The Arts and Entertainment
Bearing in mind the decreasing financial support it receives from the national government, the quality of the arts in San Jose is very high. Josefinos especially like theatre , and there's a healthy range of venues for a city this size, staging a variety of inventive productions at affordable prices. If you speak even a little Spanish it's worth checking to see what's on. Costa Rica's National Dance Company has an impressive repertoire of classical and modern productions, some by Central American choreographers, arranged specifically for the company - again, ticket costs are low. The city's premier venues are the Teatro Nacional and the Teatro Melico Salazar, where you can see performances by the National Symphony Orchestra and National Lyric Opera Company (June-Aug), as well as visiting orchestras and singers - usually from Spain or other Spanish-speaking countries. Going to the cinema in San Jose is a bargain, at around US$3 a ticket, though many venues have decamped to the suburbs - particularly to shopping malls, such as the Multiplaza Escazu, which you can only reach by car or taxi. There are still a few good downtown cinemas left, however, several of which retain some original features, along with plush, comfortable seats. Most cinemas show the latest American movies, which are almost always subtitled. The few that are dubbed will have the phrase "hablado en Espanol" in the newspaper listings or on the posters. For Spanish-language art movies, head to Sala Garbo. Though obviously geared up for tourists, the Fantasia Folklorica held every Tuesday night in the Teatro Melico Salazar is the only forum in which traditional dances and songs of the Costa Rican countryside are performed. Shows vary between representations of, for instance, Guanacastecan dance and music and historic spectaculars such as the current long-running production Limon, Limon . Not nearly as cheesy as they sound, they're generally well staged and good fun if you like musicals. For details of all performances , check the Cartelera section of the Tiempo Libre supplement in La Nacion on Thursday and the listings in the Tico Times , which also distinguish between English- and Spanish-language films and productions.
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