Healthy eating options in Cuenca; Museum features fireworks history; Bakery shut down; Baños and Nulti host celebrations; Deepak Chopra in Quito

Lunes, 26/8/2024

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –

De El Mercurio del domingo, 25/8 (2 articles):

Nulti: todo el mes con actividades (Nulti: all month long with activities) – Nulti will celebrate <just for the sake of celebrating?> the whole month of septiembre. Sebastián Auquilla, presidedent of the GAD de Nulti said the fiestas will start el 2/9 with the election of the Cholita Nultense. It will start a las 16:00 at the chapel hill with a parade to the parish center where the election will be at 17:00. At the chapel hill there will also be a máscaras contest. El 3/9, the first motoencuentro (motorcycle meeting) will be on Jalshi hill with a gastronomy fair. It will leave from Control Sur and arrive at the hill at 12:00 <Since this is Ecuador, the 12:00 will be a more or less arrival time. I’m finding myself drifting into Latin time at about the rate of 30 seconds per year. I now consider myself in the “on time” window if I’m only 6 or 7 minutes late.> On el 10/9 there will be the cuy festival; a 7k run at 8:00, and after, traditional games such as the election of the best dressed cuy. El 15/9 a las 17:00 there will be Sesión Solemne in the parish center. On el 17/9 there will be a civic parade starting at 10:00 from the chapel hill to the parish center.

The Museo Interactivo de Pirotecnia Artesanal honors the work of the Orellana family which has been making fireworks for 200 years. The museum is located at the mirador Tres Cruces, Remigio Crespo Toral parish, in Chordeleg. (El Mercurio)

Baños prepara el ‘mantel largo’ para su aniversario (Baños prepares the ‘long tablecloth’ for its anniversary) – Wilson Jácome, president of the GAD of the Baños Parish said the festivities celebrating Banños’ 172 years as a parish will start el 29/8 and run to el 14/9. The election of the Reina de Baños will be el 30/8 a las 19:00 in the Hostería Caballo Campana and will end with a noche bañense (Baños night) and invited artists. The sesión solemne is scheduled for el 1/9 a las 10:00 in the Sindicato de Choferes de Baños. The festivities in Honor a la Virgen de Guadalupe will be el 8/9 from 10:00 and the II Feria Agroganadera, Artesanal y Ganadera (II Agro-livestock, Crafts and Cattle Fair) will be el 14/9 from 8:00 until 17:00. El 28/9 a las 15:00 will be the Gran Final del I Concurso Gastronómico Rural Chef (Grand Final of the 1st Rural Chef Gastronomic Contest) in the plaza central. <Will attendees get to taste what the chefs prepare? 16 ways to prepare cuy?> The festival will close el domingo, 29/9 with a Civic Parade starting at 9:00.

De El Mercurio del sábado, 24/8 (1 article):
Museo recrea 200 años del arte de la pirotecnia (Museum recreates 200 years of fireworks art) – <This article is for all of you who played with rockets and upset your mothers with experiments involving gunpowder and homemade delivery devices.> The Museo Interactivo de Pirotecnia Artesanal (MIPA) honors the work of the Orellana family which has been making fireworks for 200 years. It is at the mirador Tres Cruces in the Remigio Crespo Toral parish at the border with Chordeleg.

The museum is the product of a university thesis by Wilson Orellana who covered the path of his great-grandfather, grandfather and father. The museum has 6 salas. The first has images from the beginnings of fireworks <paintings from 200 BC China?> and photos of his father making a figure. The 2nd sala has the figures of “Indio Lorenzo,” “Mamá Juana,” and “Vaca Loca,” as well as stars up to 3-4 meters in size and down to miniatures at 25 cm. Castillos (castles) are featured in sala 3. Tourists can see the designs and assemble their own multicolored castillos. The 4th sala is where the process of making the fireworks is explained including the preparation of the chemicals which are replacing gunpowder. The 5th sala is for workshops, and the 6th shows how to make the paper globos. The tour ends outside of the museum where a castillo, vaca loca, and other fuegos artificiales (pirotécnicos – articifial fires, pyrotechnics, fireworks – your word for the day.> are burned. It is best if this happens at night when you can really appreciate the variety of forms and colors.

