Agents crack down on bus fare overcharges; Election advertising rules are updated; Locomotive dedication postposed; Museum hours, exhibits for the holiday

Bored? –
(De El Mercurio del jueves, 6/8) 47 rostros de la cultura (47 faces of culture) – The exhibit, “Cuenca revelada. Rostros de la cultura 1980-2005″ by Gustavo Landívar Heredia opened last miércoles in the Salón del Pueblo. The 47 photographic portraits are of writers, historians, professors, architects, museum curators, doctors, artists and cultural managers involved with the cultural transformation of Cuenca.

(De El Mercurio del jueves, 6/8) Ramiro Mantilla apuesta por una “construcción colectiva” (Ramiro Mantilla advocates for “collective construction”) – Ramiro Mantilla launched his book, “Emancipación, hegemonía, viajer@s del pluriverso.” (Emancipation, hegemony, travelers of the pluriverse) with several thoughts about constructing a shared destiny: decolonization of knowledge <learning histories not written just by the “winners”?>, defense of territories, and citizen participation.

El Mercado 10 de Agosto celebrates its 72nd anniversary.

His book questions power structures that produce inequality and propose transformations that go beyond changes in government administrations. One of its key areas is intercultural education in which Mantilla proposed recognition of the knowledge/wisdom of peoples and nationalities as their own forms of knowledge and moving beyond educational models that only privilege one cultural vision.

Citizen oversight of institutions and social control present methods to confront corrupt practices and increase participation in public issues. Territory is understood from a different perspective than economic exploitation. Defense of nature, food sovereignty, and protection of community spaces form part of a conception of justice connected to life and not only accumulation. These approaches converge in a single idea: that a just society is defined by its capacity to recognize cultural diversity, to guarantee collective participation, to protect nature, and to question the inherited structures of colonization more than distributing income. <Now, where can I get this book? I’m guessing that this sounds too much like the criminal and corrupt DEI to a lot of you who prefer one dominant cultural vision.>

(De El Mercurio del jueves, 6/8) Conciertos en Cuenca 2026, de agosto a diciembre (Concerts in Cuenca 2026, August through December) – There are at least 4 concerts planned for Cuenca from agosto a diciembre, 2026. The closest is called ‘Seattle Supersonic,’ on el 28/8 which will be a tribute to ‘Nirvana.’ It will be in the Teatro Carlos Cueva Tamariz a las 19:00. Ticket prices are $30 for Golden Box, $26 for VIP, and $22 preferential. <Does that mean preferential is the nosebleed section?>

Andrés Cepeda, winner of 5 Latin Grammies and with 14 albums as a soloist, will be in Cuenca el 19/9. The concert had been planned for abril, but got changed to septiembre due to the curfews in abril. The concert in Quito will be el jueves, 17/9 a las 20:00 in the Coliseo General Rumiñahui. On el viernes, 18/9 a las 20:00, he will perform in the Coliseo Voltaire Paladines Polo in Guayaquil. Tickets cost $43 for General, $74 for Preferencia, and $126 for Cepeda Box.

Soda Infinito will come to Cuenca with their ‘Tour Infinito Ecuador 2026’ which will be a tribute to the Argentine band ‘Soda Stereo’ on el 24/10 a las 20:00 in the Teatro Casa de la Cultura. The show will last 120 minutes. Ticket prices range from $38 to $57 for VIP seating.

(De El Mercurio del viernes, 7/8) Museos establecen sus horarios durante feriado (Museums set holiday hours) – Museums and cultural spaces will stay open during the holidays of el 8, 9, & 10/8 with art, heritage, and history shows. <Just remember that lunes, el 10 is a holiday so if you planned on doing anything involving a bank or government on Monday, change your plans.> The Museo Municipal Remigio Crespo Toral will be open from 9:00-17:00. The shows are “El Modernismo,” “El Coleccionismo”, and “Rostros, Naturaleza, y Rincones. Ecuador en acuarela” by artist Rosalía Andrade. The Museo Municipal de Arte Moderno (MMAM) is exhibiting “Se quema el Barrio” by Jonnathan Mosquera with hours from 9-17:00. The Museo de la Paja Toquilla y el Sombrero will have the same hours from 9-17:99. The Planetario will have FullDome, 360 degree screenings el 8/8 a las 11:00, 12:00, 15:00, & 16:00; and a las 11:00 & 12:00 on el 9 & 10/8. It also will have “Cine en el Planetario” a las 14:00 on los 9 & 10/8.

