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Cuenca’s decision to crack down on unlicensed street and bus vendors is meeting resistance. Last Wednesday, about 70 vendors protested in Parque Calderon, claiming that their livelihood is being threatened. On Thursday, another protest was held on the Plaza Otorongo...
Cuenca’s Municipal Transit Authority, DMT, said it continues to study the pedestrian crossing problem on Av. Las Americas but cautions that it must complete its studies before adding new features. Residents of the Jacaranda Park neighborhood, near the entrance to the...
A hotel building boom is underway in Cuenca and current hotel and hostal owners are questioning the need for more rooms. Two mid-rise hotels are currently under construction in El Ejido, between the football stadium and Av. Solano, and a larger one, in the design...
Cuenca is counting its birds, so far identifying 80 species living in the city and suburbs. The city’s Environmental Management Commission has enlisted the University of Azuay and professional ornithologists to conduct the survey. The project began in March and...
Ecuador's Superintendency of Telecommunications (Supertel) has ordered Movistar Ecuador to submit a plan to improve service quality in Cuenca and several other locations. The regulator said that monitoring has detected the existence of problems with Movistar's rate of...
Cuenca traffic police are warning drivers to stay out of specially designated bus lanes in El Centro. Bus lanes are located on Calles Juan Jaramillo, President Córdova, Sangurima and Muñoz Vega, and plans are in the works to add them to other streets, including Gil...
The Ministry of Economic and Social Inclusion (MIES) has interviewed more than 386 unrepaid members of the failed financial cooperative Coopera to assess their need for government assistance. MEIS says that 106 members remain to be contacted, 98 declined interviews...
Cuenca’s new bus system is causing widespread confusion among city commuters. Called integrated transport by the city’s transportation office, the new system is based around two transfer stations where passengers can change buses at no additional cost. The city says...
By the weekend, customers will see price increases for both cigarettes and beer in city supermarkets, tiendas and mercados. The increases are the result of a decision by distributors and producers. The cost of a Pilsner grande (600cc) rises from 90 cents to a dollar....
Save your appetite for Sunday afternoon. That’s when the doors open on Cuenca’s 19th Annual International Food Fair at the Mall del Rio Convention Center. In addition to Ecuadorian comida tipica, the fair will feature food from Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the...
Editor's note: This is the second of a two-part series about the collapse of Cuenca financial cooperative Coopera, and the aftermath. By David Morrill Coopera’s troubles went public on June 6, when police arrested chief financial officer Aldo Santiago Calle and...
Editor' note: This the first of a two-part series about the collapse of Cuenca financial cooperative Coopera, and its aftermath. By David Morrill In June, when the Cuenca-based cooperative Coopera was shut by federal officials, it was one of Ecuador's largest...
By Kelly Swing Ecuador's president, Rafael Correa, announced earlier this month that he has no choice but to go ahead with drilling operations in one of the planet's most biodiverse region, the Yasunà national park. Back in 2007, he proposed the YasunÃ-ITT initiative,...
Editor's note: Adapting to life in Ecuador is an on-going topic of conversation among North American expats. Yolanda Reinoso Barzallo turns the tables and tells the story of being an Ecuadorian living in the Middle East and the U.S. She is a native of Cuenca and the...
More art, less graffiti. That’s the goal of Cuenca’s new graffiti ordinance, passed by the cantonal council last year, and both graffiti artists and and government officials agree that the new program is off to a good start. Martin Arevalo, a spokesman for...
The famous indigenous outdoor market in the town of Otavalo, a two-hour drive north of Quito, is one of the best places to buy Andean art, crafts, textiles and indigenous jewelry in Ecuador. But if you're visiting Ecuador and your trip is limited to Cuenca and...
When Sonia Punin established Art Cuenca in late 2011, her goal was simple. “I wanted to bring artists and art lovers together in Cuenca,” she says. Although Cuenca enjoys a reputation as Ecuador’s arts capital, Punin saw a problem. “Even though...
Note: See the date this article was published. Some things may have changed; for the most up to date information, check out Orange Wings and Ribs Facebook page. At this fairly recent addition to the Cuenca dining scene, the name is in English, the menu is in Spanish,...
Editor´s note: The following is from the Smithsonian Foundation blog by Alastair Bland, "Off the Road: The Travel Adventures of a Nomad on the Cheap." Alastair Bland is a freelance journalist based in San Francisco who writes about international...
Save your appetite for noon on Sunday afternoon, November 11. That’s when the doors open on Cuenca’s 18th Annual International Food Fair at the Mall del Rio Convention Center. The food fair is the largest dining event in Cuenca, last year serving almost...
