Bridge Collapse Creates Storm

By Chrissie Long Tico Times Staff | [email protected]

As the dust begins to settle on a bridge collapse last Thursday in Costa Rica's central Pacific region, the only thing still standing seems to be a political scene dominated by finger-pointing.

A scarred community, still grappling with the loss of family members and friends, is blaming the government, which appears to have ignored what they claim were repeated pleas to fix the bridge. Breaking Point: The cable that Government officials, who have chosen to hide caused the collapse of the bridge behind their resumes of infrastructure over the Río Tárcoles lies at the accomplishments, have directed criticism at the bus bridge's entrance. driver for disregarding weight restrictions, but also at Keely Kernan | Tico Times past administrations, which have left a backlog of infrastructure problems.

And opposing political parties are using the tragedy as ammunition for the 2010 presidential campaign, shouting for resignations of members of the National Liberation Party-dominated government.

Meanwhile, the person who has borne the brunt of the fallout is 44-year-old Karla González, who resigned Monday from her post as minister of Public Works and Transport.

Reluctant to lose another cabinet member, President Oscar Arias initially wouldn't accept González´ resignation. He defended her record, saying that she had done more as minister than anyone who preceded her in office.

But on Tuesday, Arias wrote to González, saying, “It gives me pain to accept your resignation. … It worries me that our country is becoming accustomed … to using people to as means to an end.”

Yet, even after González accepted the “political responsibility” for the tragedy, residents of Turrubares, which was connected to the larger town of Orotina by the bridge, remain without an easy route to pharmacies and grocery stores, repairs to other faulty bridges around the country are caught in red tape, and families continue to cope with the loss of loved ones. IMF approves millions in needed aid for Nicaragua

By Tim Rogers Nica Times Staff | [email protected]

Despite increasing international concerns about Nicaragua's governance issues, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – which President Daniel Ortega has long railed against – threw the Sandinista government a much-needed lifeline yesterday by approving the second and third reviews of the country's economic performance, qualifying Nicaragua to receive a combined total of $85.9 million, with an immediate disbursement of $37.8 million, according to the IMF.

The decision by the agency, which had effectively frozen aid to Nicaragua since the end of 2008, will provide much needed funding to the cash-strapped government. Nicaragua has already had to cut its 2009 budget on three occasions this year.

Takatoshi Kato, deputy managing director and acting board chair of the IMF, said in a statement that as part of the agreement, the Nicaraguan government will have to gear monetary policy to keep inflation low, while protecting international reserves.

He said Nicaragua's banking system remains sound, though “increased vigilance will be required in light of growing non-performing loans.” He said the government will encourage a “market-friendly and voluntary resolution in the case of troubled debtors” in Nicaragua's unregulated microfinance sector.

The IMF also stressed the need for Nicaragua to implement a series of structural reforms, in the energy sector and pension system, as well as improvements to revenue administration and fiscal policies.

Kato also said that “Strengthening governance and the business climate will be critical to leverage donor support and improve growth prospects.”

Nicaragua's Central Bank, for its part, said the IMF's decision shows that the government is committed to maintaining macroeconomic stability, “even though the Nicaraguan economy has been affected by the global economic and financial crisis.”

The opposition says the IMF's decision will give Nicaragua “more breathing room,” but worries that it will send a message of appeasement to President Ortega.

“This may cause Ortega to maintain an aggressive tack on governance issues,” said opposition lawmaker Francisco Aguirre, of the National Assembly's Budget Commission. Thieves in Costa Rica Continue to Steal Peace Dear Tico Times: An American tour group dedicated to helping Costa Rica was ruthlessly assaulted during an overnight stay at Best Western's Paradise Cosmetic Inn in San Antonio de Escazú. They lost everything.

While they slept at night, five masked gunman stormed through their locked bedroom doors and then taped and tied up my friends and forced them on their knees at gunpoint for more than two hours while their personal items were ransacked and their safes raided. The night maid was stripped from the waist down and also restrained along with them. The brazen thugs even took time to eat and drink from the mini-bars before taking their leave. Strangely, the hotel guard dogs had been “put away” earlier that night because they “kept barking”. Unfortunately, other than an apology and a phone call to the Judicial Investigation Police (OIJ), the hotel did not help the victims in any way except to offer a mere $90 toward their return home.

