City looks to contain urban sprawl; Cañar railroad chugs back to life; Local femicides mount; Park attracts thieves; Nights of Tango, symphonic rock

Lunes, 23/5/2022

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –

From el sábado, 21/5/2022 –

Pista abierta para los “tangueros” (Open floor for the “tangueros”) – There will be a “Noche de Tango” el miércoles, 25/5 in the Casa de la Lira. Claudio Ullauri formed a group six years ago to teach tango. The group has currently grown to about 50 people who meet for free tango dances and to learn the dance on the last jueves of each month from 19-22:30 in the Casa de la Lira (Calle de la Condamine).

Tres días al ritmo del rock sinfónico (Three days to the rhythm of symphonic rock) – The concert, “Tetralogía Sinfónica del Rock,” will be presented by 60 musicians from the Orquesta Sinfónica de Cuenca and 40 singers from the Coro Polifónico of the U. of Cuenca on the 26, 27, & 28/5 a las 20:00 in the Teatro Carlos Cueva Tamariz. Songs from bands such as Queen, Pink Floyd, Guns N’ Roses, and Scorpions will be interpreted. You can get tickets at the Almacenes La Victoria or at the theater box office on the days of the shows.

Titular –

The long-abandoned railway in Cañar Province has been revived and offers three tours for locals and tourists. (El Mercurio)

Densificación urbana, reto de planificación (Urban densification, a planning challenge) – The Concejo Cantonal, in its 2nd debate, is defining the Plan de Desarrollo y Ordenamiento Territorial (PDOT – Land Development and Management Plan) and the Plan de Uso de Gestión del Suelo (PUGS – Land Use Management Plan). The Consejo is talking about increasing density in the city which has grown without order. Under discussion are limiting the urban area and the area for urban expansion, and making the city denser by being more flexible with high rise construction. <Might be a good idea to involve the building department and code enforcement as well. Hate to see all the hi-rises falling down if there’s ever an earthquake.> The proposal to update the PDOT includes densifying the population in rural areas so that Ricaurte and Baños could reach 120 people per hectar. In the rest of the rural parishes the population could reach 80 people per hectar. The exceptions would be Nulti, Paccha, and Llacao due to their geological instability. The goal is to reduce urban sprawl and unplanned growth. <Does anyone really want Cuenca to get the reputation of the LA of the Andes?>

Another topic discussed in the first debate was the incorporation of land in Ricaurte, San Joaquín, Sayausí, Sinincay, Baños, Turi, y El Valle into the urban land rules. This would cost over $1.53 billion to upgrade infrastructure and provide services to the projected population. Ex-mayor Fernando Cordero said that this expansion would double the urban area from 7,000 hectares to 14,000 hectares, and that there aren’t that many people. 1.5 million people could live in the current Cuenca.

Cuenca –

El parque que nunca vio la luz (The park that never saw the light) – Over a half million dollars was budgeted and approved in 2018 to build a park in the ciudadela Las Pencas Bajas. But nothing was done because the Tranvía got priority. The site is on calles Del Fico and Del Mirto in the west part of the city. The park was supposed to have a multi-use sports court, lighting, and stairs connecting the high part with the lower part of the land. But the area has been abandoned and has been “converted into a den of thieves.” Neighbors say there is a lack of recreational space for children and youth. Another problem in the barrio is a sewer leak from an adjoining ciudadela that’s especially noxious when it rains.

Sucesos –

14 días marcados por femicidios (14 days marked by femicides) – Between 5 & 19/5, there were 3 femicides in Cuenca and Nabón. A 16 year old boy was processed for killing a 22 year old woman la madrugada (early morning hours) of jueves in the El Progreso parrish in Nabón. The teen went to the woman’s house, they talked, and the teen became physically aggressive and allegedly strangled her with a shoe lace. In Cuenca, the mother and padastro (stepfather – your word for the day) were processed for suffocating/ strangling (?) her 5 year old daughter. The stepfather is in preventive prison, and the mother is wearing an electronic monitor and prohibited from leaving the country. The child was killed in the family home in the Las Pencas sector. The 2nd femicide in Cuenca was discovered when the body of a woman was found in the río Tomebamba in the 3 de Noviembre and Unidad Nacional sector. The husband was charged with hitting his wife, from whom he had been separated for 3 months, 11 times with a rock and then throwing her body in the river.

Region –

Ferrocarril revive en un camión que recorre el Cañar (Railroad revives in a truck that travels through the Cañar region) – A Chevy truck has been transformed into a tourist train that travels along the rails and tunnels of the old railroad. <It’s bright red, and the engine is pulling 2 cars. Very cute.> The train was conceived of and built by 2 cousins and operates as “Zhalao, turismo y aventura.” <That’s what you need to Google if you’re interested.> It has a capacity of 30 passengers including space and access for people with disabilities. There are 3 routes of varying lengths and prices and you can get tickets at the Ecuayasuní TOUR on Av. Alberto Ochoa y Marisca Sucre, Biblión. The $3 tour (children $1.50) is through the town center with a tour of the tunnels and rail line. The $10 tour ($5 for children) adds the surroundings of the Santuario de la Virgen del Rocío (cerro Zhalao). The $15 tour ($7.50 for children) includes the two other tours and food plus entry to the Centro Artesanal de la Paja Toquilla, the religious museum, the crypt, and the tower in the Santuario de la Virgen del Rocío. <I’ll be the oversized kid in the engine who paid an extra $20 to toot the horn.>

Mundo –

Logran aumentar producción de carne y bajar las emisiones (Increased meat production and lower emissions achieved) – A dozen Latin American countries are driving sustainable ranching with projects that increase meat production and lower greenhouse gases. The initiatives include environmentally friendly practices such as care of pastures and management of residues and waste. <Is that the euphamism for cow s**t?> There have been 30 projects implemented with support from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization in Argentina, Brasil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Honduras, Panamá, Paraguay, República Dominicana y Uruguay. In Ecuador, the “Ganadería Climáticamente Inteligente” improved 40,000 hectares of soil and more than a thousand head of cattle, with an income increase of 16% and a 26% reduction in gases. The ranching sector in Latin America is responsible for only 2-3% of the total greenhouse gas emissions in the region.

And that’s all for today so hasta ? –

Jeanne
__________________

Editor’s note: Jeanne’s Periodico is a translated digest of news from the Cuenca daily newspaper El Mercurio. If details, such as event dates and times, do not appear in the translation, they did not appear in the newspaper (please don’t ask her for them). The text between the carrots, or guillemets (< … >), is Jeanne’s personal opinion and not part of the news translation.