128Canopy Blog

Considered one of the most valuable architectural buildings in downtown San Jose, the National Theatre will be celebrating the Christmas season with an exclusive presentation of The Nutcracker based on the play by Ernst Theodor Amadeus Hoffmann.

The Nutcracker will be performed by the Russian ballet company named The Saint Petersburg Classic Ballet Theatre of Marina Medvetskaya.  This company is characterized by being one of the youngest in the industry yet strongly attached to traditional classic Russian ballet.

Another interesting fact is that for the first time in 5 years, the Russian dancers will be sharing the spotlight with Costa Rican dancers from 14 prestigious ballet schools in the country.  The Russian dancers will be performing all the main part while the Costa Rican dancers will perform as the chorus.

Traditionally, the role of the Costa Ricans was carried out by students of the Costa Rican Juvenile Ballet School.  However, the National Theatre’s administration decided that for this year it would hold auditions to give members from other institutions the opportunity to participate.  After auditioning over 200 ballet dancers from throughout the country, a total of 87 dancers were chosen for this year’s performance.

The choreography for this year’s Nutcracker performance will be directed by choreographer and Professor Emeritus Peggy Willis. Willis stated that she has based her proposal on the original choreography of Marius Petipa and the classic production of Vasili Vainonen in 1964.

There are still three more performances left for December 16, 17 and 18 and tickets may be purchased at the National Theatre in downtown San Jose.

The company in charge of overlooking the works being done on the Prospero Fernandez Highway has announced that the section between the entrance to Pavas and Santa Ana will be closed from Saturday December 13th at 10pm to Sunday at 2pm.

The reason for the closing of the highway is that workers will be carrying out a series of renovations and expansions on the bridge that crosses the Tiribi River.  The highway will be de-touring all vehicles to and from Santa Ana and Escazu.

Although a spokesperson for Autopistas del Sol has announced that the closing hours will be from 10pm on Saturday to 2pm on Sunday, it could be possible that these hours could be extended if needed.

Vehicles traveling from San Jose to Santa Ana or Escazu will need to take the route that leads over the bridge of the Anonos River and into Escazu.  The company has committed in putting up signs for those drivers who are not aware of the detour.

People should also be aware that Saturday December 13th, the annual Light Festival will take place at 6pm thus closing down the Paseo Colon and 2nd Avenue in the downtown area.

Please take all necessary precautions and make sure you leave for your destination with enough time.

When Iron Maiden announced it would be including Costa Rica within its Latin American Tour in February 2008 for the first time in the band’s history, the reactions from fans as well as extreme religious groups headlined every day’s newspaper for weeks.

Fans from the British heavy metal band were simply ecstatic and almost in a state of shock that such a legendary band would be performing in this small Central American country.  Die hard fans, the majority in their 30’s and up lined up to purchase concert tickets with several days in advance.  Other countries in the Central American region began selling tour packages for the Iron Maiden concert and the Costa Rican fan base was simply ebullient.

Religious groups as well as conservative politicians, and I just have to say it: ignorant and culturally-challenged individuals began an anti-Maiden campaign stating that their presence in the country would only stir up “satanic” practices and overall evil.  I think these people pictured that Maiden’s presence in Costa Rica would stir up panic like that scene in Ghostbusters were all the ghosts went crazy in New York City and caused mischief all around.

Needless to say Iron Maiden proved the complete opposite and even left many blabber mouths wide eyed and feeling sheepish by showing decent behavior and inspiring fans with positive eco-friendly messages.

During Iron Maiden’s concert in February, lead vocalists Dick Dickinson promised that they would soon return to Costa Rica.  The band has kept their word and confirmed that they will be visiting Costa Rica for the second time in March 2009.

The concert has been confirmed by the event’s organization, Evenpro.  Tickets will go on sale December 14th and contrary to last February’s concert; the next concert will be help at the Alejandro Morera Soccer Stadium in the province of Alajuela.  Hopefully this second time around politicians and religious groups will attend to what they do best and let rock and roll live on.