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There was a time when Guyana rarely appeared in conversation unless someone had a personal reason to mention it. It was not a place that intruded itself into headlines or travel brochures, and if it did appear in the news, it was usually for reasons that did not...
Did you ever notice how no one on social media seems to have a bad day, an overflowing washing machine, or a disappointing experience? We live in an age of curated presentation that hides the messiness — but also the realness — of life. Azuay Community Theater’s (ACT)...
In conversations with some expats who have been in Cuenca for a while, a quiet pattern begins to show up. It does not arrive all at once, and it is not something everyone notices. But for those who do, it changes how the city feels in a way that is hard to reverse. At...
By Kamilia Lahrichi For expats in Argentina — and all over Latin America, for that matter — the idea of punctuality is one of the hardest things to understand. Argentines, in particular, have a very relaxed attitude towards time. In fact, punctuality can seem rude....
Charlie woke up late on Good Friday, which would not normally require explanation except that in Cuenca, Good Friday means Semana Santa is in full swing, the construction crew on the lot next door has taken the week off, and the particular form of alarm clock I have...
By Luisa Torres As we age, the risk of falling increases and becomes increasingly perilous. A fall can be a real health setback for a frail, elderly person. And, more older adults are dying from falls today than 20 years ago. A recent study showed that more than...
Ever since John Milton wrote his famous poem 'Paradise Lost', something about the word “paradise” that should make a normal person hesitate, because it nearly always comes attached to a brochure, a visa category, a casino in the Bahamas, and a silence about how things...
You don’t notice these rules at first. Most people don’t even realize they exist. Life feels easy enough. The cafés are welcoming. The routines settle in. The city seems open. Then something small happens. A reaction you didn’t expect. A distance you can’t quite...
Bored? (De El Mercurio del martes, 31/3) En muestra pictórica se resalta rostros y paisajes (Art exhibition highlights faces and landscapes) - The exhibit, "Rostros, Naturaleza, Rincones: Ecuador en acuarela" (Faces, Nature, Scenes: Ecuador in watercolor) by artist...
The first time I saw “Gringolandia” listed as a neighborhood in Cuenca, I assumed I had missed a municipal announcement. Perhaps the city council had quietly created a new parish, drawn a few boundaries along the river, and installed a sign somewhere official-looking....
Editor's note: Cuenca's Easter soup, fanesca, is considered by many to be the best in Latin America and it is a tradition among Cuencanos to have at least one bowl of it during Holy Week. It is being served in mercado food courts and in many restaurants around the...
Some of the most interesting restaurants begin with a question rather than a business plan. For Paula, who is from Cuenca, and Wilmo, originally from Loja, that question appeared during a visit back to Ecuador in 2023. At the time they were living abroad, but...
By Lachlan Brown The headlines keep saying Gen Z is the loneliest generation. And the data supports it, in a narrow, specific way. Young people report high rates of social isolation, screen-mediated connection that does not satisfy, and a pervasive sense of...
By Christopher Lux Every egg I’ve eaten in Cuenca has been delicious. When I need eggs I walk to the end of the street to the tienda. The owner, Dianita, puts the eggs I buy in a small plastic bag and tells me to be careful with them. I walk them home, take them out...
For a while, living abroad explains everything. It explains why daily routines feel unfamiliar. It explains why small successes feel meaningful. It explains why so much attention goes into ordinary things like grocery shopping, transportation, language, and finding...
By Elisabet Juan Roca The agave plant is mostly associated with the arid landscape of Jalisco, Mexico, and with its most famous beverage: tequila. But not many people know that 2,209 miles south of there, on the equator, another ancient agave beverage is produced....
During the British heatwave summer of 1959 the songs from the film South Pacific were everywhere. They drifted out of radios, and open windows, and if you were a child wandering about in short pants with nothing much to do except ride your bike and play cricket with a...
People of the tercera edad may remember the 1970s hit duet “Morning Side of the Mountain,” recorded by Donny Osmond and Marie Osmond. The song actually dated from the early 1950s and was originally a hit for an African-American singer, but the Osmonds revived it with...
For many expats, there comes a quiet moment when curiosity begins to return. Not dissatisfaction. Not a plan to leave. Just a subtle shift where the mind starts wandering toward other cities, other landscapes, or other possibilities. At first the feeling can be...
It has been brought to Charlie’s attention, via the informal yet remarkably efficient communications network known locally as “overheard at a café,” that there are several gringos living comfortable, well-fed, and apparently functional lives in Cuenca who, after...
