Costa Rica Now Has Its Own Wine Grape After a 50-Year Quest

Costa Rica now has a wine grape of its own. Peppevidor, a hybrid bred to grow in tropical heat, was certified as a new plant variety by the National Seed Office (Oficina Nacional de Semillas), capping roughly half a century of work by Italian-born grape …

Spotters, Jammers, and Hijackers: Costa Rica’s Cargo Theft System Explained

Cargo theft is a lucrative illicit business in Costa Rica that requires an advanced level of organization and planning, as InSight Crime’s recent reporting revealed. Below we explain how these gangs of highwaymen work.   Where the gangs strike Cargo theft …

Over 100 Years of History Preserved on at Costa Rica’s Film Center

!!! Issue Oct 21-27 2026: Over 1000 rolls of film, many of which contain images from the early twentieth century, remain housed in the Image Archive at Costa Rica’s Film Center. In their efforts to preserve these irreplaceable historic artifacts, the …

Corbana proposes raising Costa Rica's minimum price per box of bananas by 9.91%

The National Banana Corporation (Corbana) has recommended raising the minimum ex-factory price for a box of top-quality export bananas by 9.91%, to $11.15 per 18.14 kg box on a FOB basis in 2027. The proposal comes amid a stronger colón, weather-related …

Gota a Gota Extortion Cases Keep Climbing in Costa Rica, OIJ Data Show

Extortion complaints linked to informal gota a gota loans in Costa Rica reached a record 935 in 2025, more than double the 427 filed in 2022, according to data from the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ). The trend has not eased this year. The OIJ’s …

Costa Rica Uses Smartphones to Create 3D Maps of Pacific Coral Reefs

A Costa Rican conservation organization is using ordinary smartphones to create detailed three-dimensional maps of coral reefs along the country’s Pacific coast, giving researchers a new way to track the health of underwater ecosystems threatened by rising …

Forget Costa del Sol, Costa Rica is now the hot retirement destination

Audiovisual Heritage: How Over a Century of Costa Rica’s History Is Preserved

Deep inside the vaults of Costa Rica’s Centro de Cine (Film Center), more than 1,000 rolls of film—some containing rare footage dating back to the early 20th century—are locked in a continuous battle against time and physical decay. Preserving a nation’s …

Costa Rica launches digital Marchamo, ending the annual sticker swap

Q COSTA RICA — Starting today, Monday, November, 2, 2026, the Instituto Nacional de Seguros (INS) 2027 derecho de circulación—vehicle registration/circulation tax payment—period begins, with a key change: for the first time, the vehicle registration …

1,218 cases of depression and 78 suicide attempts among older adults raise alarm in Costa Rica

Q COSTA RICA — Costa Rican health data point to a serious mental-health burden among older adults. In the first 38 weeks of 2026, authorities recorded 1,656 cases of severe mental disorders in this age group, including 1,218 depression diagnoses and 78 …