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Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa celebrated his fifth year in office, Friday night, January 13, in Cuenca. To mark the occasion, supporters threw a party in Alejandro Serrano Aguilar football stadium. Among the 25,000 in attendance were 1992 Nobel Peace Prize winner...
by Mark Raderstorf Thanksgiving 2011 in Cuenca began with a beautiful sunny day -- the perfect weather for the Turkey Trot scheduled for 9 a.m. We met at the starting point, Otorongo Plaza, along the Rio Tomebamba. More than 50 people showed for this inaugural event,...
As announced on Gringo Tree, the big fundraising event of the holiday season is the Christmas Gold for Children Gringo Team Challenge. Each $5 donation, delivered in person to DiBacco Restaurante (Tarqui between Simon Bolivar and Gran Colombia), will purchase a...
Get ready to rumble! The artisans are coming! For seven days, beginning Mon., Oct. 31, Cuenca will become Ecuador’s party central as the city celebrates the 191st anniverary of its independence from Spain. Although the nightly concerts and fireworks shows...
by Susan Schenck The Foundation for the Service of the Illness of Cancer (FASEC), the Cancer Foundation here in Cuenca, is funded and operated primarily by volunteers. Since 1983, FASEC has housed 13,546 patients who couldn’t afford to stay in the hospital while...
By Edd Staton Last Saturday, I visited my dermatologist to have a few troublesome spots frozen on my head. Such is the downside of my grooming choice. If you've never had this done, it's a simple procedure with liquid nitrogen in an aerosol container that...
By Susan Schenck Ten days of no talking, no dinner, no reading or writing, no TV, radio or internet, no meat, no caffeine, no contact with the opposite sex, 12 hours of sitting, getting awakened at 4 a.m. with the sound of a clanging gong—sounds like hell? For...
by Susan Schenck I’ve been fascinated with belly dancing for 30 years. I took classes in San Diego and even performed a couple of times. Then I was invited to an all-women party in Cuenca, celebrating the revolution of Middle Eastern women. We were each to...
by Susan Schenck I hate working out at the gym. Give me yoga, walking, dancing, hiking, biking, skiing, and the mini-trampoline anytime over weight training. Even though lifting weights has never been a joy, I forced myself to do it for the better part of the last 26...
Although it has been called the "Gringo invasion" in newspaper and web articles, Cuenca's influx of foreign residents hardly represents the action of conquering hordes. There is, however, no denying the city's growing popularity among foreigners...
My first night in Cuenca, I attended an event at the Cuenca Chamber of Commerce launching its Cuenca for Expats program. I ponied up $100 to join the Chamber, buying access to the members-only content at CuencaforExpats.com and invitations to Chamber functions. (For...
April 1 isn't April Fools Day in Cuenca. Rather, it's the launch day of several weeks of parades, art shows, concerts, fiestas, and the kind of partying that goes on in a city that's celebrating its founding a mere 454 years ago...
Mike Olson, 65, lives in a modest apartment in Yonkers, a northern suburb of New York. Like many people, he plans to move south to a warmer climate when he retires next month. But in his case, that warmer climate is not just below the Mason-Dixon Line; it's in...
Cuenca is making plans to reopen one of city’s oldest and most historic streets. Actually an alley way, Calle Santa Ana, which runs between the cathedral and Raymipampa restaurant on Calle Benigno Malo, has been bricked shut for decades. City, church and...
Ecuador's initiative to protect the climate and the rainforest of Yasuni National Park by leaving its largest oil reserve in the ground will be supported by a new multi-donor trust fund to offset lost oil revenue, Ecuadorian and United Nations officials announced...
Cuenca is revising rules to protect historic buildings and will have a new comprehensive plan in place by summer 2010, according to officials. Mayor Paul Granda says that because of weak and poorly enforced ordinances, a number of buildings that should have been...
How do Cuenca and Quito compare? It's a question in the minds of many foreigners considering relocating to Ecuador. The short –and probably the best-- response is, ‘come down and see for yourself.’ There are, however, similarities...
Cuenca’s new Director of Cultural Affairs, Diego Carrasco, believes improved planning of department projects will result in better service to the public. Carrasco, a professor at the University of Azuay, has served director of culture for Azuay Province and as...
Despite a looming budget crisis, officials of Cuenca’s new government say they will not postpone their efforts to reduce traffic in the city’s historic district. Improving traffic conditions and making the district more pedestrian friendly were...
The men and women listened to the pitch intently. Ecuadorean immigrants, each had made sacrifices to make the journey north, to live the American dream. Only now, there was a new call - the Ecuadorean dream? "Welcome home," said Pablo Calle, an Ecuadorean...
