by Rod Hughes

A Costa Rican artist found himself in hot water with the animal protection people in his home country after using a starving, sick street dog as part of an exposition in Managua, Nicaragua, in August. Guillermo “Habacuc” Vargas allegedly found the dog tied up on a street corner in a poor Nicaragua barrio and brought it to the showing.

He tied the dog, according to furious animal lovers, in a corner of the salon where it died after a day. Habacuc’s exhibition included a legend spelled out in dog food reading “You are what you read,” photos and an incense burner that burned an ounce of marijauna and 175 “rock’ of crack cocaine. In the background, according to reports, the Sandista national anthem played backwards.

According to the artist, his “art” was a tribute to Natividad Canda, a Nicaraguan burglar killed in Costa Rica by two rottweilers guarding property he had entered at night. The incident caused friction between the two countries. Habacuc told the daily La Nacion, “I won’t say the dog died. The importance to me is the hypocracy of the people where an animal is the focus of attention where people come to see art but not when it’s in the street starving to death.”

“The same thing happened with poor Natividad Canda. The people sympathized with him only after he was dead,” the artist added.

The artist apparently is unaware that at least three large, active organizations are dedicated in Costa Rica to the protection of animals and that several persons have been prosecuted for cruelty to animals. They are hampered in their efforts by the old Hispanic customs of disregard for animal welfare and by a lack of funding.

by Rod Hughes

There are times when a wife just doesn’t know where she stands with her busband…

Police are investigating the accusation that a man identified only as Mendoza in La Rita de Pococí hit his wife, Alicia Mena, 45, with a pistol butt, dragged her unconscious body on a plank to a ravine and buried her. Some 20 minutes later, according to police, Mendoza, 48, returned in a quandry of indecision, uncovered her, still living, carried her back to the house and hosed her off. Then he began to berate her once again while threatening her with his gun.

This allegedly happened Sept. 22 but police did not find out until three older children, who do not live with their parents, notified authorities on Oct.2. When police came to investigate the alleged domestic violence, the wife refused to talk with them, nor could they find the ravine where her unconscious body had supposedly been dumped. Police are continuing to probe the incident. The couple have three minor children at home.

Police had brought Red Cross paramedicas who examined the wife and found only a large number of ant bites on her arms. She refused to go to a medical facility for a more thorough examination.

Commentary; If nothing else, this incident demonstrates the absurdity of Costa Rica’s privacy standard. Police are prohibited from divulging to the press more than the surname of an accused who has not been indicted. But La Rita de Pococí is hardly a densely populated area like New York and likely all the neighbors know “the Mendoza married to Doña Alicia.” That man has the same chance a privacy as Paris Hilton…