By Amanda Roberson Tico Times Staff

Artists, architects and Culture Minister María Elena Carballo gathered at the National Cultural Center (CENAC) yesterday to discuss President Oscar Arias’ controversial suggestion to move Casa Presidencial from its locale in the southern Zapote suburb to CENAC, in downtown San José.

At the forum, held at the Cultural Center’s amphitheater, artist Joaquín Rodríguez spoke on behalf of the artist community, echoing concerns raised during the last couple of months (TT, May 5).

“The idea of moving CENAC is unthinkable,” Rodríguez said. “Arias would be sending the message that everything Costa Rica has achieved in terms of culture can be thrown away.”

Architect Herman Jiménez, who worked on designing the cultural center, said that architecturally speaking, the move makes no sense. The center’s theaters, museum and library are not suitable for administrative offices, he said.

In response to these comments, Carballo said that the artist community has overreacted by protesting the idea. A formal proposal or plan to move Casa Presidencial to CENAC has never been made, she said.

“We’re getting angry over something that doesn’t even exist,” Carballo said, adding that the only decision Arias has made regarding Casa Presidencial is that he plans to move it to San José.

Arias created a committee that is studying several possible new spots for Casa Presidencial, Carballo said, and CENAC is among these options.

“In the event that CENAC were to be moved, artists would win because they would be given a better space,” Carballo said. Arias has shown that he supports culture by supporting increasing the Culture Ministry’s budget from 1% to 4% of the national budget (TT, June 2), she said, something the artist community has overlooked in its criticism of the proposal to move Casa Presidencial.