Jul 02
The temporary presidency of the Central American Integration System (SICA) was transferred to the Costa Rican president Oscar Arias on Wednesday July 1st, 2009. The 6 month-presidency of this Central American Integration System was celebrated in Nicaragua.
Despite the public opposition on behalf of the president of Nicaragua Daniel Ortega, the SICA presidency was transferred to Costa Rica. Although Costa Rica is part of the system, it holds a conservative stance when it comes to integration issues.
Ortega had publicly threatened to not transfer the presidency to Costa Rica stating that its neighbor was selfish when it came to the integration of Central America. Arias responded by traveling to Nicaragua to receive the presidency of SICA and during his speech asked the attendees to respect Costa Rica’s point of view.
In his speech, Arias mentioned that Costa Rica has never tried to boycott or convince the decisions made by other SICA members to change their politics. Arias went on to say that Costa Rica has respected the ways of diplomacy by allowing others to accomplish their goals as well as Costa Rica has went on to do so on its own.
After the speech delivered by Oscar Arias, Ortega nor any other head of state commented about Costa Rica’s policy of supporting some of the SICA’s issues and not others.
written by Carolyn Ramer
\\ tags: Central American Integration, Costa Rica Politics, Oscar Arias
Jun 29
The fast food chain restaurants in Costa Rica have been opening new restaurants throughout different locations in the country despite the ongoing world financial crisis. For this year so far, a total of 4 chain restaurants have opened 6 locations with a total investment of USD $6.5 million.
The highest investment so far made by a single firm goes to the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) Company which owns the franchise for the KFC, Quiznos and Teriyaki Restaurants in Costa Rica. QSR invested a total of $3.5 million for their three new restaurants in Lindora, Santa Ana.
Marketing Manager Carolina Beeche, mentioned that the pricey investment of these restaurants in the area were necessary as Santa Ana has become a very active and demanding business center in San Jose. A number of Costa Rica hotels, business centers and real estate developments have made their way to Santa Ana in order to fulfill with the region’s demand.
On the other hand, Arcos Dorados, who owns the McDonald’s franchise in Costa Rica, invested USD $3 million in their three new locations in San Ramon, Grecia and Liberia. McDonald’s also has plans to open one more restaurant before the end of the year.
Future investments to be made in the Costa Rican food industry include the opening of four Applebee’s Restaurants within the next four years for a total investment of USD $5 million.
written by Carolyn Ramer
\\ tags: Costa Rica Investment, Costa Rican restaurants, fast Food restaurants in Costa Rica
Jun 25
The NBC reality show, “I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!” which was filmed in the Sarapiqui rainforest in Costa Rica’s North Atlantic region, aired its finale on Wednesday, June 24th.
The show was filmed in Costa Rica for a total of 3 weeks and concluded last night with the announcement that the audience had voted actor Lou Diamond Phillips as this season’s winner.
The reality show was broadcasted from the Costa Rica hotel Sueño Azul in Horquetas of Sarapiqui, Heredia. To the surprise of many, all the competitors were present at the hotel for the show’s finale.
The reality show began filming in Costa Rica on June 1st and had among the original competitors Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt who were the first to quit the show stating that their place was in Hollywood. The couple was immediately replaced by Heidi’s sister Holly Montag and Baldwin brother Daniel.
The latest celebrity to have dropped out of the show was actor Stephen Baldwin who quit the show just 5 days prior to Wednesday night’s finale. Baldwin made the announcement via the website blogtalkradio.com stating that he had suffered a severe allergic reaction to the 125 bug bites he received during his stay in the Costa Rican rainforest.
“I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!” was estimated to have been watched by over 5 million viewers during the show’s weeknight slot of Monday through Wednesday at 7/8 Central on NBC.
written by Carolyn Ramer
\\ tags: Costa Rican rainforest, Hotels in Costa Rica, Sarapiqui