(De El Mercurio del viernes, 7/8) Cuenca será sede del Café y el Cacao Fest, en octubre (Cuenca will host the Coffee and Cocoa Fest in October) – The Café y Cacao Fest 2026 will be at the Hotel Oro Verde el 9-11/10 during the national holiday. There will be producers, roasters, chocolate makers, baristas, businesses and other parties in the value chain of coffee and cocoa. The program will include a commercial exposition, conferences, workshops and training as well as contests for baristas, latte art, and filtration methods. The festival seeks to promote specialty coffee and cacao fino de aroma and strengthen consumption of Ecuadorian products. <And all you chocoholics are now entering this in your calendars as a “not to be missed” event?>

(De El Mercurio del sábado, 8/8) Un rincón que vale conocer (A spot worth visiting) – The Santa Ana Parish offers a route of bread baked in a wood fired oven and tours through nature. These are part of the Rural Tourism Routes of Cuenca. Santa Ana is 16 km. from the center of Cuenca and has conserved a bread baking tradition for over a century. The route starts behind the church in Sara Chumbay’s house where she learned to bake from her mother more than 50 years ago. She went with her mother on horseback to sell bread in neighboring communities. At the “Y” of Santa Ana, 79 year old Julia Liduvina Luzuriaga and her 88 year old husband, Lucas Mendoza, bake bread los miércoles y sábados from midnight until 5 am. They make between 800-1,000 buns which are distributed in the parish as well as the US. In the La Raya barrio, Fausto Flores and his wife Eufemia Castro continue a 4 generation tradition. They make sweet and salty breads los lunes, miércoles, viernes y sábados. 6 buns cost $1.00 and those with a lot of quesillo cost $.50 each. In La Raya, you can also see the monument to the Horno de Leña (wood oven).

Other attractions include the Iglesia de Ingapirca and the Iglesia Matriz de Santa Ana. 1.2 km. from the parish center is the Mamá Tepal hill. A 15-minute walk from the main road will bring you to a site where you can hike <That 15-minute walk — and I bet it’s all uphill — would be the whole hike for me.> and camp. The Tasqui waterfall in San Antonio de Traban is 20 minutes by car with an hour and half walk after. This route has hiking and horseback riding. In the El Salado community, the Quebrada Oscura has a route of 2.5 km. through a canyon formed by the Quingeo River. The walk to a small waterfall takes 45 minutes and there are areas for picnics and camping. You can call 098 902 5906. Other Rural Tourism Routes are in San Joaquín, Tarqui, Victoria del Portete, Llacao, Baños, Sayausí, Molleturo, Sinincay and Nulti. These locations offer experiences related to nature, gastronomy, traditions, communities and cultural heritage. <At the very least, they’ll take you out of the city into new environments.>

Curious? –
(De El Mercurio del miércoles, 5/8) Esta publicidad electoral no tendrá que publicarse (This type of campaign advertisement cannot be published) – The CNE (Consejo Nacional Electoral – National Electoral Council) will not authorize campaign advertisement the includes, for example, discrimination, exclusion, or restriction based on ideology or political affiliation. It also cannot include content that violates the dignity of people or that contains messages that discredit other candidates using offensive or discriminatory expressions. Campaign material also cannot use images of children or teens or contain messages that look down on peoples or certain ethnicities, including indigenous peoples, afro-Ecuadorians, and montubios in order to guarantee that the campaigning develops in an environment of respect, inclusion and equity of rights. <I wonder if the CNE wrote this after watching the last campaign in a northern country where the winner violated all of these measures – on TV, and without shame.>

