Miss Costa Rica 2011 Beauty Pageant Tonight

This weekend is a big weekend in Costa Rica with the inauguration of the new National Stadium and tonight's (Friday) Miss Costa Rica 2011 beauty pageant, which is will be occurring across from the street of the National Stadium, in the studios of Teletica.

The Miss Costa Rica is an annual event that selects Costa Rica's representative for the Miss Universe pageant since 1954. The current titleholder is Marva Wright from San José. She won the title in a nationally televised event on April 16, 2010.

Women between the ages of 18-27, each representing a province, compete to represent Costa Rica for one year and participate in the annual Miss Universe international competition. Until 2006, the 1st runner-up of Miss Costa Rica would usually go to Miss World and until 1994, the first runner-up, the winner or a finalist would go to Miss International.

Tonight the 10 finalists compete for the crown.

Costa Rica has participated in the Miss Universe pageant since 1954 and has sent 56 representatives in the pageant's 60-year history. The event has been broadcast by Teletica since 1960.

During the years a total of 20 Miss Costa Rica titles have been won by candidates from San José, 7 from Cartago, 7 from Guanacaste, 6 from Heredia, 6 from Limón, 4 from Puntarenas and 5 from Alajuela.


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Retirement in Costa Rica v Ecuador: A comparison for potential expat retirees

By Jamie Douglas / Mar 11


Both Costa Rica and Ecuador have much to offer retired expats. I will start with the northernmost of the two: Costa Rica, which is much smaller, is more modern in North American/European terms.

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Retirement in Costa Rica v Ecuador: A comparison for potential expat retirees

U.S. Diplomats: "Costa Rica Is No Paradise "

INSIDECOSTARICA.COM | COSTA RICA NEWS | Sunday 20 March 2011

The tourist brochures do not tell the whole story, writes US diplomat in cable Have you ever wondered what American diplomats in Costa Rica really think of the country? The answer: "Costa Rica is no paradise, with raw sewage everywhere", according to Wikileaks reports printed in Costa Rica's largest daily, La Nación. "Costa Rica treats less than 3% of human waste and discharges 97% of the sewage into the rivers that flow into the sea and constitute little more than contaminated sewage ditches open (...) placing the country among the five worst in Latin America. And the country is going backwards. "The Central Valley, which includes the greater metropolitan area of San José and nearly two million people (almost half of Costa Rica's population), has an antiquated sewage collection, with many underground pipes dating back from the last century and perforated with rust". That is the report by Laurie Weitzenkorn, Public Affairs Office of the U.S. Embassy in San José in a cable dated April 4, 2007, the year that Weitzenkorn was give the task of reporting to the State Department the reality live by Costa Ricans. She added: "You can see spills on the streets. Although at least they have added 100 new residential network since 1981 no extensive work has been done on the sewer system. "Almost all sewage flowing from San Jose enter the rivers and empty into the Pacific, particularly in the Gulf of Nicoya by way of the Tárcoles river. Locals know to avoid that area beaches for the sewage. "Pollution has damaged mangroves and coral reefs, and is suspected of causing a decline in commercial fishing. It is also linked to water pollution hepatitis, cholera, skin problems and diarrhea cases increased by 16% in Costa Rica from 2002 to 2005. Read more

Full Moon Cause For "Green Alert" For Costa Rica's Coasts

The full moon this weekend is the reason for the "green alert" for high waves for Costa Rica's coasts. The alert was issued by the Comisión Nacional de Emergencias (CNE) as a preventive measure.

The CNE is advisory is from Sunday to Thursday. CNE officials say the Pacific coast and the area of Isla del Coco could be the most affected by the waves.

According to the Instituto Meteorológico Nacional (IMN) - national weather service - the high waves could have a greater impact at high time.

The lunar event this weekend, called by some as Super Moon Sunday, brings the moon closest to Earth in past 18 years. The super moon event is said to occur between March 16 and March 22 with the full moon being closest to Earth than any time in the past 18 years on March 19.

Celestial bodies do not orbit in perfect circles as the earliest scientist thought. Johannes Kepler showed us in 1609 that planets and moons sweep out their orbits in ellipses. This means that, at some points in their orbits, they are closer to the body they orbit than other points. Whenever a celestial satellite is at its closest point, it is known to be at perigee and when it is at its furthest point from the body it orbits, it is at apogee. 


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