190 mayors and prefects are investigated; Time for colada morada and guaguas de pan; Plane wreckage removed; Shopping mall planned for Chaullabamba

Bored? –
(De El Mercurio del lunes, 12/10) Se levanta Uzhupud Sky Garden en Paute (Uzhupud Sky Garden being built in Paute) – Uzhupud Sky Garden will include 40,000 plants in a 14-story residential edificio in the La Higuera sector at km. 21 on the vía Cuenca-Paute. The project is by Ecuagarden Developments which is part of the Ecuagenera Uzhupud Garden conglomerate. The building will have about sixty 1, 2, & 3 BR apartments with commercial spaces on the ground floor and access to the amenities of Uzhupud Garden such as pools, a lake, sports courts and horseback riding areas.

The wreckage of a light airplane that overran the runway at the Cuenca airport was removed Monday from Av. Hurtado de Mendoza. The plane was carrying cash for the Central Bank of Ecuador. (El Mercurio)

Juan Pablo Martínez explained the proposal is based in biophilic architecture which integrates nature in living spaces with plants and biodiversity as a central element of the design rather than buildings that use plants aesthetically. Incorporating plants allows taking advantage of their functions in retaining moisture and in thermal regulation which help the environmental conditions in the inside spaces. The plants will include bromeliads, aráceas, orchids, hanging plants, and Ceratostema which are typical of Andean environments. The official presentation and start of sales will be el sábado, 17/10 in Uzhupud Garden. If you are interested contact info@ecuagardendevelopment.com. The building will occupy 5,000 sq. meters inside the 10 hectares of Uzhupud Garden. <It sounds like living in a garden rather than in an apartment with a garden.>

(De El Mercurio del martes, 13/10) TitiriCuenca llega con ocho espectáculos de cuatro países (TitiriCuenca is bringing eight shows from four countries) – The Festival Internacional de Títeres TitiriCuenca (TitiriCuenca International Puppet Festival) will celebrate its 16rth edition from el 18 to 25/10 with 8 shows by companies from Ecuador, Perú, Colombia and Argentina. The opening will be el 18/10 a las 10:30 in the Plazoleta of the Museo Pumapungo with “El árbol de las palabras,” a production with puppets, narration and music in honor of the Afro-Ecuadorian culture. The festival includes shows in the Teatro Pumapungo, the Plazoleta of the Museo Pumapungo, the Parque Paraíso, and in rural parishes and cantons.

The shows in the plazoleta and parks are free. Admission to the other shows are $4 for children, the disabled, and elderly; and $6 for those older than 13 <and younger than 65>. Tickets are available at the Galería Ayni and online at buenplan.com.ec/host/titiricuenca. Reservations at 099 559 3954. <This is for those of you who remember and loved Howdy Doody and Charlie McCarthy.>

Hungry? –
(De El Mercurio del sábado, 10/10) Innovadoras recetas de colada y guaguas (Innovative recipes for colada and guaguas) – Colada morada and guaguas de pan arrived in octubre with new versions. Jorge Luis Peralta, brewer of Asiringui, a brewery started in 1/2022, developed Morada Colada, a beer inspired by the traditional beverage. Peralta researched and concluded that the style best suited to his recipe was a Berliner Weisse which is light with acid notes, and which could be supplemented with spices and fruits. The recipe uses the same spices and fruits used in colada moradas. He also experimented with yeasts, acid levels, and proportions to balance the flavors. The prize winning beer is available on the social networks of Asiringui and Happy Market, Roku, Jama and Biela.

Gabriela Lazo, owner of Gaby Lazo Atelier de Postres, has a shop in the Casa del Parque across the street from Parque Calderón. This season she is offering 8 flavors of guaguas and a tasting box of 6 small guaguas. The season started in septiembre, and will end on 4/11. Her guaguas use the traditional dough with a variety of toppings and fillings that include manjar with mora compote, guayaba with a creamy cheese and fig and walnut, and others. What is new this year is a maracuyá guagua with semi-sweet chocolate and notes of orange.

