European film festival opens; Conservation facility under construction at Amaru zoo; ‘Classic’ Cuenca artists exhibit; Christmas bells are ringing

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –

Del periodico de jueves, 22/9/2022:

Muestra recoge la vida y obra de los “Clásicos de la pintura” (Exhibition shows the life and work of the “Classics of painting”) – There will be a show of paintings by Julio Montesinos with large scale portraits of women, and ceramics; and with water colors of churches, and mountain and coastal landscapes by architect and professor César Burbano. The show will open el 23/9 a las 19:00 in two rooms of the Antigua Escuela Central, and run until diciembre, 2022.

An exhibition by two of Cuenca’s most celebrated artists, Julio Montesinos and César Burbano, opened Friday night at the Antigua Escuela Central in the historic district.

El cine europeo llegará a Cuenca (European cinema to come to Cuenca) – The 19th Festival Eurocine en Ecuador will return on 25/9 with 51 films and 11 short films made in 21 European countries. They will be shown in 12 cities in Ecuador. In Cuenca the free films will be screened in the Alianza Francesa, Teatro Sucre, Casa de la Cultura and the U. of Cuenca. You can go to www.eurocineecuador.com for the schedule. Some of the films include <and they´re probably in more languages we don’t understand. You could pray the subtitles will be in English and not Spanish, but don’t count on God to favor you. After all, he gave you a city full of Spanish teachers, didn’t (s)he?>

At the Alianza Francesa:
4/10, 19:00 – Luzzu
5/10, 19:00 – Lola
6/10, 19:00 – Nos batailles
7/10, 19:00 – Let there be light
At the Teatro Sucre:
5/10, 19:00 – Mio fratello rincorre i dinosuri
15/10, 19:00 – Lamb

Del periodico de hoy, viernes, 23/9:
Artesanas de comuna de Guaranda muestran sus tejidos en Cuenca (Artisans from the Guaranda community show their weavings in Cuenca) – A group of women from the community of Simiátug in the middle of the western Andes have a show, “Simiátug Llakta, tejeduría y fortaleza” at CIDAP which will run to 15/10. The exhibit is free and hours are M-F from 8-17:00. The show is in 3 spaces, the first for weavings, the 2nd for basketry made from straw from the páramo, and the 3d is for embroidered items. The items, which are also for sale, include backpacks, bags, baby carriers, shoes, and rugs. The straw items include baskets for dogs <to sleep in or to chew up? or both?>. Each item has a sign or element that represents the countryside in Simiátug. In 2011 Simiátug Llakta received a UNESCO award for excellence for crafts, Andean Region.

Titular –

Tranvía: dos años con tareas aún pendientes (Tranvía: two years with tasks still pending) – See Friday’s article in CHL for story.

Cuenca –

Del periodico de jueves, 22/9/2022:
Amaru tendrá nuevo espacio para conservación ambiental (Amaru will have a new space for environmental conservation) – An auditorium for environmental conservation is being built at the entrance to the Amaru Bioparque and should be finished at the end of this year or in enero, 2023 at the latest. <or “mañana” if things don’t go as expected>

The auditorium is inspired by the mythical “Amaru” (serpiente or culebre (serpent or snake)) which the Cañaris believe sleeps under the Andes mountains. When the snake moves it generates tremors which generate water and fertility for the land. The building takes the shape of a snake’s head including the escamas (scales or flakes – your word for the day). <So if the escamas are on a snake they’re scales. If they’re on your head, you need to get some Head and Shoulders.>

The project is being built with the support of the Cuenca tile-maker, Grupo Industrial Graiman.

Here are some statistics for you numbers junkies. Each week, the zoo’s herbivors and omnivors go through 3 pickup loads of vegetables, fresh fruit, and balanceados (animal chow). The carnivors need 1,000 pounds of meat weekly. There are 4 km. of paths which take 3-4 hours to walk. The zoo will be 20 years old in octubre. The new auditorium will cost about $200,000.

Empresarial –

Salón de Navidad Sukasa (Sukasa Christmas Salon) – Christmas season has officially started with th opening of Sukasa’s Salón de Navidad. The salón and sections of the stores will have decorations, trees, and Nativity scenes. This year there will be 18 themes including Frozen Winter, Opulence Dreams, Joyful Rustic, Fantasy in Purple and Santa’s Traditions. <I wonder why the themes are in English? I’ve also decided that Christmas season starts in Sep’t because that’s when you should start baking those fruitcakes so they’ll have 3 months to cure before Christmas. The goal is to give the recipient a buzz when he unwraps and breathes in the fumes from the cake.>

And that’s all for today so hasta ? –

Jeanne