By Jan Dynes Books were the stepping stones of my life, they became each decades touch stones and they formed me. My choices were an education that allowed me to become and embrace being everything from a queen or princess to being a slave, angry militant, migrant...
By Rick Snyder It’s time to enjoy some famous comedies at An Evening of Short Plays, opening Friday, February 17 at 4 p.m. at the Azuay Community Theater. Following ACT’s first 2 first success productions of the 2022-23, It Had To Be You and It’s A Wonderful Life, the...
By Anastasia Piatakhina Giré We all come to our new country with some kind of luggage. Sometimes we bring with us some heavily charged suitcases, sometimes just a few books and a backpack. Even if we like to travel light, we still carry some pieces of our reality, the...
By Stephen Vargha In the last ten years, Cuenca has become more of an international city with its restaurants. A decade ago, the choices were very limited. Since then, the choices of food and drinks have exploded upon Cuenca’s culinary scene. “When I came back to...
Martin Deschenes describes the cuisine of his new El Centro restaurant, Resto Maple Bar & Lounge, as mostly North American but with a Canadian accent. In fact, Martin just brought back 15 liters of North Country maple syrup from his native Ottawa / Gatineau. “We...
I spent the entirety of one day last week visiting with old friends and enjoying the parade of people strolling by my traditional haunt, Casa Azul Galeria Cafe on San Sebastian Plaza. I arrived shortly after noon for lunch and left for dinner at Raymond Huntley’s...
By Stephen Vargha The Municipal Museum of Modern Art has a long and colorful past. Of course, the Catholic church had a big part in it. It started with Cuenca’s Archbishop Bishop Miguel León y Garrido, who saw a lot of people were drinking and lying on the streets,...
We live in a pleasant house on an obscure unnamed dirt road; a pencil thin scar that also portions patches of farmland a couple of thousand feet above the Paute River. The homes here have no addresses. The route we give to first-time visitors includes carefully...
By Bob Brody I never wanted to live anywhere but New York City, much less outside the United States. I planned to always rent our apartment high above the ceaseless traffic on Queens Boulevard, a short walk from all the fresh bagels anyone could ever want. Yet last...
By Olivia Nolan Cuenca’s supermarkets are a thing of wonder. Their convenience is unparalleled, and if you squint, they might as well be your local Stop & Shop or Safeway. For a peanut-butter addict like myself, I was thrilled to discover that they carry Jif, and...
By Jan Dynes I enjoy word-jams bursting free into a deluge of unrelated thoughts...they increase my gratitude for my life in this beautiful country. I like my simple life and have made peace with all the roads that I took to arrive here. Gypsy spirits roam in wonder....
By Stephen Vargha Less than a decade ago, most Cuencanos did not know what a bagel, the doughnut-shaped yeast-leavened roll that is characterized by a crisp and shiny crust with a very a dense interior, was. “Cuencanos asked me if they were doughnuts. They wanted to...
By Kathleen Wong Lee Harrison never thought he'd retire at the age of 49 – 13 years earlier than when he had planned. He definitely didn't expect that he'd be retired in Ecuador of all places. But at 70, he's happier than ever with his decision, he said. "My father...
Editor's note: This is the second of a two-part series about Wilson Suquitana, Paute’s favorite facilitator. To read part 1, click here. When Wilson Squitana’s father turned his back on him, he knew that the family would never again be whole. He was as confused as the...
By Liam Higgins For both expats and tourists, Ecuador provides an adventure in colorful and often exotic cuisine, some of which is older than the Incas. Here are a few of the traditional foods of Ecuador and the entire Andean region of South America. In Cuenca, if...
It’s 6:04 AM. I’ve been up reading the wonderful anthology of travel essays: Unforgettable Journeys: Great writers on great places,” wherein I discovered two bookmarks, one a photographic print of an abstract image I had created ten years ago that I like less now than...
By Rosemary Rein Since our first article appeared in CuencaHighLife about (FAAN) Familia Amor Animal Foundation in October, the expat community of Ecuador has demonstrated not only their love of animals but their generosity. For 8 years, FAAN has served as a sanctuary...
By Advisory Board staff In 2014, Ezekiel Emanuel — a prominent health policy expert, medical ethicist, and oncologist — wrote an infamous article in The Atlantic called "Why I Hope to Die at 75." Now, just 10 years from his 75th birthday, Emanuel speaks with The...
When a family member who owns property in Ecuador dies, naturally it’s a very sad time for all, one wrought with decisions of what to do with the decedent’s remains, aside from all of the emotion felt at the time of their passing. As a secondary or even tertiary...
Editor's note: This is the first of a two-part story about Wilson Suquitana – Paute’s favorite facilitator. Part one: Loss It was a very special December morning for the Suquitana family of Paute, Azuay Province -- a perfect day for welcoming Wilson, the third of...
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