Inti Raymi brings dance, music and rituals; Rents are highest in Cuenca; Sidewalk repairs underway; ‘Basic basket’ explained; Cuenca Symphony performs

Miércoles, 12/6/2024

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –

Danza, música y rituales en tres días de Inti Raymi (Dance, music and rituals in three days of Inti Raymi) – Ingapirca will be the epicenter of Inti Raymi or the Festival of the Sun, the largest manifestation of the Andean identity in southern Ecuador. It will be on the 21, 22, & 23/6 with activities in Azuay and Cañar. It is hoped that delegations from Quito and Guayaquil will attend along with local, national and foreign tourists. The agendas for both Ingapirca in Cañar and in Cuenca and Sígsig in Azuay follow:

According to data from the Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas y Censos (INEC), Cuenca has the highest residential and commercial rents in Ecuador. (El Mercurio)

Ingapirca (Cañar):
Viernes, 21/6 –
10:00 – Opening of the exhibit “Los Raymis Andinos en Ecuador.”
11:00 – Cañari ancestral ceremony.
13:00 – Traditional pampa mesa. <Can tourists eat, or do they need to bring a “dish to pass?”>
14:00 – 16:00 – Dance festival with schools in the region participating.
16:00 – Agua Capulí, Escuela de Talentos Andinos (School of Andean Talents).
18:00 – Banda de pueblo (People’s band) of the Municipal Government of El Tambo.
19:00 – Election and proclamation of the Ñusta, Sara Ñusta and Allpa Ñusta Inti Raymi Ingapirca 2024.
Sábado, 22/6 –
10:00 – Presentation by the Dance and Music Group at the Universidad Nacional de Educación (UNAE).
11:00 – Opening of the gastronomic and crafts fair.
20:00 – Folkloric art of the communities of Ingapirca; the festival of Andean music with Amigos Millonarios, Manantial, Sayri y su Banda, and other musical groups.
Domingo, 23/6 –
10:00 – Gastronomic and crafts fair.
Festival of Andean music and dance with local groups.

Cuenca/Sígsig (Azuay):
Viernes, 21/6 –
11:00 – Celebration and ceremony.
19:00 – Music and dance show for Inti Raymi.
Location: Teatro Pumapungo
Viernes, 21/6 –
11:00 – Ritual and ceremony.
Location: Chobshi Archaeological site.

‘Carmina Burana’ congregará a Sinfónica y a voces selectas (‘Carmina Burana’ to bring together Symphony and selected voices) – The Orquesta Sinfónica of Cuenca, conducted by Maestro Augusto Carrion, will perform ‘Carmina Burana’ by Carl Orff on el jueves, 13/6 and el viernes 14/6 a las 20:00 in the Teatro Pumapungo. The OSC will be joined by singers Vanessa Freire, Marlon Valverde y Diego Zamora; and by the Coro (Choir or chorus) Pichincha, el Coro Polifónicao Municipal de Loja, the Coro Infantil (Childrens’ Chorus) and the Coro Juvenil (Youth Chorus) of the Conservatorio “José María Rodríguez.” <This is what I’d blast out my window when the kids next door got too loud with their boom boxes and car sound systems. They’d lower their rap and hip hop, and I’d lower the Carmina Burana. If you’re familiar with Carmina Burana, you’ll know why this worked.>

De El Mercurio del martes, 11/6 (1 article):
Expo de pinturas del taller ‘Bai Hui’ en las Conceptas (Exhibition of paintings from the ‘Bai Hui’ workshop at the Conceptas) – The show from the art workshop ‘Bai Hui’ will open el 19/6 a las 19:00 in the Museo de las Conceptas (Hermano Miguel and Juan Jaramillo). This is the work of 28 students from 25 to 66 years old who studied with painter Paula Pozo Prohens who comes from a family of artists. The show presents a variety of styles and subjects reflecting the artistic development of the participants. Each work offers a window into the soul of the creator.

Titular –

Compensación es el ‘nudo crítico’ al analizar subsidios (Compensation is the ‘critical knot’ when analyzing subsidies) – Before the Government eliminates the subsidy on Extra and Ecopaís, it hopes to reach an agreement with the transport union whose members will receive economic compensation. In a meeting with the Minister of the Government, the transport sector agreed to form roundtables for discussions starting el viernes, 14/6. It is hoped that the mechanisms for compensation can be defined.

Cuenca –

Costosos arriendos en Cuenca (Expensive rents in Cuenca) – According to data from the Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas y Censos (INEC), Cuenca has the highest rents in Ecuador at $246.88/mo. Manta is 2nd at $209.18, Guayaquil at $206.31, and Quito at $195.60. The lowest rent in the 9 cities listed is Santo Domingo at $171.18. Sofía Pacheco, and engineer in accounting and a real estate agent, said that prices depend very much on the zone, and the use of the property. <Remember the real estate mantra for prices? Location, location, location.> Housing can run from $150 for a room to over $500.00 for an apartment.

Average rent in the Centro Histórico for a commercial location can cost between $6 & $8 per sq. meter, so a small restaurant, cafeteria or store can cost from $1,000-$1,200 per month. Zones where rents for housing are the highest are on av. Ordóñez Lasso, Puertas del Sol, El Ejido and along av. De Las Américas. There are also zones such as San Joaquín, Challuabamba and Misicata where there are large properties which can exceed $2,500/mo. Then there are cheap rooms and small houses in zones such as Las Orquídeas, Los Trigales, Quinta Chica, Huizhil and rural areas in which rents start around $120. She said the city is expensive to live in for different reasons – mainly the standard of living, coverage of basic services, the quality of health services, education, migration and safety.

