By Victoria

Yumeiho Massage is an oriental massage technique that strives to achieve and maintain the balance and harmony of the body. The father of the method is professor Masayuki Kotsuban.

Yumeiho is a complex method to reestablish and maintain bodily symmetry and harmony by applying pressing and kneading techniques, as well as joint-stimulating energetic elements all over the body. Read More…

Filed under: Uncategorized on April 29th, 2010
No Comments »

This recipe is very versatile.  Add your favorite ingredients such as fresh basil, sun dried tomato, diced tomato, onion or pepper.  Or use shrimp instead of chicken.  Easily double or triple and have friends over for dinner.  Enjoy!

Chicken & Mushrooms with White Wine & Cream over Pasta

Ingredients

2 Tbs butter

1 Tbs olive oil

1 chicken breast; cut into cubes

1 clove minced garlic

5 sliced mushrooms

¼ C white wine

¼ C cream

Salt & Pepper to taste

Colored Bowtie Pasta, cooked

Recipe

Melt butter & olive oil in pan over medium heat.

Add chicken, cook.  Add garlic & mushrooms, sauté five minutes.

Add wine & simmer until almost gone.

Stir in cream and cook until thick.

Toss with pasta & serve with Parmesan.

Filed under: Guest Chef on April 29th, 2010
No Comments »

By Jim Parisi

Recently, the University of Costa Rica published its third edition of “The History of Costa Rica”, the first of its kind to be translated and printed in the English language. Written by Ivan Molina and Steven Palmer, two of the leading and most recognized Costa Rican historians, the book is concise yet thorough and current, spanning this country’s rich history from the arrival of human beings, at around 12,000 B.C., to the beginning of the Twenty-First Century, including the bulk of Arias’ term as president of the country.

This is the fifth book to be written in collaboration by these two authors. Palmer has a Ph.D. in Latin American History from Colombia University in New York and Molina received his Masters degree in History at the University of Costa Rica, where both men have taught. Their books have won many prestigious awards, including the Aquileo Echeverria National Prize in History, the Cleto Gonzalez Viquez Prize in History and the Ancora Prize from La Nacion, Costa Rica’s premier newspaper. The book comes armed with eight different maps, more than eighty photographs, paintings and drawings, a comprehensive bibliography and an index that offers its readers a handy, thorough reference and complete chronicle of key events in Costa Rica’s history.

Read More…

Filed under: Book Review, Jim Parisi on April 29th, 2010
1 Comment »

(in English)
Escrito por Carol Vlassoff

Traducido por Rosa Arechederra

Dr. Alfonso Gaspar Martínez del Pino, nacido y educado en Cuba, dice que  pensó en quedarse en Costa Rica desde el momento en que decidió aceptar la invitación para asistir a una conferencia aquí, en 1995. Dejando a sus amigos y familiares se vino  con 63 libras de equipaje (59 libras de libros), 145 dólares en el bolsillo y se dedicó a empezar  una nueva vida aquí. Dio varias conferencias en la   Escuela de Veterinaria de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma en el Barreal de Heredia, y a continuación, dice, “me quedé.”

Read More…

Filed under: Carol Vlassoff, Personalidades en Medio Nuestro, Uncategorized on April 19th, 2010
No Comments »

(en Español)
By Carol Vlassoff

Dr. Alfonso Gaspar Martinez del Pino, born and educated in Cuba, says that he planned to stay in Costa Rica from the time he accepted an invitation to attend a conference here in 1995. Leaving his friends and family, with 63 pounds of luggage (59 pounds of it books) and $145 in his pocket, he set out to establish a new life here.  He gave several lectures at the Escuela de Veterinaria de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma en el Barreal de Heredia, and then, he says, “I stayed.”

Read More…

Filed under: Carol Vlassoff, Personalities in Our Midst on April 19th, 2010
1 Comment »

By Donna Porter

We would all like to think that because we live in this warm tropical paradise, where plant life exudes from even the tiniest crack or crevice, that it is “a piece of cake” to grow beautiful, healthy plants. In some respects that is absolutely correct; plants do grow rapidly and sometimes, it seems, with the greatest of ease. Just cut a limb from a tree or shrub and stick it in the ground (in the rainy season of course) and in weeks it will start to leaf out and grow. But, our tropical paradise is no exception when it comes to the manner at which unblemished fruits and vegetables are produced.

Read More…

Filed under: Donna Porter, It's a Wonderful World of Plants on April 19th, 2010
No Comments »

By Jim Parisi

The origin of reggae in Costa Rica dates back to the 1920s, when Jamaican leader Marcus Garvey evoked his ideas and beliefs throughout the Caribbean province of Limon. Born in St. Anne’s Bay, Jamaica, the future birthplace of Bob Marley, Garvey is considered the prophet of Rastafarianism. So, it is easy to see how reggae music is considered a kind of Costa Rican folk music.

Remaining consistent in its mission statement, Papaya Music recently unveiled its newest release, Costa Rica Reggae Nights. The CD embraces a variety of Costa Rican reggae bands and styles. Included on this disc are eleven bands, demonstrating the versatility during a span of the past two decades of reggae in this country. All the recordings were previously unreleased and the compilation offers songs in Spanish, English, and Limon Creole.

Read More…

Filed under: Jim Parisi, Music Review on April 19th, 2010
No Comments »