Covid cases stay low but docs caution about other respiratory illnesses; Learn French at Alianza Francesa; Full cultural agenda; Vax cards requested

Martes, 31/5/2022

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –

Homenaje a Francisco Paredes (Tribute to Francisco Paredes) – To pay tribute to composer Francisco Paredes Heredia, and to join different generations of musicians on one stage, the DIZA cultural organization is organizing the first Festival de la Canción Ecuatoriana in Cuenca. The first part of the festival will be a concert featuring the Hermanos Miño Naranjo, Paco Godoy, y Diego Zamora on el viernes, 2/5 a las 20:00 in the Teatro Pumapungo. Tickets are available at El Surtido (calle Borrero between Bolívar y Sucre) for $25 on the lower level, and $15 on the upper level. The second part of the festival is a contest to pick 2 emerging artists who will perform in the concert. Contestants can present either original material, or an interpretation of a work by Francisco Paredes or other Ecuadorian composer. Submit the material and registration form to https://forms.gle/gfvahZffG1W3b3Ji8.

A new Universtiy of Azuay study about the Inca trail in Azuay and Loja Provinces has been published.

Nuevo estudio sobre el Qhapaq Ñan (New study on the Qhapaq Ñan (Inca Highway) – Diego Suárez published the first study of the Qhapaq Ñan in Azuay, Cañar, Loja y Guayas in 2018. His 2nd volume focuses on Oña, Saraguro y Yacuambi. There is a catalogue as well, related to the route, construction techniques, and the infrastructure of the path. The volume was published by the Casa Editora of the U. de Azuay and is divided into the geography, geology, plants and mammals, and the secondary route. You can download this for free from https://publicaciones.uazuay.edu.ec/index.php/ceuazuay/catalog/book/226.

Cinco talleres gratuitos en la agenda de Alianza Francesa (Five free workshops on the agenda at the Alianza Francesa) – There will be 5 free activities to learn French at the Alianza Francesa. The first is theatrical practices which will start Wednesday a las 17:30 with games, reading out loud, work on intonation, and preparation of a mini-work. From el 6-20/6 a las 17:30 there will be a literature and creative writing workshop. From el 8-22/6 a las 17:30, there will be a grammatical analysis and lexicon of French songs. Finally, from el 13-27/6 there will be a phonetics workshop to learn the basis of pronunciation in French. <Say everything while pinching your nose shut.>

Teatro y música (Theater and music) – The Dirección de Cultura of the U. of Cuenca organized two events in the Museo Universitario. The first one is over, but there will be a work Wednesday a las 19:00 called “Ñantar, Historias Originarias Shuar” ( Ñantar, Shuar Origin Stories).

Muestra lojana – The CCE will present the “Hablaré de mí: LOXA” exhibit by artist José Carlos Arias Álvarez on el 8/6 in the Salón del Pueblo “Efraín Jara Idrovo” (Sucre y Benigno Malo). He will talk about the history of Loja and its contribution to Ecuador.

Doble exposición – Two exhibits opened Tuesday in the Casa Patrimonial Municipal Chaguarchimbana. The first is a show of representative pieces of the art of iron work with photos of its history. The second shows the history of the Casa de Chaguarchimbana. Free. <The pandemic must be over, looking at all these activities that are back for our enjoyment.>

Titular –

Apelará resolución (Will appeal ruling) – Cuencano Iván Saquicela will appeal the decision to deny an acción de protección (action of protection) following his suspension for 90 days as president of the Corte Nacional de Justicia last 20/5/2022 for an alleged grave infraction. He was accused of not presenting an extradition request for Rafael Correa in time. <Sounds like party politics. What happened to statesmanship and good governance?>

Cuenca –

“Clima podría influir en cuadros respiratorios” (“Weather could influence respiratory conditions”) – Andrea Bersosa, Zone 6 Health Coordinator, indicated that they have not received any alerts about serious cases of pneumonia in children in recent days. However, with the changing weather, there are other respiratory viruses such as influenza which can be complicated with pneumonia or Covid. With this in mind, she said that a person with notable symptoms should go to a casa de salud to see if a Covid test is necessary. She urged everyone to get their Covid and flu shots. She recommended that people with respiratory symptoms and catastrophic diseases wear masks. Positive Covid cases in the 21st week of the year rose to 75, a slight increase. The increase is not worrying since it is due to increased testing. As for hospital bed occupancy, in Zone 6 it is under 4%.

