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Editor's note: The renovated San Francisco Plaza will be inaugurated this afternoon at 6. President Lenin Moreno will be in town for the ceremony. By Liam Higgins As it prepares for its reopening in today, it's worth a look back at the colorful, sometimes bloody,...
I turned up my collar to the demands of a brisk, damp wind as I skirted the corner of Pío Bravo and Manuel Vega on the east side of El Centro. It was late in November, 2016, and I was plying the streets for photo ops. The light was poor. I shouldn’t have been poking...
The original intent of a photograph is determined solely by its maker. However, interpretations abound by others who have various degrees of familiarity with art. The result? The work is often described incompletely and as being or containing something other than the...
There’s much to be said for reverence and pausing to recognize another person and their condition. For me, the words “caring” and “respect” rise quickly to top of mind when I see these behaviors demonstrated. When a child expresses strong personal feelings about the...
He’s a joker, he protects. He dances with his small “look-alike” guaga, moving through the crowd with both grace and abandon. He steals your hat and wears it for a minute before sailing it back to you. He grabs your girlfriend and kisses her as you stand by...
When it comes to food safety, there are some things we can control, and others we can’t. As reported by the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, health experts agree that North Americans (and by extension, all people who consume the typical SAD diet (the Standard...
By Liam Higgins Students from the University of Cuenca conducting a survey of expats say they have a big problem: telling the difference between expats and tourists. The students say that Cuencanos, and even most expats, are confused by who’s who. “I did the survey in...
Cuenca Days are the most exciting and lively time of year in our adopted city. Cuenca's independence from Spain is celebrated on November 3, and the weather is typically fine — perfect for strolling around El Centro and enjoying artists, musicians, and dance. Of...
By Liam Higgins Expat Patricia Stanyard has lived in Cuenca for four years but had never seen the city from the top of a double-decker tour bus until her sister came to town last week. “It’s fabulous. You get an entirely different view of the city from up there,” she...
As reported in ScienceMag.org in 2017, brain scientists determined that males had “high total brain volume” compared to females, even when corrected for males’ larger average body size. However, women had significantly thicker cortices than men, and thicker cortices...
By David Morrill As an Ecuadorian court grapples with a U.S. extradition request for fugitive Paul Ceglia, a bizarre tale is emerging of the man prosecutors claim tried to defraud Mark Zuckerberg out of ownership of Facebook. A Russian expat couple tells how they...
By Liam Higgins Cuenca resident Kathy McClary recalls the day, a year ago, when she suffered what she calls an “expat panic attack.” “I was having my morning coffee in Café Austria, in the historic district, when I was suddenly overwhelmed with the question: what am I...
By Deke Castleman The taxi took a left off Las Americas at Avenida del Toril, then a right on Camino a Patamarca, and we were in Parroquia Hermano Miguel, just outside the city limits. It was a Thursday morning, when a large open-air mercado happens at the Camal...
By Sylvan Hardy Expat newcomers to Cuenca, and even old-timers, are often led to believe that there are limited options when it comes to finding affordable property in the country. “When I moved here two years ago, everybody told me that the only places to look if you...
By Sylvan Hardy Get ready for fireworks, cookies, candy, honey bees, and general craziness. Cuenca’s Corpus Christi celebration, commonly known as Septenario or Setenario, kicked off yesterday with a Catholic mass and procession followed by the sales of pastries,...
By David Morrill Gerard, coordinator of Cuenca’s English-speaking Alcoholics Anonymous group, recalls standing on the second-floor balcony of the AA meeting room on Presidente Borrero on a Friday afternoon several years ago. Across the street, on the balcony of Zoe...
The local taxi cooperative hopes that larger taxis will soon be cruising Cuenca streets. “We’re waiting for the National Transit Agency to give us approval to replace some of the current taxis, which are compacts, with SUVs capable of carrying larger loads,” says...
By Karla Betania Sánchez Arismendi Three cups of talent, 2/5 cup of laughter, three spoons of family drama, four cups of love and five of bad words. With the premiere of Kitchen Witches, Azuay Community Theater has proven that it is recharged! The first day of the...
My writing assignments often evoke in me a feeling of inadequacy and, at the same time, the recognition of great fortune. This is not a new sensation, it is a lasting collection of emotions that visit me often and reveal their intentions as I fidget in trepidation...
The AgroAzuay organic market in Ciudadela Kennedy is expanding its sales to Sundays. Market managers said the decision was made due to the increasing number of shoppers. Over 250 organic vendors and producers participate in the market located at Av. Max Uhle at...
