Cajas bus accident kills 6; Adventure cinema at Pumapungo; Gov’t to decide basic salary; City lights up for Christmas; Tour France with Alianza Francesa

Lunes, 4/12/2023

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –

Danza en Pumapungo – The dance work, “Consequencias Imprevistas,” (Unintended Consequences) will premier in the Teatro Pumapungo (Calle Larga y av. Huayna Cápac) el 6/12 a las 19:00. It is a contemporary dance, physical theater, and improvisation work. Fee.

Cine de aventura – The Festival Ecuador Cine Aventura will be in the Teatro Pumapungo hoy and mañana (Tuesday). Starting a las 19:00, documentaries and short films related to adventure sports will be screened. You can get tickets at the Teatro Pumapungo box office. <This is for those of you who’d rather enjoy extreme sports from the comfort of a theater seat instead of standing on a pair of skis or a surfboard.>

The city of Cuenca aims to improve pedestrian safety by installing new pulsating lights at crosswalks. (El Mercurio)

Lluvia de estrellas (meteor shower) – On the night of the 14/12 and the madrugada del 15/12, Cuencanos will have the chance to see the last meteor shower of the year. To see it, it’s best to leave the ciy and find an open space without light pollution. The “Stellarium” app, will tell you where to look and what you’re seeing. <Without the app, all I could exclaim is “Wow, I see a lot of stars!”>

De El Mercurio del domingo, 3/12/2023 (3 articles):

Idioma y cultura francesa – The Alianza Francesa de Cuenca is organizing a ‘viaje linguístico’ (linguistic trip) between junio y julio, 2024. Participants will travel to different areas of France and learn about the language and French culture. <Lots and lots of good food? And a chance to confuse yourself by adding a 3d language to the one you know and the second you should be trying to learn.> There will be an informational talk el 9/12 a las 13:00 in the auditorium of the Alianza for people interested in learning more about this trip.

Talleres de danza gratuito – There will be free classical and contemporary dance workshops el lunes, 4/12 in the “Catalina Sojos” auditorium of the Casa de la Cultura (Pres. Córdova 7-89). The classical dance workshop will start at 11:00, and the contemporary dance workshop at 17:00. Free.

Exposición de bordados seguirá tres meses más (Embroidery exhibition extended for three more months) – The exhibit, “Bordando: mujeres creando historias,” (Embroidering: women creating stories) will be at CIDAP until marzo, 2024. The exhibit contains embroidered pieces made by Chilean craftswomen as testimonies to social events that occured during the dictatorship in Chile in past years. The hours are from lunes a viernes, 8-17:00; sábados from 8-13:00 and 13:30-16:30. <Has the customary 2-hour lunch which was typical when I got here now shrunk to a half hour? Blame gringos for that.> Free.

De El Mercurio del sábado, 2/12/2023 (1 article):

El ‘jardín mágico de Sayausí (The “magic garden” of Sayausí) – The ‘Jardín Mágico’ of Lola Galindo is at km. 1.2 on the vía to the community of Buenos Aires in Sayausí, off av. Ordóñez Lasso. She has built a greenhouse with paths through it where you can admire, learn about, and buy succulents. She has over 100 species of different colors and sizes. Admission to the greenhouse is free, a plant costs $1.00. Call 099 137 6878 for an appointment.

Titular –

D. Cuenca clasifica a la Sudamericana (D. Cuenca qualifies for the Sudamericana) – <OK, done.>

De El Mercurio del domingo, 3/12/2023 (1 article):
Gobierno definirá salarios (Government will define salaries) – Workers and employers were not able to reach an agreement for the increase to the Salario Basico Unificado (SBU – Unified Basic Salary) for 2024, leaving the decision in the hands of the Government. Workers wanted an increase of at least $100 on top of the current $450/mo. Employers based their offer on legal and technical guidelines and wanted a $4.12 increase. Pres. Noboa has until el 22/12 to decide.

Cuenca –

Reminder for a U.S. consular Town Hall meeting:
When: Town Hall: Tuesday, December 5, 2023, 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM – No appointment required. Where: Abraham Lincoln Center, Calle Borrero 5-18 and Honorato Vásquez

US Consul General Erik Martini followed by guest speakers from Ministry of Tourism and Ministry of Foreign Affairs will speak on topics of interest to US citizen expats living in Ecuador, including Ecuadorian visas, tourism in Ecuador, and end of life preparedness. There will be opportunities for questions at the end.

