Posts:
Rachel Zeigler is the representative from American Citizens Services (ACS) for the district that includes Cuenca. She's based at the U.S. Consulate in Guayaquil, a division of the U.S. State Department. She visited Cuenca a few weeks ago and held a lunchtime...
by Anne Carr The third health discussion group was held Friday June 3. The consensus was that a survey might help in planning various kinds of quality care for expats who might need extra support in daily living activities at some time in their life in Cuenca....
The federal government has announced that Cuenca will recieve $4.1 million to draw up final engineering plans for the city´s proposed light rail system. Carla Herman, working with a group of French engineers who have completed preliminary work on the project,...
by Anne Carr Recently, a student from L.A., here in Cuenca to study for a few months, and I carried out a series of interviews with extranjeros (foreigners), mostly jubilados (retirees), and Cuencanos. The intent of the interviews was to identify some of...
The Miami Herald International Edition has announced plans to increase news coverage in Cuenca and southern Ecuador. The newspaper also plans a home-delivery subscription drive, targeting Cuenca´s English-speaking expat population. Owned and operated by...
The mounds of reeking garbage on the edge of this settlement 600 miles off Ecuador’s Pacific coast are proof that one species is thriving on the fragile archipelago whose unique wildlife inspired Darwin’s theory of evolution: man. Tiny gray finches,...
On a recent day, the man known in Ecuador as the Gringo Chief wore a traditional black smock and a necklace strung with jaguar and wild boar's teeth, perfectly suitable for the Cofan Indian ceremony marking the acquisition of yet another slice of rain forest. With...
by Anne Carr and Monica Aguilar Sizer Here we are in Cuenca -- visas, residency, property, and all! Most of us researched Ecuador extensively before we came to visit, then arranged our return to stay long-term here. Almost everything is perfect about Cuenca: climate,...
As Latin American economies strengthen and incomes rise, the behavior of Latin American consumers is changing and so are their shopping habits. “Consumption becomes very important as a signal that your family is moving up,’’ said Lovina McMurchy,...
Photographs by Edd Staton Edd Staton (of the eddsaid blog) and I met for lunch at Carbón, the parillada (grill) at the Cuenca Hotel, centrally located on Presidente Borrero between Gran Colombia and Mariscal Lamar. Meeting at noon, we beat the downtown lunch...
Ecuador voters will vote on 10 constitutional reforms, including a bullfighting ban and measures that critics claim is an attack on the free press. Two recent polls predict that voters will approve all the proposed reforms. The top issue on the ballot, however,...
[Editor's note: An exposition of the work of Cuenca cermacist Eduardo Segovia opens tonight at Larrazabal Gallery on San Sebastian Plaza and continues through mid-May. The show features new work by the artist and is titled "Compositions Between Black and...
Mixx isn’t merely a new ice cream shop in a city and country full of ice cream shops. It’s a world-class operation, with a great location on Plaza de San Blas, state-of-the-art equipment, and flavors limited only by the raging imagination of the Canadian...
It's a common topic of discussion around here in expat circles: What impact will the fate of the U.S. dollar have in Ecuador, which uses the U.S. dollar as its currency? Everyone seems to have a different idea about the future of the U.S. dollar in Ecuador. Some...
On Monday, Ecuadorian authorities delivered Colombian drug trafficker and an alleged leader of the criminal gang "La Cordillera," Jhon Jairo Vasco Lopez, to their Colombian counterparts. Vasco, alias "Nico," will be transferred to a courthouse in...
When Rafael Correa became president of Ecuador in January 2007, he was sworn in in unique style. The ceremony took place in the Andean town of Zumbahua and Mr Correa wore an embroidered shirt typical of some highland villages. Shamans shook sacred herbs over his head...
Although April rainfall in Cuenca is running well above normal, the city is being spared the devastation seen in northern parts of the country. Severe flooding in Quito has wreaked havoc on the city´s major streets and highways, destroying dozens of cars...
My first night in Cuenca, I attended an event at the Cuenca Chamber of Commerce launching its Cuenca for Expats program. I ponied up $100 to join the Chamber, buying access to the members-only content at CuencaforExpats.com and invitations to Chamber functions. (For...
Although the low cost of health care in Cuenca has long been a draw for foreigners relocating to the city, it is beginning to catch the interest of international medical tourism companies. Alex McClellan, a former U.S. hospital administrator, says he expects to see...
After Ecuador and the U.S. dismissed each others’ ambassadors last week, the future of diplomatic relations between the two countries remains strained although both sides say they already working on reconciliation. The U.S. State Department says that Ecuador has...
