Irish have made their marks on Latin America, too

By Christopher Howard* Special to A.M. Costa Rica

Saint Patrick's Day is an annual feast day that celebrates the most commonly recognized of the patron saints of Ireland and is generally celebrated today, March 17.

Legend has it that St. Patrick became the patron saint of Ireland for, among other things, raising the dead and driving snakes out of Ireland. In the United States, drinking has been the way of celebrating St. Patrick's Day since it originally began. The excuse for drinking came from a rumor that Saint Patrick brought the art of running a distillery to Ireland.

The shamrock became a symbol of the celebration because it is said that the saint used it to explain the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Ghost or Spirit) as he converted the Irish to Christianity.

Saint Patrick's Day is celebrated in many places in Latin America, including Costa Rica. There is usually some type of Saint Patrick's Day celebration at any of the local bars where Americans hang out.

You will be surprised to know that there have been many prominent Latin Americans of Irish descent. Probably the most famous was Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme (Aug. 20, 1778 - Oct. 24, 1842). O’Higgins was a South American independence leader who, together with José de San Martín, freed Chile from Spanish rule in the Chilean War of Independence. O’Higgins was granted dictatorial powers as supreme director of the country Feb. 16, 1817, and on Feb. 12, 1818, Chile was proclaimed its independent republic through the Chilean Declaration of Independence. For six years, O'Higgins was a largely successful leader, and his government initially functioned well. In time, however, he began to alienate important political factions. Eventually he was deposed in 1823 due to a growing opposition. O'Higgins lived in exile for the rest of his life.

O'Higgins is widely commemorated today, both in Chile and beyond. The Chilean village of Villa O'Higgins was named in his honor. The main thoroughfare of the Chilean capital, Santiago, is Avenida Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins. There is even a plaque in his honor in Merrion Square in Dublin as well as a bust in Parque Morazán in San José.

Another famous Latino of Irish ancestry was Antonio Rodolfo Quinn. Most people know this late actor by the name of Anthony Quinn. One of his most famous roles was that of Eufemio, Emiliano Zapata’s brother, in the movie classic “Viva Zapata!” starring Marlon Brando. The screenplay was written by John Steinbeck.

A notable arm of the Mexican Army during the Mexican-American War was The Saint Patrick's Battalion (Batallón de San Patricio). It was a group of around several hundred immigrants of European descent (made up primarily of ethnic Irish and German Catholic immigrants), who fought as part of the Mexican Army against the United States in the Mexican-American War of 1846 to 1848. Most of the battalion's members were deserters from the U.S. Army. The majority of these men were immigrants who had arrived at northeastern U.S. ports, as part of the Irish diaspora to escape the Irish Potato Famine and extremely poor economic conditions in Ireland. Therefore, many chose military service because other jobs were not available to them.

Hanging San Patricio members

Painted in the 1840s by Sam Chamberlain via Wikipedia
Some 30 members of the San Patricio unit were hanged as deserters Sept. 13, 1847,
as U.S. troops stormed and captured Chapultepec Castle. This is a contemporary painting.

Considered traitors at home, there are several theories as to why the immigrants fought for Mexico. First, the Mexican government offered incentives to foreigners who would enlist in its army: it granted them citizenship, paid higher wages than the U.S. Army and gave generous land grants. Others say it was due to the mistreatment of immigrants by their Anglo-protestant officers and prejudice in the military. Some historians believed a primary motivation was the Catholic religion they shared with the Mexicans and sympathy for the Mexican cause, likely based on similarities between the situations in Mexico and Ireland. For many Mexicans The Saint Patrick’s Batallion is still fondly remembered and its members considered heroes.

Mexicans hold the Irish in very high regard. St. Patrick is the patron saint of many towns in Mexico. The three joined towns of Melaque, Villa Obregon, and San Patricio celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with the Fiesta del Torros. The festivities include rodeo events, bullfights, parades, folk dancing, and fireworks.

Here is Saint Patrick’s Day vocabulary in Spanish:

Bagpipes (Irish uilleann pipes bag) - La gaita irlandesa

Clover — el trébol

Corn beef and cabbage — Carne acecinada y repollo (cabbage). Please don’t confuse acecinada with asesinada which means assassinated. Acecinar means to salt meat, dry it and then smoke it.

