We live in a pleasant house on an obscure unnamed dirt road; a pencil thin scar that also portions patches of farmland a couple of thousand feet above the Paute River. The homes here have no addresses. The route we give to first-time visitors includes carefully worded directions, a couple of...
Editor's note: This is the second of a two-part series about Wilson Suquitana, Paute’s favorite facilitator. To read part 1, click here. When Wilson Squitana’s father turned his back on him, he knew that the family would never again be whole. He was as confused as the snow swirling the sidewalk...
Editor's note: This is the first of a two-part story about Wilson Suquitana – Paute’s favorite facilitator. Part one: Loss It was a very special December morning for the Suquitana family of Paute, Azuay Province -- a perfect day for welcoming Wilson, the third of what would become six children...
A friend of mine recently failed the government-issued test to become a citizen of Ecuador. Tim Broward (not his real name), 61, is an eleven-year resident of Ecuador who holds a Ph.D. in Educational Development from a prestigious university in the U.S. He scored 58% on a test requiring a minimum...
A close friend of mine recently remarried after being single for over 12 years. I was not surprised. She maintains a healthy diet and likes to be out and about, taking art classes, volunteering once a week for a good cause and having lunch dates with friends in any one of Cuenca’s many fine...
News from Paute Summer visited Paute last week. The days were clear and warm, the nights clear and cool. A full moon added to the joy; it was as luminescent as ice. It is festival season in Paute and we got just what we were longing for: the Pase del Niño Parade … and a party. It was a rousing...
Every now and then we are rewarded with a new dining venue that transcends the parameters of the typical restaurant by offering food and drink that not only surpass expectations but provide a vibrant new meeting place to those who have called Cuenca home for years as well as fresh arrivals anxious...
On December 10, 1869, Wyoming Territorial Governor John Allen Campbell, citing a “progression of understanding,” signed an act of the Territorial Legislature granting white women the right to vote, the first U.S. state or territory to grant suffrage to women. On September 6, 1870, Louisa Ann Swain...
Some of the photos in this series have been saved for a long time; others are as fresh as the week. In every case, these are our neighbors doing what they like to do best: being productive… The clatter of workers climbing aboard the bus from Paute to Cuenca was the first indicator that today was...
I was spending time with the gringo facilitator, German Zhina. He chauffeured me, accompanied me to appointments to accurately translate medical terminology, fixed an electrical connection disrupting my oil heater, programmed my cell phone, performed complex bank transactions, and shopped for my...