Three months have passed and still no clues or word from the OIJ and no communication from the hotel. The hotel e-mail address has been inactivated and the owner is unreachable. The hotel's insurance company, the National Insurance Institute (INS), has assigned claim numbers, but there has been no word or follow up from them either.

My friends have given up hope of any reimbursement. Although their emotional wounds are healing, their hearts remain saddened. They will never return to Costa Rica with another tour group. What a loss to Costa Rica! This group was dedicated to Costa Rica's environment and sustainability. They donated money to reforestation projects, supported wild animal rehabilitation facilities, were charitable toward organic farming enterprises, and embraced many Tico families over the years during their numerous visits. They even loaned money to a hardworking Tico family so they could start their own business. They donated computers, cameras and video equipment to nonprofit environmental groups, and they promoted Costa Rica to all their Gringo friends.

When will Costa Ricans wake up and admit it is past time to reduce crime and not just talk about it? How about establishing a Costa Rican emergency compensation fund to help desperate tourists who have been victimized? That would be a small step toward rebuilding goodwill. How about replacing lenient judges and officers who let criminals go free without due punishment or retribution? Let's make the judges and officers personally accountable for their decisions and publish their statistics and results in the local papers. How about firing and prosecuting dishonest police officers exposed through sting operations? What is the OIJ doing? Let's reclaim our right to freedom and dismantle our state of fear-dom before it's too late.

And in response to Jim Hamilton's comment (TT, Letters, Sept. 25) that crime against tourists who do not take care of their valuables seems justified, I can honestly say that, after living here for two-and-a-half years, I know very few responsible families who have not been robbed. Their pura vida was stolen. Linda Corkhill, Drake Bay

New Residency Renewal System Works – Wow! Dear Tico Times:

I have been a resident of Costa Rica for almost 11 years. I've gone from having to deal with the long lines and tremendous problems at the Immigration Administration offices to receive and renew my residency to the relative ease of being able to do it in Puntarenas. It took just three visits – one to make the appointment, one to have the information processed, and one to pick up my new cédula.

This year my husband and I called and were given appointments at Banco de Costa Rica. We were treated courteously and promptly and were told we could pick up our new cédulas at the post office in Jacó, where we live, on a certain day. We received a call this morning, a day ahead of time, and were told that our cédulas were there and waiting for us!

Norma Kahn Jacó

Tamarindo News In Costa Rica, Credomatic has a nineteen year history of presenting annual live music festivals. They bring musicians from all over the world into this country to perform at a variety of locations. This year is not different in that respect, but the scope and range has grown considerably. In addition to an impressive group of local, national talent presenting a plethora of musical styles, Credomatic will also offer an incredible array of music from Spain, France, Holland, Switzerland, Russia, Austria, Great Britain, Germany and the United States. The festivities commence on the first of this month and continue through the sixteenth of August, in no less than eighteen different locations throughout Costa Rica. Of the thirty-three musical productions scheduled for this year’s festival, seven will be made available to the public for free.

This year’s festival has many surprises. One of the biggest surprises is not a musician, but a musical instrument: the Schyven cathedral organ in La Catedral Metropolitana in San Jose. This incredible organ, with more than two hundred pipes, took more than two years to be constructed in Belgium, and then shipped in twenty- nine cases, where it arrived in San Jose in 1890 and was reconstructed, with work completed in 1891. The organ was silenced only three years later after a series of seismic events rendered the musical instrument into disrepair. But the Schyven cathedral organ has been resurrected and music will once again be heard through all its two hundred pipes.

