Cuenca News
Negotiators from the government and the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities begin talks today in Quito to resolve differences that led to the 18-day strike earlier this month. The talks, to be moderated by the Episcopal Conference of the Catholic church, are scheduled to last 90 days. Talks begin just days after President Guillermo Lasso claimed...
“Things have returned to normal,” Azuay Province Governor Matías Abad said Monday in response to a question about essential supplies reaching Cuenca. “It has taken more than a week since the end of the strike to be able to say this but we are finally overcoming the backlog. The situation with cooking gas has been...
Although prices are rising throughout Ecuador, the cost of living for the typical family is the highest in Cuenca. June figures released last week by the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC) showed that the cost of the Basic Family Basket — food and other household items considered essential — rose to $775.32 a...
By Stephen Vargha Guitarist Renato Albornoz and comedic genius Mel Brooks have something in common. Neither of them can read or write music. Brooks confessed he is a “hummer.” He is a composer who came up with the melodies and left it to others to transcribe and arrange them. That is what he did with...
By Sylvan Hardy Expat radio host Ron Gordon is back on the air. In fact, it’s Gordon’s third time broadcasting Café Blues on Cuenca’s Antena Uno (www.antenauno.com), 90.5 FM. His first broadcasts date back to 1995 when he took a break from his law practice in the U.S. to teach English literature and writing to...
The Cuenca Municipal Health Council says it is “highly alarmed” by the rapid rise in positive Covid-19 tests in recent weeks and says it may recommend changes to local health policy. Health council advisor and medical researcher Bernardo Vega said Wednesday that there were 479 positive PCR tests during the week of June 27 to...
By Stephen Vargha Convención del 45 has a very interesting history. The barrio, which encompasses about 24 blocks on the west side of Cuenca, was one of three entrances to the city in the 19th century and early-20th century. The other two were El Volcán and El Vecino. “Many would rest in this barrio before...
More than 20 properties, including 15 hectares of planted crops, have been flooded near Gualaceo as the San Francisco and Santa Bárbara Rivers overflowed their banks Sunday and Monday morning. Flooding was also reported near Paute due to a weather system that has dropped as much as 70 millimeters (2.75 inches) of rain in some...
By Silvia Ascarelli Bill and Dean Keyes and Chase and Saralee Squires separately say they have found the same retirement spot with perfect weather — temperatures in the upper 60s and low 70s year-round during the day and in the upper 40s at night during the winter (in this case, August and September). Their dream...
By Stephen Vargha Most know a soup kitchen as a place where free food (usually soup and bread) is served to the homeless and destitute without judgment or discrimination. These places are usually run by charitable organizations and staffed by a group of volunteers. Cuenca Soup Kitchen started out that way but has morphed into...
Cuenca was busy Friday clearing and cleaning roads while hundreds of supply trucks, some of them stuck behind roadblocks for two weeks, rolled into town. Markets and stores were busy refilling shelves that had been left empty by the 18-day indigenous strike and LP gas supply trucks resumed their routes to commercial customers. Friday night,...
Editor’s note: Long-time expat Dave Nelson died early Friday morning in Cuenca. He was 93. Born in a small town on the Oregon coast, Dave spent most of his professional career as a workers’ comp attorney in Oakland, California representing injured workers. Besides his legal advocacy, he described his job as being a social worker...
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The Cuenca Dispatch
Week of April 28
General Motors Auto Parts Manufacturer Laments: “Today Marks a Dark Day for the National Industry”.
Minister Requests Resignations in Termogás Machala, Dubbed ‘Epicenter of Energy Inefficiency’.
Chevrolet to Cease Car Assembly in Ecuador by August, Production to Halt in Colombia.