Emerald green — verde esmeralda

Emerald Isle — Irlanda

Gold — oro (metal), dorado (color)

Green — verde

Ireland — Irlanda

Irishman — irlandés

Irish woman — irlandesa

Legend — la leyenda

Leprechaun — duende or gnono

Lucky — afortunado, suertudo

March — marzo (the month)

Parade — el desfile

Patrick — Patricio

Pot of gold — La olla or perol de oro

Rainbow — el arco iris

Saint — el santo

St. Paddy's Day — el día de San Patricio

St. Patrick — San Patricio

Snake — la serpiente

Shamrock — el trébol

Walking stick — bastón

Wish — el deseo. Pedir un deseo is to make a wish

* Christopher Howard, who has a master's degree in linguistics and Spanish, is the author/publisher of the 16th edition of the perennial bestselling "The New Golden Door to Retirement and Living in Costa Rica," "Guide to Real Estate in Costa Rica" and the one-of-a-kind "Official Guide to Costa Rican Spanish." He also is a relocation and retirement expert who conducts custom and group retirement/relocation tours every month. For information: www.liveincostarica.com. Articles similar to the above may be found at www.costaricaspanish.net

Recent Photos of Coffee production in Costa Rica

Pictures courtesy of www.Costaricaphotos.com

Sustainable tourism program

Costa Rica runs a sustainable tourism program and this program provides certification for sustainable tourism developments in Costa Rica. T

The Certification for Sustainable Tourism program categorizes and certifies tourism companies according to the degree to which their operations comply with a model of sustainability. Four fundamental aspects are evaluated:

1. Physical-biological parameters: interaction between the company and its surrounding natural habitat.
2. Infrastructure and services: management policies and operational systems within the company and its infrastructure.
3. External clients: interaction of the company with its clients in terms of how much it allows and invites the client to be an active contributor to its sustainability policies.
4. Socioeconomic environment: interaction of the company with local communities and the population in general.

Companies may score up to five levels in each category. The final rating of “green leaves” corresponds to the lowest level achieved in any of the above evaluation areas (so if you score 5 green leaves in four of the areas and only three in one area your overall rating is 3 green leaves). This is to encourage companies to advance toward a model of sustainability by giving the same degree of consideration and importance to each of the four areas evaluated.
For more information, visit the Certification for Sustainable Tourism website.

Not all is Doom and Gloom!

Inside Costa Rica reports that a major Multinational Looking To Hire 200 in Costa Rica:

Not all is doom and gloom for Costa Rica in the face of the international financial crisis, as one UK company is beginning its operations in the country, located in the Zona Franca Ultralag in Lagunilla de Heredia, and is looking to contract 200 professionals.

Experian, an international service company, with a presence in 35 countries, provides information, analytics, decision-making solutions and processing services, helping organizations to find, develop and manage customer relationships to make their businesses more profitable.

Experian already has a presence in Latin America. Costa Rica will be the fourt office in the region.

The company has already hired 80 employees since last month and is looking to fill the rest of the position by the end of the year and with a possible hiring of another 100 people next year.

The international company will join the large number of companies that already operate in the services area, companies like Sykes and HP. The services sector has grown considerably in the country.

The director of the Coalición Costarricense para el Desarrollo, Gabriela Llobet, applauded de arrival of Experian and asserted that "it is a commitment we made as a country, and we need to improve road and airport infrastructure in order to continue attracting foreign investment."

Those interested in working with Experian can send their resume to: jobs.costarica@experian.com

What are REDD's

REDD's are a UN backed process and the acronym stands for Reduced Emmissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD). Under this program rich nations would meet some of their emissions reduction targets by buying carbon credits from developing nations, whose forests soak up vast amounts of planet-warming carbon dioxide (CO2).

How does Costa Rica benefit?

The World Bank's Forest Carbon Partnership Facility aims to gather $300 million in contributions from rich nations to help more than a dozen developing countries, including Costa Rica prepare for REDD schemes. The program aims to help nations figure out credible estimates of their national forest carbon stocks as well as offer technical aid to design individual REDD projects.