At a recent press convention at Hacienda Pinilla, Jordi Antich, the musical director for the festival, discussed the renovation of the cathedral organ and this year’s growth of artists and locations. His enthusiasm and knowledge are impressive, but it is his passion for the arts that obviously shines through. Jordi is genuinely emotionally attached to the entire production and very proud that the festival is able to offer tickets at the Nacional Theater in San Jose, for example, at prices that any music aficionado can afford. I would also like to thank Lysalex Hernandez for her wonderful, complete job at organizing the press conference with an excellent eye for detail.

In Guanacaste there will be a total of three performances scheduled. On August 5, Hacienda Pinilla will host the Dutch violin/piano duo Henfield-Hengst who will present a program of Beethoven, Ravel and Schuman. Hacienda Pinilla will also play host to the Bolshoi Theater Quartet on 12 August. This stringed quartet from Moscow will again perform its program of selections from Hadyn, Beethoven and Alexandr Borodin on 15 August at Reserva Conchal. All three of these performances will begin at 5:30 p.m.

A sense of community is contagious. This was abundantly clear with all the participants at the aforementioned press conference. I look forward to seeing other “infected” at some of the Credomatic Music Festival locations this year! More information can be found by going to their site at: www.credomatic.com and reservations can be made by calling 2295.9898. See you there!

Tamarindo News Jeremy Flores of France may have won the gold medal with razor-sharp surfing, and the United States scored the team gold for the overall event, but by the cheers of the 50,000 spectators who passed through Playa Hermosa during the Billabong International Surfing Association World Surfing Games Costa Rica 2009 August 1 through 8, it was the home team Ticos who were the crowd favorites.

That’s why the applause was so loud when Jaco’s Jason Torres finished his run at the World Surfing Games that Friday, August 7, even though he had surfed his heart out in the repercharge finals and only to come up 3rd behind the surfer Flores in 1st place who would go on to win the whole competition, and Brandon Jackson of South Africa in 2nd place.

Frequently during the week, Torres had made some spectacular moves, ripping through heats in the main event. Like the first time he faced Top 10 WCT competitor Flores, on Day 1. That heat also featured others like Hawaii’s Roy Powers and Australia’s Matt Bemrose. But Torres started early by breaking up a right with skill all the way to the beach for 8.33 points. Even while Flores hit back with commanding maneuvers, risking everything, Torres had an insurance wave of 9.00 and earned the highest combination in the main event that day— 17.33.

“I just want to pass my heat,” Torres said later. “I don’t care about the points or anything. When I surf with good guys I surf good. I think I did a pretty good job representing my country. That’s what I have to do: represent, do my best, and kick ass.”

Days and many passed heats later, Torres hit the Top 8, even finding himself seeding in there with countryman Gilbert Brown of Puerto Viejo who was also on fire. Torres won 1st place, while Brown ended up in repercharge due to an interference call against him.

On Torres’ last day at the Billabong ISA World Surfing Games Costa Rica 2009, he gave the crowd a roller coaster ride. First thing in the morning, Torres surfed the qualifier round 5 and lost 4th place to USA Cory Lopez at 1st, 2nd to Gabriel Villaran of Peru and 3rd to Joel Centeio of Hawaii. He went to repercharge.

Then in the repercharge heat, his confidence rose. Once again finding himself in a heat with Flores, the Frenchman seemed to have all the moves, until the last moments when Torres blasted out some high points and overtook 1st place.

Then, it all tapered down in the next repercharge heat, when Torres came out 3rd behind Flores and Jackson.

All in all, he ranked #7 at these World Surfing Games.

The other hotshot of the Costa Rican team was Carlos Muñoz of Esterillos, all of 16 years old, telling everyone who would listen that winning felt “natural.”

Take that Wednesday in his two repercharge heats when he interfered against another competitor in both those heats—causing the judges to take off half the points of second highest wave. He had to surf even more amazingly to ramp up the points and come in 1st place BOTH TIMES. The adrenalin on the beach was astounding.

The announcer said: “It’s nice to see a surfer who not only wants to win, but who entertains the crowd.”

Muñoz said: “I’m really happy that nothing bad happened because of the interference. I had a lot of luck today because of this. I hope to get a lot of experience with these days coming because of things like this.”

