Check out the Menú Cuencano’ and cheese and wine options too; Music festival ends today; U.S. hosts Copa America football; New garbage option added

Viernes, 21/6/2024

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –

De El Mercurio del jueves, 20/6 (1 article):
180 artistas animarán la Fiesta de la Música (180 artists will animate the Fiesta de la Música) – The Music Festival started el jueves in the Plaza de El Otorongo and will continue through el sábado, 22/6. Following is the agenda <Which I have not proofread.> for the concerts.

Viernes, 21/6 – Private venues with the hour, location and band
18:00 – El Chucaro – DjDas & DjMiles Morales
18:30 – Zoobriedad – Funky Family
19:00 – Zouk Party Disco Lounge, Gualaceo – Andrés Jarrín & Lukas Hordway
20:00 Selina – Almat & Sebas Drugz
20:00 – Vieja Diablos – Stif Mcqueen B2B thivio, Guillom, DJ Jorge Piedra & Frau Troffea
20:00 – La Cigale – Floreana
20:00 – El Milagrito – Azul
21:30 – Wunderbar Autopista del Sur
22:00 – Aya Uma & 3 Marías – Los Boinas Salsa a la Calle

A new gastronomic route in Cuenca is emphasizing the growing selection of good cheeses and wines. Several local shops are participating. (El Mercurio)

Sábado, 22/6 – Public Venues
Fusión –
14:30 to 22:00 – Mirador de Turi, Mestizaje Sonoro (Manabí)
Ivenno (Cuenca)
Alpha Logic (Cuenca)
Hombre Pez (Quito)
Ricardo Pita (Guayaquil – Quito)
Najela Soir (Gualaceo)
Electro Experimental
17:00 to 24:00 – Plazoleta Puente Roto
Joshua Riveros
Pablo Sandalusa
Pájaro De Barro
Dark Saw
Mestizo
Luna Alvarado
David Ordoñez
Rock Metal
16:00 to 22:00 – Plaza de El Otorongo
Rogerem (Cuenca)
Fayden (Cuenca)
Gangotena Project (Cuenca)
I.N.M.U.M.N.E. (Cuenca)
Cabal (Otavalo)
Notoken (Guayaquil)

Titular –

¡América respira fúbol! (America breathes soccer!) – The U.S. is hosting the Copa America football competition. <And for those of you ethnocentric types, remember America is not just the United States. It’s two whole continents populated with soccer fans with only one country populated by primarily NFL fans.> Ecuador plays Venezuela Saturday at 5 in Cup competition.

Cuenca –

Una ruta gastronómica con los mejores quesos y vinos (A gastronomic route with the best cheeses and wines) – There is a route of cheeses and wines in Cuenca where you can experiment with a variety of cheeses accompanied by dressings and a good wine in the European tradition. Queso fresco has been the mainstay of local gastronomy, but new options have opened up for those looking for a more intense flavor with semi-hard and hard cheeses made from cow, goat and sheep’s milk. 3 restaurants that provide wine and cheese pairings include Quesos El Bueste in the Casa Amarilla (Yellow House) at Parque Calderón, El Club de Queso at the parque Santa Anita, and Filippo Wine and Cheese in the seminario San Luis. <Old timers will remember when the only cheese you could get here without importing it yourself was queso fresco, queso amasado, quesillo, or mozzerella. Fillipo was heaven sent when he started selling Italian cheeses on Saturday’s at the Esquina de Artes. And even then, there were ungrateful gringos who complained about the prices even though they cost less than a ticket to Italy.>

Restaurantes ofrecerán por 3 días un ‘Menú Cuencano’ (Restaurants will offer a ‘Cuencan Menu’ for 3 days) – The Fundación Municipal Turismo para Cuenca (FMTC) launched the “Cuenca a la Mesa” project to promote Cuencan cooking and the use of local products. The plans seek to create a “unique path” with a wide variety of the restaurants, hotels, and markets in the city. From the 26 al 28/6, the best restaurants in the city will join to offer clients a “Menú Cuencano” consisting of 3 courses (starter, entre, and dessert) using at least 5 ingredients that reflect the local identity with a maximum cost of $22.50 <including IVA? And yes, I’m one of those cheapskate estadounidansas.>

Funda verde para la basura (Green bag for for garbage) – The Empresa de Aseo de Cuenca (EMAC EP) will start an educational campaign to add the green garbage bags to the garbage collection process. Currently, the celeste (sky blue) bags are used to collect recyclables and the black bags for the rest of the garbage. Red bags are used by clinics, hospitals and consulting doctors for bio-hazardous waste. The green bag campaign is to get households to use them for organic waste such as from fruits, vegetables, meat, grains, cut grass, bark, branches and plants by 2025. Currently you can also take this waste to the Bioemac location and the Planta de Compostaje (Compost Plant) El Valle where they make compost. According to María Caridad Vásquez, manager of EMAC EP, it has the 2nd largest composting plant in the country and has ambitions to become the largest.

The green bag project will start in Sinincay and Llacao Parishes in coordination with the parish GADs (Gobiernos Autónomos Descentralizados). You can get the green bags in the local tiendas and the waste will be taken to compost plants managed by the GADs which will produce fertilizer for plant nurseries. Patricio Landivar, an environmental engineer and consultant on solid waste treatment, explained that the most important thing for recycling to be successful is to start at the source. This means separation of garbage in homes where it is produced. Recycling organic waste reduces the impact on the environment, helps improve air and water quality, and reduces pollution. The recycled organic waste supports the care and improvement of soil since the abono (compost/fertilizer – your word for the day) adds important nutrients. You can also make your own compost at home and use it in your own garden.

According to data from the Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas y Censos (INEC), 6 out of 10 households separated their garbage in 2023. Nationally, the waste most separated was plastic (45.6%) followed by organic waste at 37.7%. There are a total of 236 recyclers in Cuenca who go through the streets and houses to collect recycled material that should go into the blue bags. <I hope that those of you who came from cities in the US with recycling programs kept up your good habits here. And kudos to those who haul their organic waste to the Bioemad location on 24 de mayo on their bikes. I hope those of you who dump everything into a black bag will start being more conscious of recycling now that it’s an official campaign.>

Descuentos y compras –

ETAFASHION – Week of direct credit, 17 to 26/6 – Up to 60% off plus 20% off on selected merchanise – no payments until agosto.,

And that’s all for today so hasta ? –

Jeanne