Mexico Invests in Costa Rica.

Mexico and Costa Rica have operated under a North American Free Trade agreement for thirteen years, and their bilateral trade has almost doubled each and every year in those years. Mexico's trade with Costa Rica is now eleven times more than it was in 1995.

Mexico has now announced that it is investing more than US$400 million in Costa Rica building further on this well stablished trade agreemen.

The emphasis is on finance, food communications and construction industries.

More monetary support for Costa Rica’s construction efforts will inevitably lead to enhanced telecommunications, roads, and an overall improvement to Costa Rica’s transportation systems.

This added boost to the ecomony has to be good for Costa Rica's real estate market
since an increased construction budget means Costa Rica real estate will become even more desirable.

Climate change may threaten Biodiversity in the tropics

Robert Colwell of the University of Conneticut analysed almost 2,000 varied species in Costa Rica and has fouond that a significant number will move from their normal environment to a completetely new area if temperatures increase significantly.

We are all responsible for releasing carbon into the atmosphere, a significant driver of climate change.

If you would like to check your carbon count just click here.

Did you know that 1ha of forestry removes about 3.5 tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere per year. An investment in forestry is not only good for your pocket it is good for the environment too.

The full article titled "Climate change may threaten biodiversity in tropics", By Julie Steenhuysen Reuters, is below:

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Climate change may soon make the tropics too hot for many native species, which will be forced to head for higher ground to escape the heat, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.

The study suggests climate change is not only threatening polar bears and other cold-loving species. It is putting heat-loving species at risk as well.

"We know the climate is getting warmer," said Robert Colwell of the University of Connecticut, whose research appears in the journal Science.

"If things continue as projected, there will be a 3 degree Celsius (5.4 degree Fahrenheit) warming in the Costa Rican tropics within the next century," he said.

Colwell and colleagues predict that as the climate in the tropics warms, thermal bands will move up the mountains by about 600 meters (yards) in elevation. "The current climate at 100 meters will be at 700 meters," he said in a telephone interview.

Colwell and colleagues analyzed data on nearly 2,000 species of plants, insects, and fungi in Costa Rica. His team thinks about half of these species would have to move to completely new territory, well beyond the upper ranges on the mountainside.

"If species are stressed by the heat, they will do better in their accustomed climate zone. We expect ranges to move up the mountain as has been documented already in Europe and the United States," he said.

What is my carbon count number?

Where can I find my carbon count number?

Change.ie an Irish Government run website has an excellent carbon count calculator which quickly and easily shows your carbon count number.

Your carbon count number is an estimate of the number of tonnes of carbon you and your lifestyle emit into the atmosphere per year.

You can then compare yourself to the EU average over a number of areas, home, travel, air travel and it also makes suggestions as to how you might change your lifesatyle and reduce your carbon count number.

Are you aware that 1ha will take in about 3.5 tonnes of carbon per annum.

An investment in Di Pacifico Dos will:

1. Help reduce your carbon footprint
2. Help reduce jungle logging of tropical hardwoods
3. Give you a great return

If you would like more information about Di Pacifico Dos - "teak on your development land, the perfect investment" - just drop us an e mail, apply for a brochure or give us a call on +353 1 272 4184

Cost of Living in Costa Rica

So you've maqde the decision and decided to move to Costa Rica, so how much does it cost to live in Costa Rica day to day, well Costa Rica AM offers guidance with the following article:


Costa Rica is affordable even for low-budget folks
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

As the belts are tightened in the United States and elsewhere, more eyes turn to Costa Rica as a cheap place to live.The first question usually is what is the cost of living there. And there is no easy answer.Retirees range from the person squeaking by on $700 a month in U.S. Social Security to someone who can write a check for a $450,000 oceanside condo.But those short on funds usually want to know how low can you go.

Because Costa Rica is a socialist country, great attention is paid to the costs of public services. In simple terms, they are a steal. And they will continue to be.

Want a cell phone? The Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad will charge you a base rate of 3,375 colons or about $6.15 a month. A land line will cost 3,220 colons or $5.88 a month.