Fernando Capelo, a lawyer and former civil court judge, explained that rent prices are determined by supply and demand in spite of the Ley de Inquilinato (Rent Law). This law caps monthly rent at 1/12 of 10% of the assessed value of the property as it is listed in the municipal land registry. He said if a renter feels their rent is not legal, they can present their case before the Defensoría del Pueblo or also before a tenancy judge. According to Lorena Chalco, a commercial engineer and a real estate consultant at InmuAustro, the high cost of Cuencan rents, at least in the last 15 years, is related to foreigners moving into the city. The arrival of citizens from the US, Europe and Canada marks a before and after for rent and real estate prices. She indicated that these foreigners are concentrated in certain zones of the city which are also where current rent prices are highest.

De El Mercurio del martes, 11/6 (3 articles):

4 rubros marcan canasta básica (4 items mark the basic basket) – According to the Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas y Censos (INEC), Cuenca is the Ecuadorian city with the highest Canasta Familiar Básica (CFB – Basic Family Basket) at $832.00. The CFB is a set of goods and services imprescindibles (essential – your word for the day – might as well throw a hard to pronounce word at you de vez en cuando) to satisfy the basic needs of a household of 4 in which 1.6 members earn the Renumeración Básica Unificada (RBU – Unified Basic Renumeration) of $460 per month.

There are 4 factors in the CFB: housing, food and drink, clothing, and miscellaneous. Housing includes rent, lighting and fuel, washing and maintenance, and other household items. Clothing includes fabric, sewing and tailoring, and accessories, ready made clothing, and cleaning. Food and drink includes cereals and derivatives, meat and preparations, fish and seafood, edible fats and oils <If you’re in the habit of dressing your salads in motor oil, that would not be included in the CFB. However, your subsequent health card needs probably would be.>, milk, dairy products and eggs, fresh vegetables, tubers and derivatives, legumes and derivatives, fresh fruit, sugar, salt and condiments, coffee, tea, soft drinks, and food and drink consumed outside the home. The miscellaneous category includes health care, personal articles, recreational products and reading materials, tobacco, educational expenses, communications and transportation. <Are some of you wondering where the beer, wine and Scotch in a basic basket is? Evidently it’s not considered essential – unless you’re alcohol dependent. Again, the treatment would probably be included in health care.>

Edmundo Peña, an economist, researcher and ex-consultant to INEC, said that in Cuenca, housing represents 29.67% or $246.88 of the CFB; food and drink take a 31.64% share or $263.27; clothing is 6.71% or $55.81; and miscellaneous comes in at 31.98% or $266.04. The change in the cost of the Canasta Familiar Básica in Cuenca over 5 months is as follows: Enero – $821.88, Febrero – $824.87, Marzo – $833.38, Abril – $828.47, and Mayo – $832.00. In Mayo of 2023, the CFB was $796.10. < Maybe tomorrow the paper will explain the other basket of goods that I’ve forgotten the name of. Apologies to you grammar police for ending the sentence in a preposition.>

En el centro y periferia se reparan aceras y adoquín (Sidewalks and pavers are being repaired in the downtown and outskirts of the city) – The city is doing street and sidewalk work with its own crews in the city center and peripheral areas which will last to the end of the year. 7.5 km. of new sidewalks will be built starting in septiembre. The benefiting parishes include Totoracocha, Cañaribamba, Hermano Miguel and others. Another 14 km. of sidewalks will receive maintenance in different areas of the city with a total of 25 km. receiving attention by the end of the year. Road paver replacement of 1.3 km. in the Centro Histórico is in progress on Gaspar Sangurima, Mariscal Sucre, Manuel Vega, Coronel Talbot, Pres. Córdova, and Calle Larga among others. The work will continue until 2.5 km. are completed. Currently, the work is being done on General Torres between Vega Muñoz and Gaspar Sangurima. In addition, 9 stretches of the tranvia route are getting maintenance with work at av. De Las Américas y Primero de Mayo, av. España y Sebastián de Benalcázar, Gran Colombia, and Tarqui completed. The other 8 sections will be done by diciembre of this year. <After which, all of it will start deteriorating again prompting a new round of improvements in the next mayor’s term or in a farther future term when complaints threaten re-election chances.>

Dispositivos alivian dolor de pacientes (Devices alleviate patient pain) – The “José Carrasco Arteaga” IESS hospital has performed the 1st surgeries to install a peripheral neurostimulator in 3 patients. The device can calm pain for patients for whom it is impossible to move their extremities. Used with medication, it can allow wheelchair-bound patients to leave their wheelchairs. The device is a kind of cable which is connected to a stimulator placed inside the tissues of the back to to provide an electrical stimulus at the medullary level. This tricks the brain and reduces pain for the patient. The operation can cost about $60,000 in private hospitals and clinics. The IESS hospital has a list of patients that meet certain characteristics after being evaluated by a pain specialist. <Sounds good as long as those electrical stimuli don’t interfere with your pacemaker.>

And that’s all for today so Hasta ? –

Jeanne