares Festival completed the schedule of international artists that will be performing during the festival which begins next Wednesday Jan. 14th.  The festival is a 12 day event which is actually a combination of parties thrown by different associations. The Palmares Festival is the largest festival in Costa Rica and draws hundreds of thousands of people from Costa Rica but also international tourists.

A massive concert by Puerto Rican urban music group Calle 13 will close the festival on Sunday, Jan. 25th at 12pm. For those who know the band, Residente and Visitante will be singing to a smaller paid crowd on Saturday, Jan. 24 at the mainstage of Imperial Bar. 

Residente of Calle 13

Other notable line-ups for the festival include:

Friday, Jan. 16th – Los Pericos, a reggae nouveau music group
Location: Marlboro Bar mainstage

Saturday, Jan. 17th - Mexican ranchero artist Ana Barbara
Location: Bull Stadium – paid concert

Saturday, Jan. 17th – Deep Dish live performance
Location: Marlboro Bar mainstage

Sunday, Jan. 18th - Kumbia Kings and ex-lead vocalist Pee Wee
Location: unknown

Thursday, Jan. 22nd - DJ Roger Sanchez for spin fans
Location: Marlboro Bar mainstage

Friday, Jan. 23rd - Argentinian music group Miranda! is back!
Location: Marlboro Bar mainstage

Check local papers for additional information or you can try this site which did not work for me but is published as a source for information about the event

Every year thousands of tourists visit Costa Rica with ideas of experiencing adventure, tropical rain forests, wild animals, and surfing. While the majority of these adventures are safe and relatively low risk, it is the alternative activities or spontaneous decisions that pose very high risks. What are some of these alternatives? Suffice to say, anything in which your participation when gone awry could cause grave injuries. Why?

While Costa Rica boasts the traditional 911 emergency number, it is nothing remotely similar to the USA, Canada, or European systems. To demonstrate differences, just a few basics about the other countries system: US,CA; rapid response under 10 minutes, stabilization for transport and trauma care at hospital, European;rapid response under 10 minutes, stabilization & trauma care brought to scene. All have Enhanced-911 services; callerID with physical address, coordinated radio command & control of fire-police-EMT. And all come equipped for the job.

In Costa Rica, while authorities may claim rapid response is a high priority it does not exist. Furthermore, the noted basics of the other countries systems does not exist here. When you dial 911 in Costa Rica, you are sent to a central office in San Jose where they attempt to coordinate a response.

Red Cross Central Operations upgraded in 2001 from donation by Japan

Often, when they call the local Red Cross or Cruz Rojo there is no answer. If you become incapacitated during the call, no luck locating the origin of the call, hence, no location information. When a response is received and the Red Cross arrives they often are ill-equipped to deal with any emergency other than their training. Equipment is often non-functional, or non-existent and hospital transport can be upwards to 2 hours depending on your location and that meter begins after they arrive on the scene which can take up to an hour. more…

With the USA and western Europe economy suffering the worst economic depression ever recorded, the Costa Rican tourism officials had their fingers crossed entering the start of High Season.  The ICT which is the official agency that promotes tourism here in Costa Rica made a public relations event out of the 2,000,000th customer visting here.

Many hotels and industry have been hurting in Jaco as a result of the lower tourist numbers but most agree that their real money comes in during the high season. So everyone in Jaco was crossing their fingers and hoping it would be equal to last year at least. But if you are a regular here in Jaco you know the tourists are here in droves. Even the nationals are visiting Jaco in large numbers since the national schools are on vacation.

Chuck from WOW Surf told me last week that he is very busy and is not complaining. Taco Bar, a local favorite, serves fresh fish tacos has been jammed the past few days as tourists feast on the salad buffet and fresh fish. Even the shops that sell anything from a fish comb to ceramic wind chimes have been selling their wares to eager tourists.

I wish I could say the municipality was ready for this but they were not. Luckily for Jaco, tourists do not factor this when deciding whether or not to visit us. But the muni could have waited to dig up the “Pop’s” calle until after the high season instead of leaving it as a dirt road filling the main street with plenty of dust that tourists have to cover their mouths and shield their eyes when near. Jaco’s, Chinese funded, park is still not complete while tourists try and shoot photos of the large Iguanas that used to inhabit the refuge.

Check back next week for our new photo gallery and virtual tours of Costa Rica’s most famous tourist attractions.

This Family of Seven Was Celebrated as the 2 Millionth Tourist to Costa Rica.

The Biedron family from New Jersey received a grand welcome to Costa Rica this Wednesday, Dec. 17, as they were chosen to represent the arrival of the 2 millionth tourist to Costa Rica. Mark and Gretchen Biedron, who will be traveling in the country with their five children aged 8 thru 20 for two weeks, were met by Minister of Tourism Carlos Benavides and a large group of press and interested onlookers.

This is the first year in the history of Costa Rica that the total number of arriving tourists will surpass 2 million, a number the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) expects will jump to 2.1 million before the close of 2008. ICT also estimated that the tourist industry will have generated .2 billion by the end of the year, 0 million more than last year which saw a total of 1.9 million tourists come to the country. more…

 This Christmas it has been estimated that as many as 70,000 Nicaraguans who live and work in Costa Rica will be heading home for the holidays. This figure was estimated after taking into account the number of Nicaraguans who have applied for travel documents to enable them to cross the border at Peñas Blanca.

Harold Rivas, the Nicaraguan ambassador explains, “We are attending some 1,200 persons daily for visas and passports” which is an enormous number. Nicaraguans looking to travel home are able to visit several consulates based around the country in San Jose, Liberia, Ciudad Quesada and Los Chiles. Among the thousands of Nicaraguans traveling home, there will also be a number of Costa Ricans who have Nicaraguan family members and partners. more…