Basic Internet hookup can be had for 8,350 colons a month or $28.25. But then there also is the charge for using the telephone to connect to a server. The alternative, a cable hookup, can cost about $18 for basic service which usually is sufficient for one household. And there is an obligatory purchase of cable television. The price also depends on which company has the service contract for the specific geographical area.

Columnist Jo Stuart frequently mentions prices in her Friday column. She also is an astute shopper at the various weekend ferias where vegetables and other agricultural products are sold far below supermarket prices.

Even in the supermarket, some products are price controlled. Milk is 1,430 colons a gallon or $2.61.Those who simply have to have imported U.S. goods will pay handsomely. They shop at Pricesmart. Jo Stuart also notes that the best seats in the Teatro Nacional for a major orchestra performance can be just 8,000 colons or about $14.60. But she usually goes a little higher in the building for a whole lot less. The cheap seats are 3,000 colons ($5.50) and all tickets are subject to a 10 percent discount for senior citizens.The ciudadano de oro card is accepted universally and can mean deep discounts. To get one, an expat has to have a pensionado, rentista, inversionist or residencia cédula. The government has decided to dispense with the bus coupons for the elderly. They were subject to resale and caused a lot of woe. So shortly seniors will simply have to show an identification specifying their age, including the ciudadano de oro card, to get a discount.The bus fares are a steal to begin with. The fare from San José to Tamarindo on the far Pacific coast is 3,055 colons or $6.23. That's nearly an all-day ride. And in the city few routes are more than 250 colons (about 45 cents).

Taxis also are a deal, although recent increases have Costa Ricans unhappy. The first kilometer of a taxi ride is 420 colons or about 77 cents. Additional kilometers in the city are still 380 colons (69 cents). Those are definitely not New York City prices.There are the apartments. Even after paying the informal tax levied on those who do not speak Spanish well, a decent two-bedroom, secure unit can be had for $450 a month. An A.M. Costa Rica reporter just vacated a one-bedroom with loft where the rent was $275 a month. And this was no slum.

Electrical and water bills are designed for the low-end user. The Compañía Nacional de Fuerza y Luz rates favor low use. The current rate is 43 colons (8 cents) for each kilowatt for the first 200 kilowatts of use. Each of the next 100 kilowatts is 66 colons (12 cents). Larger consumers pay more per unit.

The government water company just got a 25 percent overall raise but the actual rates have not been set yet. Company officials promise to favor low users.

Then there is free. Like nearly all the country's beaches from high water to 50 meters inland. And the parks. And frequent entertainment.

Again, prices and use of utilities depend a lot on where the expat lives. Air conditioning can add a lot of an electric bill. So can alcohol or cigarettes. Remember, socialist countries like to control your bad habits.

Beer is about 800 colons a can, about $1.45. Local beer is cheaper by the two-liter bottle, but still it is no bargain.

On the other hand, a glass of decent Chilean or Italian wine in a four-star hotel restaurant will cost between 3,100 and 3,500 colons (from $5.66 to $6.39). Better to buy by the bottle (4,000 to 6,000 colons or $7.30 to $10.95) except for infrequent sprees.

Bars that cater to expats will reflect that in their beer prices where 1,200 colon beer means nearly $2.20 a bottle.

The big ticket items here are automobiles because the government levies a gigantic tax. So an expat can figure paying twice for what a vehicle costs in the States. But the insurance is very reasonable, again based on coverage and type of vehicle. But $100 a year is possible.

A lot has been said about the Costa Rican health system. And one must accept the fact that most U.S. medical benefits do not extend outside the States. An exception is the health plan for retired military and some federal employees.

Patients in the government system probably do not have their own assigned physician. And the waits are legendary.


So a beautiful country with a cheap cost of living, Costa Rica here we come!
However, older patients of the ciudadano de oro category usually get to go to the head of the line. Expats find they can obtain very reasonable health insurance from the only provider, the Instituto Nacional de Seguros. Some group plans reduce the cost even more.

Costa Rican employees are covered because the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social takes 10 percent of their gross pay as a salary deduction. Employees add to the total.