National and local leaders say that Cuenca Mayor Pedro Palacios is disengaged from his constituents and has failed to build constructive relationships with the the municipal council and the national government. Following a visit to Cuenca in early January, Ecuador Interior Minister María Paula Romo said that Cuenca’s relationship with Quito has deteriorated since Palacios […]
Cuenca’s public utility, ETAPA, is expanding the capacity of the city’s drinking water system. A new facility, attached to the Tixán plant, will allow the city to provide water to an additional 365,000 customers. An ETAPA spokeswoman said the expansion is necessary to keep up with city growth. “Projections show that Cuenca will have 1.3 […]
By Laura Geggel A basketball-player-size, two-faced wooden idol that allegedly escaped destruction by the Spanish conquistadors is real — but it may not be quite what people suspected. The statue is even older than thought, and was probably worshipped by the people who came before the Inca. And belying the grisly lore that surrounds it, […]
City officials are moving ahead with Cuenca’s second “superblocks” project, this one in a nine-block area around Parque Calderon. The project, intended to encourage alternatives to vehicular traffic, will include the blocks bordered by calles Gran Colombia, Presidente Borrero, Presidente Córdova and Padre Aguirre. According to Xavier González, coordinator of the El Barranco Foundation, one […]
Although Ecuador’s official unemployment rate held steady in 2019 at 3.8 percent, the number of workers holding full-time employment dropped by more than one percent. According to the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC), 115,782 40-hour-per-week jobs were lost in 2019. Labor Minister Andrés Madero said that most of those who lost full-time work […]
Jueves, 16/1/2020 Hola, Todos – Actividades – De la pagina cultural – Concierto – The Orquesta Sinfónica de Cuenca will start its 2020 season with a cycle of concerts dedicated to Beethoven and Ecuadorian composer Luis Humberto Salgado. The first concert will be este viernes a las 20:00 in the iglesia Santo Domingo. The orchestra […]
A popular online “gringo” bulletin board advertises “holistic dentistry” in Cuenca, and more than one advertisement promotes removal of all silver (colored) amalgam fillings [mistakenly called ‘mercury fillings’.] Some ads proclaim that amalgam fillings cause “energy interference” and risk for diseases such as Parkinson’s, cardiovascular disease, and even autism. What are the myths and facts […]
The government used excessive force that resulted in “unnecessary deaths and injuries” to contain October protests, according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). The findings of the long-awaited IACHR report were applauded by leaders of Ecuador’s indigenous movements while they were attacked as “biased and unreasonable” by the government. “Our cause has been […]
By Keith Spencer Only three months ago, social media megalith Facebook made the universally-reviled announcement that they would not be fact-checking, censoring, or otherwise banning political ads that deceive or mislead. “We don’t believe [that] it’s an appropriate role for us to referee political debates and prevent a politician’s speech from reaching its audience and […]
Something can beat down on you hard enough until you’re faded, like the sun beats down on fresh paint eventually robbing it of hue and saturation. A life can beat down on you like the sun and rob you of time, satisfaction or happiness. No one is born with any guarantee of those elements. Webster’s […]
