Alzo la mano, y tú me la cercenas. Abro los ojos, me los sajas vivos. Sed tengo, y sal se vuelven tus arenas.

Esto es ser hombre. Horror a manos llenas. Ser –y no ser- eternos, fugitivos. ¡Ángel con grandes alas de cadenas!

Blas de Otero

Una lengua no solo necesita palabras que expresen conceptos y sucesos, como los sustantivos y verbos, sino que también requiere palabras que expresen las variadas relaciones entre los conceptos y las situaciones.

En español, existen dos tipos de palabras que cumplen la función de nexo, porque unen otros tipos de palabras, frases u oraciones.  Estas palabras son las preposiciones y las conjunciones.

La diferencia entre ambas radica en el tipo de unión que establecen.  Los elementos que unen la conjunción mantienen el mismo nivel sintáctico, mientras que la preposición establece una relación de dependencia.  Por ejemplo, si se quieren unir las palabras “pan” y “mantequilla”, se podría recurrir a una conjunción y decir: “pan y mantequilla”.  En este caso, ambas palabras se encuentran a un mismo nivel.  Sin embargo, si se unen mediante una preposición se diría “pan con mantequilla”, la segunda palabra ya no se encuentra al mismo nivel de la primera, sino que estaría subordinada a esta.

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Filed under: Academia D'Amore, Tico Talk on June 28th, 2010
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by Jack Ewing

These days everybody knows that Costa Rica is a Central American country located between Panama and Nicaragua, but there was a time when it was fairly common for people to confuse it with Puerto Rico. I once made that mistake myself. Little did I know that I would end up living here for most my life.

As director of Hacienda Barú National Wildlife Refuge, I meet lots of people and am often asked the question: “How long have you been here?”

“Forty years”

“Wow, what did you do, come down here on vacation and never leave?”

“Well no, it wasn’t quite like that.”

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Filed under: Jack Ewing, Nature and Local History Stories on June 26th, 2010
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by Matt Casseday

So there I was, strapped to a gurney in the Quepos hospital. My bata was askew, private parts exposed, and a self-assured man in a green surgical suit was fitting a breathing apparatus over my nose and mouth. “Respire profundo”, he ordered, and I took one, two, three deep breaths. As consciousness slipped away, brutally and rapidly, my last thought was: `This must be what its like to die.´

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Filed under: Crazy From the Heat, Matt Casseday on June 23rd, 2010
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By Jerry Glover

Welcome and bienvenidos to Quepos and Manuel Antonio. Fishing continues to be very good in our area. A few Marlin, and Sailfish are being released daily with and Mahi Mahi are still being boated, some in the 40 lb range. Rooster fish action is good, with 2 to 3 fish being released on our half day charters. Several have been in the 35# to 40# range. Fishing in Quepos is always good year round. It’s always an adventure to spend the day enjoying the ocean and the many species of marine life in our area. Don’t delay! For your fishing adventure contact Luna Tours Sport fishing, our office is located in the Hotel Best Western Kamuk lobby, downtown Quepos central. We own and operate 4 Sport Fishing boats (27 ft to 33 ft) and can also arrange other boats for charter up to 46 ft for half day or full day charters.  Contact us at 2777-0725 (office), 8869-4808 (24 hour cell), visit our web site at www.lunatours.net, or stop by the office for a fishing report, and talk some fishing.

Filed under: Fishing Report, Luna Tours on June 23rd, 2010
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By Jim Parisi

Charles Darwin had it right: the strong survive and adapt to their ever-changing surroundings while the weak ones become mere memories. And the Darwin Theory can be witnessed in action in Managua, Nicaragua with the rock star Perrozompopo. Even the stage name he chose is indicative of his tenacity. Loosely translated, perrozompopo is a colloquialism for “street smart” but the nickname was actually first given to a species of gecko who stowed onboard in crates of goods coming from Cuba to aid the Sandinista uprising in Nicaragua in the 1970s. These non-indigenous lizards, easily identified by the red marking on their foreheads, quickly took over, running out all the local geckos, and a nickname was born.

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Filed under: Jim Parisi, Music Review on June 14th, 2010
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By Bruce Zabov

This issue we’re doing homemade pizza and, as it turns out, the house is sold, and this will also be my final column so we’ll celebrate with a pizza “party” before we return to the U.S.

Whether you’re settling in for a quiet afternoon or evening at home or planning a party there’s always something festive feeling with pizza on the menu! ( In Italian “pizza literally means”pie”). Or it’s handy to have in the freezer so it’s ready for a quick snack or you need a quick bite to eat if you’re in a rush.
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Filed under: Bruce Zabov, Cooking Corner on June 7th, 2010
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By David Gee, El señor del norte

The sun played well its roll today. It changed a cold desert into a less cold but glowing desert at sunrise. It back-lit the Organ Mountains. Then it warmed the desert floor and inched it’s way into dark corners and brightened them and warmed them. The day grew warmer and brighter with each passing hour.

At mid day it was a delight to have lunch at a sidewalk cafe. Alone, yet not really alone, lunch was leisurely and interesting. People came and went. Some spoke, others not. Some looked terribly busy. I wondered how their day was going.

Rush hour ushered in what could tentatively be called a hot afternoon.

By sundown all was warm. The white patches of cloud which drifted into the valley late in the afternoon were being underscored with heavy dark rain clouds. I doubt there was water in them. They just looked threatening.

Shadows grew long and stretched endlessly up the gentle slopes away from the Casitas and towards the Organs. Suddenly a puff of air. . . . and it was cool. How fickle the sun made the breeze. I made some hot tea and sat in my chair on the porch to watch the Organs change colors. I drifted off…..

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Filed under: Guest Writer on June 7th, 2010
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