These rules should be observed by political organizations, alliances and candidates in traditional media as well as on-line. CNE will review the contents of the electoral materials prior to publication and has the power to deny authorization until the contents have been revised to meet the law. Patricia Solano, an attorney, sociologist, and researcher in human and gender rights, said that political communication should not produce messages that discriminate, objectify or limit people for their gender and should promote respect, inclusion, and equity without reinforcing prejudices. She clarified that freedom of speech does not cover violence, sexism or discrimination. Andrés Quezada, a systems engineer and expert in cybersecurity said that campaign advertisements with sexist, violent, or discriminatory content on social networks can be reported on the same platforms. <Like those platforms are going to do anything about it anyway.> You can use the “Report” or “Complaint” option on the site. You can also report it to election authorities.

(De El Mercurio del jueves, 6/8) Postergan entrega de locomotora 14 (Delivery of Locomotive 14 postponed) – The official dedication of Locomotive 14 was delayed due to a death in the family of the Vice-minister of Infrastructure who was supposed to preside over the ceremony yesterday. The locomotive is considered a railway asset and arrived in Cuenca from Durán in Guayas Province <just in case you’re so new here you don’t know that Guayas is a province – or you’re not so new, but you’re clueless about your new home.> There has been no new date set.

Locomotive 14, a steam engine, was part of the railway patrimony of the country and had an important role in the history of Cuenca, especially in the Gapal sector. The engine was in service until the La Josefina disaster when railroad operations were suspended. <Apparently permanently suspended since the disaster was in 1993 and I haven’t read anything about restoring the rail system.> The locomotive will have a new home in the Parque del Ferrocarril (Railroad Park).

(De El Mercurio del viernes, 7/8) Paso en vía a Pasaje solo de 7:00 a 17:00 (Vía a Pasaje is only open from 7-17:00) – The Ministerio de Infraestructura y Transporte (MIT) said that circulation on the vía Cuenca-Girón-Pasaje in the stretch between km. 76 and 105 will be open only during the daytime from 7:00 to 17:00. This measure will be in effect due to constant falling rocks over the past few weeks. The latest rock slide was this past weekend with drivers detoured to an alternate route through Pucará. MIT said that the contractor is continuing with the clean up work and removing the rocks.

(De El Mercurio del sábado, 8/8) ‘La 10’, un lugar cálido y acogedor (‘La 10,’ a warm and welcoming place) – The Mercado 10 de Agosto opened in 1966 and is celebrating 72 years. Hundreds of families have built their lives around the market including the Toalongo family which specializes in natural juices and sells the traditional drink called “Levanta Muertos” (Raise the dead). This is prepared with a mix of fruit that is reputed to restore energy. <My guess is it has a lot of sugar for quick energy. And if you add a shot of aguardiente, you just might rise from the dead and shoot straight to heaven.>

There are over 700 vendors in the mercado offering a range of products and services from raw and cooked foods to clothing, traditional energy cleansings, and household goods. The festivities will be this coming lunes a las 10:00, starting with a mass. At noon, there will be a solemn session with the substitute mayor, Marisol Peñaloza. At 14:00 there will be a music show with singer Mery García and the Colombian group, Sonora Dinamita.

(De El Mercurio del sábado, 8/8) Lo revisan todo en la terminal (Everything being checked at the terminal) – Before the 10 de Agosto holiday, 5 institutions participated in a control operation at the Terminal Terrestre in Cuenca to verify that the inter- and intra-provincial transport cooperatives are applying the correct fares and not adding unauthorized charges to their riders. Agents visited the transport offices and talked to passengers to verify that the fares charged matched the fares currently in effect which are 25% higher than the fares set in 2021. They also checked the platforms and boarded the buses to verify the service conditions. Also inspected were the mechanical condition of the buses with emphasis on the tires. Controls were conducted to avoid conductors driving under the influence of alcohol. <Glad to hear they didn’t miss that important step. Would you rather be on a clunky old bus with a sober driver or a brand new showroom fresh bus and a drunk driver?>
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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.