Llega la ‘blanca Navidad’ (White Christmas’ is here) – Cuenca is lighting up for the holidays. <No, it’s not lighting up those funny cigarettes.> Businesses started first with decorations and lights in their windows. The Archdiocese of Cuenca followed on the noche del 2/12 when they lit the Seminario San Luis, Calle Santa Ana, and the Old Cathedral. Municipal spaces will also be lit. El 7/12 will see Christmas lights at the Portal Artesanal and the Convención del 45. There will also be a show with drones on el 7/12. On el 9/12, the lights will go on along av. Solano. On el 10/12 the parque Navideño which is composed of the parque Circo Social and Tarqui-Guzho will be lit. The big Christmas tree has been set up and will be lit a las 19:00 el 10/12. <But they must be testing the lights because they’re on right now. I can see them from my window. 20 min. — pause — now they’re testing the colored lights. All I can see is a thin strip on the side cycling from white to red to green to blue.>

9 semáforos para peatones (9 pedestrian traffic lights) – In the mobility system, pedestrians have priority, and drivers of the more than 145,000 vehicles in Cuenca are obligated to respect this. <As those of you who walk have discovered, just because it’s an obligation doesn’t mean drivers comply.> Currently there are 9 pulsating traffic lights in the city that pedestrians can activate by pushing a green button mounted no higher than 1.5 m. The pedestrian cycle starts when the button is pushed. <Seems like there should be a few seconds of yellow for the cars to clear the intersecion.> 5 of them are located near schools. The length of the pedestrian cycle is based on an average pace of a half meter per second with an extra 3 seconds for the pedestrian to clear the road. The time of the pulse cycle depends on the width of the road.

Following are the 9 locations of the pedestrian semáforos (stoplights – your word for the day). So you can tell your cab driver, “En el semáforo, gire a la izquierda,” instead of just hollering, “Luz! Izquierda!”>
Mercado 10 de Agosto Calle Larga y General Torres
Función Judicial – Av. José Peralta y Cornelio Merchan
Universidad de Cuenca (Campus Central) – Av. Doce de Abril
Universidad del Azuay – Av. Veinticuatro de Mayo
Unidad Educativa La Salle – Av. Fray Vicente Solano y Calle Luis Morena Mora
Federación del Azuay – Av. Doce de Abril y Calle Floreana
Universidad de Cuenca (Campus Balzay) – Av. De los Cerezos y Calle Victor
Albornoz
Universidad Católica de Cuenca Faculta de Agronomía – Panamericana Norte y
Calle Joaquina Galarzo
Hospital del Río – Av. De las Américas.

De El Mercurio del domingo, 3/12/2023 (1 article):
Buñuelos y tamales: 2 sabores navideños (Buñuelos and tamales: 2 Christmas flavors) – For fiestas or important events, Cuencanos have a motto – food is essential. Each holiday has foods associated with it, and Christmas comes with Easter bread (panettone), turkey, tamales y buñuelos which are served with honey. >Now getting your Easter bread at Christmas is really pushing the envelope for Latin American lateness.> Tamales y buñuelos are brought to religious meetings and show up at novenas and family gatherings before Christmas. They also show up at markets, cafeterias and holes in the wall. Sandra Barros sells them at the mercado 12 de Abril.

Sucesos –

De El Mercurio del domingo, 3/12/2023 (1 article):

Seis fallecidos en accidente en vía Molleturo-El Empalme (Six dead in accident on vía Molleturo-El Empalme) – 6 people died and 14 were injured in a bus accident at km. 94 on the vía Cuenca-Molleturo-El Empalme el viernes, 1/12 las 20:00. First reports from passengers said that the bus lost its brakes and rolled at least 300 m. down a chasm. There was neither lighting nor phone service where the accident occured. Some passengers were able to climb out of the ravine to ask for help. In total, the Cuenca Fire Department, MSP, IESS, the Red Cross of Azuay, and Transit agents responded with 11 ambulances and other rescue vehicles. The first responders who arrived first came from Station 12 at km. 69 of the vía Cuenca-Molleturo.

And that’s all for today so hasta ? –

Jeanne