Isabel Guzman is a traffic cop. Young Cindy Cerdas is a San Jose Municipality motor pool mechanic.

They are two of eight women honored Thursday on International Women’s Day for their gender stereotype-breaking jobs in Costa Rica, where the old machismo habits are hard to break. Ask Guzman, for instance. When she first drove a Traffic Police tow truck, one male driver refused to show her his vehicle documents. Guzman told him, “You’d better get used to it because I’m here to stay.”

Or ask Olga Zuñiga, a fireman in the San Jose suburb of Tibás. Oops! Better make that “fireperson!”

Speakers at the ceremonies in downtown San Jose were Vice President Laura Chinchilla (a former Minister of Public Security, once the country’s top cop) and National Women’s Institute president Jeannette Carrillo. Theme of the event was “Opening the Way: Gender Doesn’t Define the Job.”

by Rod Hughes

La Nacion sportswriter Gustavo Jiménez called it a “tsunami.” Three goals Wednesday night flashed past Saprissa goaltender Jose Francisco Porras in four minutes as Saprissa’s defense, which had looked reasonably competent in recent games, collapsed completely before an onslaught led by—but you probably already guessed—Kurt Bernard.

Bernard, last year’s leading scorer, fed a pass to Jorge Barbosa in minute 25 of the first half. Then he sparked an attack that led a minute later to Mario Camcho’s goal on a pass from Kevin Sancho. The Bernard himself blasted one in, assisted ably by Camacho, three minutes later. A goal in the second half by Saprissa’s Pablo Brenes narrowed the gap somewhat but the outcome seemed graven in stone.

His head still reeling from the four-minute disaster, Saprissa coach Jeaustin Campos called what had happened “inconceiveable.” He later added to sportwriter Jimenez, “It can’t go on like this.”
You might say that, yes…

In other First Division tourney games, Alajuela rolled over Carmelita 3-2 but the game was no pushover. Carmelita’s Alejandro Sequeira opened the festivities barely seven minutes into the game with Alajuela’s Victor Nuñez tying it up nine minutes later. Then veteran Rolando Fonseca put Alajuela in the lead 2-1 on a penalty kick. But Sequeira tied it up again on a header, only to have Fonseca put Alajuela ahead for good on a header. The win pulled Alajuela to second place in B Group, only five points behind Cartago.

And Heredia blasted San Carlos 2-0 to pull within one point of second place Saprissa in A Group. Heredia’s Robert Arias and Josef Miso scored in that game.