At Pastel Delirio (calles Mariano Cueva y Bolívar), Melina Torres developed a colada morada concentrate, similar to a jam, for incorporation into other recipes. The concentrate uses the traditional fruits and spices, and is slow cooked. It will be available during octubre y noviembre. One of her combinations is cold matcha with milk and colada morada concentrate. <How about the concentrate over ice cream, on a bagel with cream cheese, on top of plain old toast or oatmeal?>

Curious? –
(De El Mercurio del viernes, 9/10) El Challuabamba Shopping – The Grupo Ortiz is building a new shopping center in Chaullabamba which is planned to open in mayo o junio of 2027, on the vía Cuenca-Azogues. The 28,000 sq. m. center will have 50 stores, 20 islands, and 400 parking spaces on 4 levels including a below ground parking level. A Coral Hipermercado will be the anchor tenant with restaurants, cafeterías, a gym, wellness center, pharmacies, banking services, and pet stores. There will be entertainment in the form of movie theaters, a bowling alley, game arcade, and childrens’ spaces. <I wasn’t sure if I should have put this under “Bored?” but I figured that more shopping wouldn’t help with your current state of boredom if it weren’t going to be available until next year.>

(De El Mercurio del viernes, 9/10) EMOV EP prevé tarjetas SERT la próxima semana (EMOV EP plans to issue SERT cards next week) – The supply of SERT parking cards is close to gone, so EMOV will not issue parking tickets from el 9-15/10 if you park in an EMOV space <those are the numbered blue spaces>. A process to get new cards was voided by SERCOP (public contracting agency), and a new process was started el 7/10. Parking controls will continue and cars are still not allowed to park in unauthorized spaces such as sidewalks and wheelchair ramps <the list goes on, and you should know where you shouldn’t park>.

(De El Mercurio del viernes, 9/10) Avioneta sale de pista y cae sobre avenida (Small plane veers off the runway and crashes onto a street) – A small plane with 2 people on board left the runway and ended up on av. Hurtado de Mendoza in the Milchichig sector about 12:13 el jueves of last week. It was on the Guayaquil-Cuenca route and the Banco Central del Ecuador confirmed it was carrying valuables which are intact and in custody. The two people on board were injured, and were treated.

(De El Mercurio del domingo, 11/10) Retiran avioneta accidentada en la Hurtado de Mendoza (Crashed light plane removed from Hurtado de Mendoza) – The Cessna Grand Caravan EX that ended up on av. Hurtado de Mendoza was removed on Saturday afternoon after an operation that required more than 3 plataformas (flat bed trucks?) to move it. The wings were moved first and the fuselage was put on a flat bed to complete the transfer to the airport. A team from the Junta de Investigación de Accidentes de Aviación Civil arrived in Cuenca to investigate the causes of the accident. <Old timers might wonder if the pilots used to fly for Tame. Newbies should Google Tame flight that ran off the end of runway in Cuenca in 2016.>

(De El Mercurio del sábado, 10/10) 190 alcaldes y prefectos investigados, baja alerta (190 mayors and prefects under investigation, under alert) – The Comision de Gobiernos Autónomos de la Asamblea Nacional (National Assembly Committee on Autonomous Governments) approved a report about an investigation into 256 mayors and prefects in the country after which 190 elected officials triggered an alert about their level of assets which didn’t match their incomes. Each official was put in a red, yellow or green category. Those in red and yellow light status showed variations exceeding the capacity of their salaries, had penal investigations, or omissions to the tax system. Those with green alerts had inconsistencies in their income and assets which could be corrected with more information.

The last group of politicians were those that didn’t trigger any sort of alert. In numbers, and without giving names, the Commission reported that 41 (16.33%) politicians were categorized as red, 54 (21.51%) as yellow, 95 (37.96%) as green, and 66 did not trigger any alert. <In other words, only a little over 25% of the politicians came out completely clean in this investigation. I wonder what the results would be if the same investigation were done on the Asamblea representatives or the US Congress?> The Commission also approved sending the red and yellow files to the Attorney General’s office, the National Comptroller’s Office, the SRI, and the Finance and Economic Analysis Unit (UAFE) to review for possible schemes with front men, straw men, use of tax havens, and 3d persons.

The Commission notified the politicians being investigated so they could exercise their rights to a defense and to correct inconsistencies. Those in green weren’t sent to the Attorney General’s office since there was no criminal liability for their actions, but the information was sent to the Comptroller to make preventive examinations under the Assembly’s annual control plan. <So when are high ranking police and military officers, judges, and bankers also going to get investigated?>

(De El Mercurio del martes, 13/10) Cierre en vía al mirador de Turi (Closure of road to Turi lookout) – A sinkhole in the access to the Turi lookout caused the closure of the road for about 30 days while work to guarantee the security of the road is done. The sinkhole is in a stretch about 800 meters from the Turi redondel in the direction going to the lookout close to the stairs and in an area close to the Mall del Alto. Preliminary plans are to build a retaining wall to support the roadway and allow the return of vehicular traffic. The alternate route is to drive to the Turi jail from the 12 de Octobre and autopista redondel.