Costa Rica Blog Wrapup: CAFTA, Christmas and arts. · Global Voices
Juliana Rincón Parra

Highlights from Costa Rica's blogs these past weeks.  We have more on the CAFTA, complaints on Christmas, and posts on artistic and cultural events.
We'll begin with a touch of humour:
Lachi in Prueba de Artista posts a video taken during an Anime-manga event where they got an undesired dose of preaching from a Christian minister who took advantage of the event to damn them all into hell.
La Sardina Albina  was also there and wrote about the religious invasion to their privacy.
Damian comments about a costa Rican custom of getting a psychic to cleanse offices from negative spiritual forces.
Christmas season kicks off:
Amorexia gripes about the early start of the Christmas season:
The saddest thing could be how desvirtuated the celebration has become, besides antiesthetic. Two examples of why kickstarting Christmas so early  is not right: this morning, walking to work, I saw at least three christmas trees which were already dried up thanks to the lights, and we are still not in December!… and the other day I heard a little girl say that Christmas is the day when Santa saved the world from the Grinch. Please!
Lo más ingrato puede ser lo desvirtuado de la celebración… y antiestético, dos ejemplos mas de por que adelantar tanto la navidad no esta bien, esta mañana camino al trabajo, vi por lo menos tres arbolitos de navidad que ya estaban secos por las luces, y aún no es Diciembre! … y el otro día escuche a una pequeña niña decir que en la navidad se celebraba la fecha en que Santa salvo al mundo de el Grinch! Por favor!
Emilia Villegas in Yellow Boxing Glove documents the traditional making of tamales in a photographic set.
On the artistic front:
Julia Ardon calls ticos to visit the Estrecho Dudoso event, organized by Teorética, where arts will go to the streets and have those who rarely express themselves do so through art.
Emilia Villegas writes about the tribute to Chavela Vargas, a Costa Rican born international artist and adds many pictures of the event.
Jacinta Blogs on the Canal Central project were 21 nicaraguan migrants were given cellphones with cameras to document their lives in Costa Rica.
Uri Ridelman writes about the traditional ox-cart parade in San Jose, with pictures by AP/Kent Gilbert.
On the Costa Rican political events front
El Mercader writes about the mayoral elections and its lack of diffusion in Costa Rica and how he suspects it will be reflected in very low turnout rates to the polls.
Victor Alba de la Vega links to a poll published by the university of Costa Rica on CAFTA's acceptance by the Costa Rican population.
Itzpapalotl comments on Costa Rica's social security health system, known popularly as “La Caja”:
La Caja anguishes me to tears, especially because it is that good and important. It's like having your mother become an amnesiac crack addict who bashes your car window in to ask for a buck.
La Caja me angustia hasta las lágrimas, especialmente por lo buena e importante que es. Es como si tu mamá se volviera una piedrera amnésica que te arrea por la ventana del carro para pedirte seis tejas.
El Mercader comments on the decision made in Sao Paulo, Brazil to allow a gay couple to adopt a child, and questions what Costa Rica will do to follow suit.
Eduardo Mora on two important trials that took place this past weeks in Costa Rica: one for the murder of a journalist and the second one on the Monteverde bank robbery, he analyzes the judicial processes from his expertise as a lawyer:
Here both trials connect: the system's detractors will say the judges in the first case put the rights of those impeached over the victim's. These are two of the principal vices of the actual penal system: The one impeached has every right and when he or she is condemned the veredict does not compensate the harm done. The system's defendors will say that these rights are those that keep innocent people from going to jail by mistake and that penal justice is not revenge…
In the meantime, the citizens are increasingly losing respect for the judicial system, which is supposed to be the anchor of any democracy. Here the true danger begins: when citizens begin taking justice in their own hands.
Aquí los dos juicios se juntan: Los detractores del sistema actual dirán además: Los jueces en el primer caso privilegiaron los derechos de los imputados sobre los de la víctima. Estos son los dos vicios principales del sistema penal actual: el imputado tiene todos los derechos y cuando es condenado la condena no resarce el daño hecho. Los defensores del sistema dirán que esas garantías son las que permiten que un inocente no vaya a la cárcel por error y que la justicia penal no es venganza…
En el ínterin, los ciudadanos le vamos perdiendo más y más el respeto al sistema judicial, que se supone es el ancla de cualquier democracia. Aquí comienza el verdadero riesgo. Aquí es cuando los ciudadanos comienzan a tomar la justicia penal en sus manos.
Andrés Borrasé in Por la Boca vive el Pez calls for Costa Ricans to read and educate themselves on the CAFTA agreement and make their opinions known before a decision is made to sign or not the treaty.
Pbro Ronald Vargas Araya also makes his opinion as a Cristian known in Por La Boca Vive el Pez regarding the CAFTA.
Damian critizices a pro CAFTA email he received where the author assumes that everyone lives a priviledged life where they buy in fast food chains and buy expensive brand name jeans.
In my case I don't work in any public institution, I'm not part of any union or political party. I'm not a student at the University of Costa Rica or any other  public university and if I say no to the CAFTA it isn't because someone told me to be against it, but because I made the decision to read, investigate and make my choice.
En mi caso yo no trabajo en ninguna institución pública, no soy parte de ningún sindicato, ni de un partido político. Tampoco soy estudiante de la UCR o de alguna universidad pública y si yo le digo NO al TLC no es porque alguien me dice que lo piense, sino porque yo decidí leer, investigar y escuchar y tomar una decisión.
Julia Ardon questions the media's failure to inform the general population about main issues that have to do with the CAFTA discusion and ratification.
A few days ago, a group of Costarican constitutional lawyers, all people of very respectable criteria, published in La Nacion an article where they point out with very serene and serious criteria that the procedures that the comision of International Affairs in the Congress has set in motion for the discusion and ratification of CAFTA was full of omissions, mistakes and missteps.
The press, in spite of these serious charges has failed to bring out this issue. It's ignoring it… it continues to emphasize on light news or accidents.
The reality is that there's a true fog around everything related to this treaty, this negotiation and the means the congress has been using… well.. it is a touchy and dense topic and few things have been said about it…
In this country, it seems that unless it's said by Telenoticias or La nacion it doesn't happen, it doesn't exist, it just ISN'T
Hace unos pocos días, un grupo de abogados constitucionalistas costarricenses, todas personas de criterio muy respetable publicaron en La Nación un artículo donde señala con criterios serenos y muy serios que el procedimiento que la Comisión de Asuntos Internacionales de la Asamblea Legislativa ha puesto en marcha para la discusión y ratificación del TLC ; está lleno de omisiones, torpezas y yerros.
La prensa a pesar de tamaña denuncia, no ha destacado el hecho para nada. Lo ignora…sigue dándole énfasis a noticias livianas o de sucesos.
La realidad es que hay una verdadera nebulosa en todo lo que tiene que ver con ese tratado, esa negociación, los métodos que en la Asamblea se han utilizado…bueno…es un tema complicado y denso…y poco se dice al respeto.
Y en este país, pareciera que lo que no dice Telenoticias o La Nación no pasa, no existe, no ES.