People

Ketzel Levine is sitting in a vegetarian restaurant in Cuenca. She pauses in her narrative of how she went from a long career at National Public Radio to animal advocacy in Cuenca, and checks her watch. She has an important commitment to keep. Then she continues, "If I hadn't been laid off from NPR, would...

By Dr. Lee Dubs    Author's Note: For the purpose of narrowing the field of subject matter in this article, the term “Americans” is used to refer to people from the United States. There is a specific Spanish adjective for U.S. citizens – estadounidenses – which does not have an equivalent in English. The word “americanos”...

Motorcycles. Far more than just transportation, motorcycles have always been associated with thrill-seekers and daredevils, rebels and outlaws, escapists and freedom-lovers. No mere car ever fueled the fantasies of an entire generations like the bikes ridden by Marlon Brando in The Wild One, James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause, Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper...

By Deke Castleman Though he says, “Everyone thinks I’m an extrovert, but I’m not really,” Lee Dubs can often be found chatting with customers at Carolina Bookstore, which he co-owns with his wife Carol. He’s not only one of the friendliest and most visible gringos in Cuenca, he’s also lived here since 2003, an eternity...

It's the sort of thing most people fantasize about while stuck in yet-another rush-hour back-up: chucking it all and moving to a tropical country. For Barb and John Porter, it's more than fantasy — come October, the Burnaby couple will be in their new home in Ecuador, South America, fulfilling their retirement dreams after many...

The ornate lobby of the nation’s vice presidential palace is teeming with people in wheelchairs and on crutches, mothers leading the blind and the developmentally disabled. Many are here because they believe that the man upstairs is one of their own. Ever since a thief’s bullet ripped through his spine 13 years ago, Ecuador’s vice...

A plane from Ecuador lands in Europe. Those carrying European passports go quickly through migration, while the queue of Ecuadorians does not move. They are questioned at length, as their luggage is scanned. Eventually their passports are taken away, and they are all moved to a waiting room without any explanation. This is the beginning...

[Editor´s note: The following was submitted by Linn Vermilion Smith, a Cuenca expat working with a project to assist two rural schools and the children attending them.] This is a call for help to the Gringo community in Cuenca and beyond. In November, Edd and Cynthia Staton and Will and Val Lacy visited two rural schools,...

Rosa Vintimilla, president of Roviza, S.A., one of Cuenca´s largest and oldest insurance agencies, says that misunderstandings among both foreign residents and citizens keep many Ecuadorians uninsured. “One thing I hear is that good, reliable insurance is not available and this is simply not true,” she says. "There are many companies, including companies from the U.S. and Europe, offering...