Titular –

Semana para dejar todo listo e iniciar clases (Week to get everything ready and start classes) – See today’s (lunes) article in CHL for story.

Cuenca –

ARCSA clausura panadería al hallar plagas en interior (ARCSA closes bakery after pests found inside) – <This is the kind of story where you wish libel laws were less strict so we could find out which bakery to avoid. Although if it’s your neighborhood bakery, the clausura sticker on the door should give you a clue.> the Agencia Nacional de Regulación, Control y Vigilancia Sanitaria (ARCSA) closed a bakery in the Coliseo Mayor (Google says that’s the Coliseo Jefferson Pérez) sector where products in poor shape were sold. An inspection revealed evidence of deficient hygenic/sanitary standards and the presence of pests. In the production area, there was an accumulation of leftover bread and flour next to raw materials, and glue mouse traps where bread was being made. In the sales area, under a refrigerator, were large amounts of rat droppings. The location needs to control the pests and do a deep cleaning. <You think?>

Dan capacitación para el manejo de ambulancias (Training on ambulance operation) – 860 health personnel and drivers were trained in the management and care of biomedical equipment in ambulances including the correct use and operation of all the components – mechanical, hydraulic, and electrical. Of the 860 professionals who were trained, 610 were trained for 122 new ambulances which are operating in Ecuador. This week, 250 more will be trained for 49 ambulances which will be delivered in the next few days. <So maybe the number I saw on an “ambulance” in a comparsas parade “Llama 1-800-Nunca” won’t apply anymore?>

De El Mercurio del domingo, 25/8 (1 article):

Más espacios para adeptos a la gastronomíc saludable (More spaces for lovers of healthy food) – In the past years, the demand for healthy food options has grown with various restaurants in Cuenca responding to the demand. El Mercurio visited “Ñeke,” “Alika” and “Natural and Healthy” which offer balanced and nutritious food with menus that show healthy is not incompatible with flavor. “Ñele” means “energy” and is the concept for the restaurant. “Ñeke” has designed dishes to provide different types of energy according to the activity and the hour of the day. They use organic, local ingredients without preservatives with a menu adapted for celiacs, diabetics, vegetarians and vegans.

Paz Arízaga, manager of “Álika” said they create a weekly plan to guarantee a variety of flavors. She said a healthy menu is balanced food including proteins, carbohydrates and salad. <I doubt she’s talking about a fried pork chop, French fries and a potato salad heavy on the mayo.> Fabiola Bermeo, owner of “Natural&Healthy” highlighted the importance of a balanced diet according to the level of physical activity. <Like the best diet for someone whose only exercise is pushing a remote control are potato chips, sugary sodas, and donuts?> She said eating healthily is not following restrictions, but consuming a variety of foods in moderation. She recommended eating products from the earth to the table and not industry to the table.

Nutritionist Diana Paredes agreed that a balanced diet, combined with exercise are complementary for a healthy lifestyle. She said food represents 80% of well-being with exercise another 20%, and without good nutrition, exercise won’t improve your health.

Nacional –

Deepak Chopra regresa a Ecuador para seminario (Deepak Chopra returns to Ecuador for seminar) – Deepak Chopra will be in Quito mañana, martes el 27/8 for his seminar “Vida Despierta” (Awakened Life) a las 9:30 a 14:00 in the JW Marriott de Quito. The seminar will address topics such as anxiety management, mindfulness, improved sleep, stress management, and skills for enhancing self-esteem and resilience. Tickets available from www.seminariumec.com/deepak-chopra. <Maybe if you call a cab now, you can still get on a late flight or overnight bus to Quito. Stuff your toothbrush and some clean clothes into a SuperMaxi bag and you’re ready to go.>

Se adelanta la veda del cangrejo; durará 45 días (Early closure for crab fishing; will last 45 days) – The closure of red and blue crab fishing season was extended this year from one month to 45 days. It started last weekend and will run until el 30/9/2024. The measure is to safeguard the sustainability of this resource and public health since this is their molting season. <So if you didn’t get your crab today, you’re going to have to wait until octubre.>

And that’s all for today so hasta ? –

Jeanne