Cathedral hosts huge nativity scene; Cold nights, hot days forecast; Card grants access to municipal health system; Interpol receives Ecuador certification

Bored? –
(De El Mercurio del martes, 2/12) En Catedral se decora pesebre de gran tamaño (Huge nativity scene is decorated in the Cathedral) – A 140 sq. meter nativity scene has been installed in the Catedral de La Inmaculada Concepción <New Cathedral>. There are large figures of Joseph and Mary. The Baby Jesus will be installed <born?> on the 24 de diciembre. Other figures include shepherds, sheep, camels, and grazing animals. The installation has a village and scenes of life in Bethlehem. The work was designed and assembled with the help of the Cartopel company <Does that mean there’s a lot of cardboard in the construction?> You can visit when the Cathedral is open: lunes a jueves de 6:30-15:30, viernes y sábado until 13:00, and domingos until 14:00. <The hours were longer when the pesebre was built in the Old Cathedral, and from the picture, it looks like it used to be more elaborate and detailed.>

Parasols have been in demand recently in Cuenca due to the intense sunshine. (El Mercurio)

(De El Mercurio del martes, 2/12) Colección patrimonial – The Archdiocese of Cuenca announced the the patrimonial collection, “Dulce Jesús Mío.” <“My Sweet Jesus” sounds like something people from the South say that might be analogous to Aiya in Chinese or Oy vey in Yiddish or OMG in general.”> belonging to the Álvarez-Eljuri family will be shown in the Catedral Vieja (Old Cathedral). The collection contains pieces with high artistic and religious value.

(De El Mercurio del martes, 2/12) Teatro Gestual (Gestural Theater) – From el 8-27/12, the Casa de la Cultura will offer an intensive workshop in Teatro Gestual y Físico which will explore techniques of Lecoq, Meyerhold and biomechanics with acting training. The final show will be presented to the public el 27/12 in the Sala Alfonso Carrasco. Cost: $120. Participants will get a certificate from the Ministerio de Cultura.

(De El Mercurio del martes, 2/12) Exposición en torno a la tradición gualaceña (Exhibition on the traditions of Gualaceo) – The exhibit, “Gualaceo: Encanto Artesanal y Gastronómico” will be in the Galería Manos Azuayas (Luis Cordero y Pres. Córdova) until el 7/12. The show will have work by craftspeople, artists and producers from Gualaceo who will show pieces made with ancestral and current techniques such as macanas <ikat weaving>, leather shoes, straw hats, painted flower pots, and other articles representative of the canton. There will also be typical foods, and tastings of colada morada <if you’re not sick of it already from the Independence celebrations>, yaguana and the traditional rosero. Free.

Curious? –
(De El Mercurio del martes, 2/12) Tarjeta Salud para Todos Toditos (Health Card for All Little-alls) – The City of Cuenca is launching a card “Salud para Todos Toditos Todos” to facilitate and incentivize access to the Municipal Health Network through discounts and incentives.

The network includes the municipal pharmacy Farmasol, Acción Social Municipal, Farmapet, the Hospital de la Mujer y el Niño, the new health centers the city is building, and the Centro Municipal de Salud Mental Adicciónes y Familia (Cemusaf). Also included in the Medisol network are the Hospital de la Mascota, Farmapet <Nothing says pets are part of the family like including the pet hospital and pharmacy in this health card. All of you who say that Ecuadorians don’t care about their pets need to shut up.>, the Consejo Cantonal de la Salud de Cuenca (CCSC), Oncosol and Acción Social which has a mobile surgery unit for people with limited means and which administers the Centro de Cuidado del Adulto Mayor and the Circo Social and Parque Inclusivo Projects.

Jorge Ulloa, general manager of Farmasol, said that all of the services offered by the network are accessible and they especially seek people in vulnerable sectors who need medical attention. To get the card, you need to present the original and a copy of your cedula. <The article doesn’t say who to present it to. Finding that information is on you.>

(De El Mercurio del martes, 2/12) Ecuador suscribió un acuerdo con Interpol (Ecuador signed an agreement with Interpol) – Ecuador signed a General Agreement about Privileges and Immunities of Interpol which will grant the necessary guarantees for the effective exercise of the functions of agents in Ecuadorian territory. <Would that include inside Ecuadorian embassies and consulates?> This agreement gives Interpol a status similar to any international organization where its members have diplomatic immunity.

(De El Mercurio del miércoles 3/12) Se aprueba en primer debate tasa de basura (Garbage fee approved in first debate) – In the first debate, the Consejo Cantonal approved an Interpretive Ordinance that will allow the Tasa de Recolección de Basura (TRB – Garbage Collection Fee) to be maintained after the Empresa Eléctrica Centro Sur unilaterally stopped putting on its bill. The fee will be calculated on the basis of the average electrical consumption in the last 6 months and the current formula will not be modified. The second debate will be between viernes y sábado.

(De El Mercurio del miércoles 3/12) Azuay: noches frías y días muy cálidos (Azuay: cold nights and very warm days) – The Instituto Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología (Inamhi) issued an alert for the Sierra and provinces such as Azuay that nighttime temperatures will decrease and daytime temperatures will increase. In Cuenca, highs of 26 degrees (79 F) and lows of 4.5 degrees (40F) have been recorded. There will be intense sunshine and this pattern will continue during diciembre. It also forecasted sporadic rain in the Sierra and the Costa with partially cloudy skies, but low probability of intense rain. This combination can affect crops above 2,800 meters above sea level due to freezing temperatures or frost. <Dig out those ice skates for when the lakes in the Cajas freeze over.> This month will also have high ultraviolet levels in the interAndean region, reaching 11 (extremely high) in Azuay.
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Information in this column, including dates, times and locations, is courtesy of the El Mercurio newspaper. Comments between the carrots, or guillemets (< … >), are the personal opinions of the author and not part of the news translation.