El Salvador Celebrates UNESCO-Recognized Flowers and Palms Festival

Panchimalco, one of El Salvador’s most important Indigenous-rooted towns, filled its streets Sunday with flowers, palms, music and religious devotion for the annual Cofradía de las Flores y las Palmas, a celebration that this year carried new international weight. The May 10 celebration marked the 44th edition of the tradition and the first since UNESCO …

Costa Rica Could Open Embassy in Jerusalem After Herzog Meeting

President Laura Fernández Delgado has told Israeli President Isaac Herzog that she wants to upgrade Costa Rica’s diplomatic representation in Jerusalem to a full embassy, a move that would mark a sharp foreign-policy signal in the opening days of her administration. The meeting took place shortly after Fernández’s May 8 inauguration in San José and …

Amnesty Urges El Salvador First Lady to Help Families of Detainees

Amnesty International on Sunday called on El Salvador’s first lady, Gabriela Rodríguez, to facilitate dialogue between authorities and the mothers of thousands of people detained under the state of exception, so they can learn their whereabouts and exercise their rights. Since 2022, President Nayib Bukele has maintained a war against gangs that has led to …

Costa Rica to Host 2026 Latin American Karting Championship

Costa Rica will host the 2026 Latin American Karting Championship this weekend, bringing one of the region’s largest karting events to the P1 Speedway circuit beside Parque Diversiones in San José. The championship is scheduled for May 15 to 17 and is expected to draw more than 200 drivers from Costa Rica and abroad. Organizers …

Polymarket’s Panama Headquarters Raises Questions Over Offshore Betting Empire

When NPR reporters traveled to Panama City to find Polymarket’s official corporate headquarters, they found something unexpected: an empty law office where nobody had ever heard of the company. As NPR reported, the $15 billion prediction market platform lists its home base as the 21st floor of the Oceania Business Plaza skyscraper in the upscale …

Costa Rica Tourism Plan Focuses on Limón, Osa and Southern Zone

Costa Rica’s new government is looking to expand tourism beyond our country’s best-known destinations, with the Caribbean and Southern Region emerging as two of the main targets under President Laura Fernández. Fernández, who took office on May 8, has assigned Marcos Borges, the new executive president of the Costa Rican Tourism Institute, the task of …

Costa Rica Enters a Wetter Week After Calm, Dry Weekend

Costa Rica enters the week with rising humidity, growing afternoon cloudiness, and isolated showers or thunderstorms across the Central and South Pacific, while Guanacaste stays hot and largely dry, according to our Instituto Meteorológico Nacional (IMN). The shift follows a nice weekend, when a dry air mass kept skies stable across most of the country. …

Costa Rica Presidency Begins With Push for Mining, Marina, and City Projects

President Laura Fernández Delgado opened her administration by sending a clear message to the Legislative Assembly: the first major fights of her government will center on infrastructure, state reform, and mining. Shortly after taking office, Fernández signed a decree calling bills to extraordinary sessions of Congress, giving her administration control over the legislative agenda during …

The Hidden Danger of Bee Stings in Costa Rica

Costa Rica’s beaches, forests, farms and mountain trails draw millions of visitors each year. Most arrive prepared for sunburn, mosquitoes, rough surf and the occasional stomach bug. Far fewer think about bees. That is a mistake. For most people, a bee sting causes short-term pain, redness and swelling. For a small number of people, it …

Costa Rica Mushroom Tourism Returns With Ruta Micológica 2026

Costa Rica’s rainy season is bringing back one of our country’s more unusual nature tourism offerings, as Ruta Micológica Costa Rica 2026 prepares to take visitors into forests, reserves and rural communities to learn about fungi in the wild. The fifth edition of the Ruta Micológica will run from May through November, with activities planned …