Free Concert and Asian Market

I decided at the last minute to drive into San Jose late this morning to attend a lunchtime concert and to shop at SuperSony, the Asian market. I called a couple of friends to see if they wanted to go with me, but they already had plans. Which was fine. I like venturing off by myself.

Both places are on Calle 3 (Third Street), right in the heart of downtown San Jose. I parked in a lot and walked down the pedestrian mall that Calle 3 has become to the Teatro Nacional (National Theatre). The cultural commission wants to introduce more culture to ticos, so they are offering Tuesday lunchtime mini-concerts lasting 30-40 minutes inside the beautiful theatre for only $1. Since I have legal temporary residency, that's the price I pay, too. Everyone else (read: tourists) has to pay $9.

I was standing in line to buy a ticket when an usher told the people behind me that today's tickets were sold out. This was only the second Tuesday mini-concert and I was surprised that it was already sold out. I could buy a ticket for next week's concert, but I didn't want to shlep all the way back into San Jose again (it's really not that big of a deal, but I do like the comfort of staying put in Santa Ana, which is only about 10 miles from the theatre).

So I left the theatre and stood outside where 200 or so people were milling around. This is a very popular area, with the Grand Hotel and the Cultural Park right there. I started talking to a tico tour guide who was waiting for people to take a walking tour of San Jose (I've already taken it and it's fascinating) and told him the tickets were sold out. He went over to a gringo and asked if he had an extra ticket.

The gringo, Gordon, happened to have four tickets, two for him and his wife, and two that he was not going to use because they were for his friend who had a heart attack and had to go back to the States. So he gave me a ticket. Free! I offered to pay the $1, but he waved me off. He wanted to give me the other unused ticket, too. He said, "Do you have a boyfriend?" I said no. He said, "Well, go find one and he can have this extra ticket." It was very funny. I looked around the square and didn't see anyone remotely likely to be a boyfriend of mine.

All of a sudden the tour guide came up to us with another woman (no, sorry, this does not have a boyfriend happy ending) who needed a ticket. Mayra is a tica about my age who lives and works in Manuel Antonio (tourist resort area with howler monkeys and a pretty beach on the west coast) and took a few days off to come to the city for vacation. Gordon gave her the ticket, and we all went into the theatre together.

We had about 25 minutes before the concert began, and Mayra and I talked for the entire time in Spanish. She loves to travel, and I'm starting to get wanderlust, so we had much to talk about.

The concert was fantastic! Four young pianists each played a piano piece - WITHOUT SHEET MUSIC! They played pieces from Beethoven, Chopin and Liszt with mucho gusto. Gordon had bought tickets in the front row center, so we were able to see every emotional facial gesture that the pianists made, and they made a lot. The concert was thoroughly enjoyable.

As the full house let out, I lost track of Mayra, which is too bad, because we had much in common, and I would like to have gotten her contact information.

From the theatre, I walked back down Calle 3, and stopped in at a friend's B&B. Alf Richardson is a Brit who came to Costa Rica from Kenya several years ago, and was my first date after I moved here. He took me to the annual Robbie Burns dinner at the Costa Rica Country Club (a very hoity toity place). Alf bought a B&B in a great location and recently finished renovating it. Just this week I had an opportunity to refer some people to his place, so I thought I would stop in at Casa Alfi and see what he had done. I got a tour of the place, which is very nice, and the prices are extremely reasonable (starting at $30 for a single).

My last stop was SuperSony. I have no idea why it's called that. I bought fresh tofu (I'm going to make stir fry tonight), potstickers, chili paste, sesame oil, rice crackers and a few other things that I can't get at my local yuppie supermarket.

Somehow I got lost driving home. All the streets in San Jose are one-ways and I couldn't drive down the street that was going in the direction I wanted because a hospital was plunked down in the middle of the street. So I kept veering left and finally ended up just where I thought I might, which made me feel really good that I have a sense now of where I am, even if I'm not on a street that I recognize. After 3.5 years here, I can finally find my way out of a wet paper bag.