Expat Life

On the desktop of my computer is a picture of my son walking through the courtyard of a Cuenca apartment building. It was taken a week before his fifth birthday. Everything in the picture reminds me of our time in Cuenca — the plants, the architecture, the beautiful weather, the statue of Mary, and even...
Editor’s note: The following is a letter from David Derby to Mayor Marcelo Cabrera on the subject of graffiti in Cuenca. David, a visitor from the U.S, met and spoke to the mayor at a public function in January and was encouraged by Cabrera to follow up with a letter. This is the English-language version...
On February 19 we had a presidential election which brings to mind a number of observations. In Ecuador, at age 16, you are eligible to vote; from age 18-65 voting is mandatory; over 65 it’s not mandatory; even if you’re not a citizen, if you have permanent legal residency, you can vote. The political parties...
By Iimay Ho When the Muslim ban was announced last month, I was with my family during the Lunar New Year holiday practicing ritual, honoring ancestors, and eating dozens of dumplings. I watched in confusion and horror as the news broke in my family’s living room via Chinese satellite TV, struggling to pick up what...
By Ernie Millard When traveling to Ecuador tourists are usually satisfied with their superficial experiences with the people and their destinations. However, when relocating, and becoming a resident here, the discrepancy between the exquisite scenery and landscapes, and the brutal living conditions, and poverty of their local surrounding neighbors becomes a stark reality. New residents...
People are people no matter where you go. Even though some customs, languages, skin colors, dress and religions are different, we are the same. We enter and leave this world in the same manner. We have the same kind of emotions across the world; some are sad, some happy, some love and some hate. I...
By Deke Castleman Quick: Who’s buried in Grant’s Tomb? How long was the Hundred Years War? The Canary Islands are named after what animal? And what country do Panama hats come from? If you answered General Ulysses S. and his wife Julia, 116 years, the dog, and Ecuador, you’re smarter than you look! It’s one...
By Magdalena Herreshoff My husband Daniel and I are artists. He is a jazz and blues piano player and I am a poet. We met Johnny Jara Jaramillo in the first year of retirement to Ecuador in 2011. A friend of ours had a love affair with him and she introduced him to us as...
By Sylvan Hardy Though the four rivers of Cuenca are what impressed the Spanish settlers in the 16th century when they formally named the city, “Santa Ana de los Cuatros Rios de Cuenca,” the indigenous Cañari tribe identified it in a different way: “Guapondelig” or “Plain Wide as the Sky.” When the Inca conquered the...
In Cuenca, there are a lot of shine men. Some guys just have a cardboard box with their supplies inside. You’ll have to put your foot up on the curb or elsewhere for there to be sufficient elevation for the work to be accomplished.  Other guys wheel their shine stand around. Even others give up...
Text and photos by John Keeble Cuenca is building on its rich heritage as a beautiful and sophisticated city to become known, first nationally and then internationally, as a destination for conferences and seminars. City tourism officials working with organisers planning events in Cuenca, including the steering committee for the 2nd Cuenca International Writers Conference...
She was in a dilapidated wheelchair rounding the corner on General Torres by San Francisco Plaza, pushed by a man who might have been her son. He was ancient himself but he didn’t have the years that she did. The wrinkled faces of the elderly; there’re stories there. You have to be a special kind...

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The Cuenca Dispatch

Week of March 24

“They are pressuring me to resign so they can remove me from office,” denounced Verónica Abad, Vice President of the Republic.

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Ecuador Navigates Economic Challenges with IMF Agreement Looming.

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“Since when does thinking differently mean being a traitor?” Pierina Correa questions in reference to the Tourism Law.

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