From then on, every time Muñoz surfed a crowd gathered. He even ended up in the Top 8 repercharge as well. On Thursday, at midday, the announcer told the spectators: “Get a spot on the beach for this one.” He was talking about the repercharge heat with Muñoz. Carlos did not disappoint as he came out of the gate with a one-two punch that put him right at 1st place. 7:70 into the heat, the announcer’s voice disappeared and the directive from the main tower was for the surfers to come in. A truck had hit a power line and all electricity was out in the area. This lasted for 2 ½ hours. When the heat resumed, Muñoz picked up where he left off, replaced a low score and surfed away with the heat and 1st place.

The next day, however, Muñoz, entered Round 7 of repercharge in another semifinal facing Flores, Jackson, and Austin Ware of the USA. Holding his own in the swell, which had picked up to 4- to 6-foot barrels, even going first, and extreme in a right barrel, but for want of a better second wave, he remained in 4th place. 1st place went to Jackson and Flores took 2nd withWare placing 3rd.

“I’m sad, but happy,” Muñoz said, now ranked #13 in the world. “In the next World Surfing Games I’m going to do better.”

Overall, the Costa Rica National Surf team placed 7th in the world. José Ureña, President of the Federacion de Surf de Costa Rica, was pleased with how the team did, given the quality of surfing talent that appeared here to compete. Names like the aforementioned Flores, the United States’ Cory Lopez, who been a WCT competitor since 1997 and finished 3rd on the WCT this year and WCT competitor Ben Bourgeois; Australia’s WCT competitors Mick Campbell, Dayan Neve, Samantha Cornish, Amee Donahue; Sofia Mulanovich, the 2004 ASP Women’s WCT Champion and 2004 World Surfing Games gold medalist; and so many more.

The United States continued to compete long after Costa Rica left the World Surfing Games. In the end, they had five of their eight team members in the three finals. They were that good. The winning of the gold medal was especially sweet for them, as they hadn’t won an overall team gold medal in 13 years. France won the silver team medal, with Flores as their leader, his having won that gold medal for open surfing. Antoine Delpero took home a gold medal for Longboard.

Australia, who had won the last two World Surfing Games, came away from Costa Rica with a Bronze medal. Unfortunately, this time, they did not score any individual medals. However, their Tag Team did win the gold medal in the Aloha Cup, the special event that takes place at the World Surfing Games and features the best eight teams from the previous Games.

Earning the copper medal was Hawaii.

One last mention, even though not one Costa Rican was surfing in the Open finals, the beach was packed--an estimated 10,000 people, organizers say—to watch the two surfers from the United States, Lopez and Bourgeois, Peruvian Villaran, and Frenchman Flores. The waves were perfect, and surfing level was so high, it was an amazing show of skill.

As expected, Flores commanded the waves with precision, not without the determined challenges of the others. A pair of 8-point rides was all he needed to seal his win.

From the podium, after France’s national anthem was played, Flores shouted: “Pura Vida, Costa Rica.”

FINAL Team Results: GOLD - United States – 14910 points SILVER - France – 13280 points BRONZE - Australia - 10996 points COPPER - Hawaii – 10856 points

INDIVIDUAL FINAL RESULTS Open Men Gold: Jeremy Flores (FRA) Silver: Cory Lopez (USA) Bronze: Gabriel VIllarán (PER) Copper: Ben Bourgeois (USA)

Open Women Gold: Courtney Conlogue (USA) Silver: Rosanne Hodge (ZAF) Copper: Sage Erickson (USA) Bronze: Pauline Ado (FRA)

Longboard Gold: Antoine Delpero (FRA) Silver: Harley Ingleby (AUS) Copper: Ben Skinner (GBR) Bronze: Tony Silvagni (USA)

Aloha Cup Gold: Australia Silver: Francia Bronze: Peru Copper: Tahiti

FINAL TEAM STANDINGS 1 - USA - 14910 points 2 - France - 13280 points 3 - Australia - 10996 points 4 - Hawaii - 10856 points 5 - South Africa - 10666 points 6 - Peru - 10180 points 7 - Costa Rica - 9650 points