3d Covid vaccines, available to people over 18, are being given at different health centers from lunes a viernes as well as los fines de semana (weekends – your word for the day) in limited centers with appointments. The 4th dose is available for health personnel, armed forces, fire fighters, Red Cross, teachers, and those over 50 (5 months after the 3d dose). For boosters, you need to show your vaccine card or certificate.

Solicitan carnets de vacunación (Vaccination cards requested) – Andrés Vicuña, a police official, noted that since last week, presentation of your vaccine card is being requested for venues with large numbers of people such as commercial centers, bars, discos, and night clubs. Police have been talking to the venue administrators to let them know about this new request. The police want to retake control of the vaccine card since the Dirección de Control y Orden Público at a national level wants to know what percentage of the population has been fully vaccinated.

If the person doesn’t present the card, their attention will be called to the co-responsibility of the citizenry to complete their vaccinations including the booster. For now, the response has been positive. The police know that this will generate discomfort, but we should understand it’s all for the wellbeing of the citizenry. <Let the screaming about your nose’s right to unimpeded breathing begin.>

In figures – The rate of positivity in country is 5% with the percentage trending downward. 44% of people in Zone 6 (Azuay, Cañar, y Morona Santiago) have had their 3d shot, and barely 10% their 2nd. In Zone 6, 90% have had 2 vaccinations. A physical or digital vaccine card can be presented upon entering locations with masses of people.

EMAC prepara Casa Abierta por el Día del Medio Ambiente (EMAC prepares Open House for Environment Day) – El 5/6 is the Día Mundial del Medio Ambiente, and the Empresa Pública Municipal de Aseo de Cuenca (EMAC EP) has organized a Casa Abierta to involve students in activities related to the management of solid wastes and care of green spaces. To participate, schools must have a delegation of at least 25 people, older than 10 who have parental permission. The first 10 schools sending letters of interest to plituma@emac.gob.ec will be picked.

Llegan medicinas para el seguro campesino (Medicines for farmers’ insurance arrive) – The IESS announced that medicines for the 48 medical dispensaries of the Seguro Social Campesino (SSC) de Azuay have arrived. There are 13 medicines for gastrointestinal spasms, anemia prevention, short-acting estrogens, hyperthyroidism, bacterial infections, nausea and vomiting, lice, asthma, and to improve birth. In Azuay, 51,000 affiliates, retirees, and dependents will benefit. There will be more medicine deliveries between junio y agosto/2022.

Tranvía: plan contra el acoso y violencia (Tramway: plan against harassment and violence) – Jorge Moscoso, director for the Tranvía announced the implementation of a series of QR codes in all the tram trains. Those who have been victims of harassment or violence can use their cellphones to access information about these issues. This is because victims of these crimes commonly don’t talk about them or report them from lack of an adequate guide so these crimes are under reported.

Puntos de Encuentro (Meeting Points) – The Ministro de Telecomunicaciones and the Sociedad de la Información announced the opening of Puntos de Encuentro which will replace the Infocentros Comunitarios. The Meeting Points will have modern interfaces where users can access different classes such as English, digital marketing and more topics that will promote economic reactivation and digital inclusion.

Empresarial –

Ministerio de Finanzas cancela a GADs de tres años pendientes (Ministry of Finance pays three years of outstanding debt to GADs) – The Ministerio de Economía y Finanzas finished transferring $22,639,961 to the Gobiernos Autónomos Descentralizados (GAD) that weren’t paid in 2019, 2020, & 2021. This payment will allow the execution of projects in all parts of the country. Since the Government of Pres. Lasso came into power, $3 billion has been paid to provinces, municipalities and parish juntas <the GADs – levels of government below the federal level – your civics lesson for the day.>

Region –

Cañar: indagan persecución e intento de robo a viceprefecta (Cañar: Investigation into chase and attempted robbery of vice-prefect) – The Cañar provincial government asked the Gobierno Nacional to include the cantón of La Troncal in the state of emergency after the vice-prefect Ximena Andrade was chased with the intent to rob. Andrade was intercepted by 2 people on a moto while she was driving from Guayaquil to El Troncal. One of the delinquents pointed a gun at her, but she made a maneuver that scared the robbers off. <I wonder if she just pointed her car right at the moto to run over the robbers. Don’t mess with Ms. Andrade!>

And that’s all for today so Hasta ? –

Jeanne