What began as an argument between two restaurants in Samara ended up affecting the kids that play soccer on the beach.
As the sun rose on Friday morning, December 4th, the area of Samara Beach in front of Tabanuco Bar and Restaurant was littered with thorns from Pochote trees and pieces of glass.
The Samara Public Force was notified and sent two officers to the scene. They not only found the thorns and some glass, but also helped remove them.
The kids who play on this field every day pitched in by raking the area one last time.
One of them explained that the owner of the restaurant La Dolce Vita, Jenny Chiappetta, had previously threatened to “fill the field with thorns so that they can’t play” and said he injured one arm with glasses and one of his feet on the thorns.
Chiappetta stated that she is innocent and denied being the one who put glass and thorns on the beach. “Now they make this up, that I put glass and Pochote thorns on the ground,” she said.
The problem with the kids playing soccer, according to Chiappetta, is that the balls hit the tables where the restaurant customers eat in an area that is on the beach.
“Because of this, they have broken lamps, glasses, and balls have even landed on people’s plates of food,” she said.
In turn, Chiappetta says that the Tabanuco Bar and Restaurant has very loud music at night and that this generates complaints from customers staying in the cabins, so she and her husband filed a complaint.
“We filed a complaint against Tabanuco for playing music above the decibels permitted by law. Out of revenge, I think they put a soccer field out front permanently,” she said.
According to Manu Dibango, godson of the owners of Tabanuco, the day before finding the thorns, “the kids were already playing and she came and put up a scarf and sat in the middle of everything, interrupting the activity. She said ‘hit me with the ball so I can file a complaint against you.’ It took the cooperation of two Samara Public Force officers to get her to get out of the way,” said Dibango.
The tension between Chiappetta and the kids has continued for several days. “I took the ball and threw it into the ocean. They took two chairs and threw them into the ocean. I came with the chair and said, ‘And if I hit you in the face with this, what happens?’ and then they said that I wanted to hit a child. A ball or a chair in the face is the same. They both hurt a lot,” she related.
Dibango thinks the problem with the balls can be solved by putting up wire mesh. “Mesh barely blocks the view and can be obtained for less than $100 in Puntarenas. With that, not one ball would pass through.”
Counting the thorns gathered by witnesses, the Samara police officers and children found almost 100. Officer Erick Jimenez, of the Samara police, confirmed that no complaint has been filed about this.
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