Cuenca and Quito airports sign agreement, Bookstore café opens, Witness supports Glas, City bus study, Chordeleg receives UNESCO recognition

Martes, 28/11/2017

Hola, Todos –

Pagina cultural –

Upcoming agenda events –

Concierto – The Orquesta Reciclada de Paraguay will play Wed. a las 20:00 in the Greek theater at Turi. Free.

Conference – The U. of Cuenca will start the 2nd edition of the Jornadas de Historia del Arte y Arquitectura (Art and Architecture History Conference) Wednesday a las 9:00 in the Aula Magna “Mario Vintimilla Ordóñez with the theme, “Modernidad y Vanguardia en América Latina entre 1930’s y 1970’s” (Modernity and Vanguard in Latin America between 1930’s and 1970’s). This conference for professors and national and international researchers will run until el viernes.

Free Media Festival – This “evento Non-Profit” will be el 7/12 at las 16:00 in the Rizoma Plataforma Disidente. It will be based in the logic and proposal for an “Economía Basada en Recursos” (Resource Based Economy) <Their guest speaker should be someone from Chevron.> which would be created to become a cultural adventure with the integration of the scientific and art community as its main objective. <?????? I’ve translated it, but have absolutely no idea what it means.>

Articles about –

Interview – The Minister of Culture and Patrimony was interviewed.

Teatro – “Ferguson y sus Amigos” is a play done by children, for children and will be staged el jueves a las 19:00 in the sala “Alfonso Carrasco Vintimilla” in the CCE.

Pálier – The bookstore-café at the CCE opened el sábado anterior. It used to be the “Pedro Páramo” Bookstore. It carries art books and literature by famous authors and contemporary writers. There are books for children, youth and adults. <But probably not for monolingual English speakers. Although maybe you should try a children’s book. See Jane run level?>

Cine – A Peruvian director and actor who was invited to participate in La Orquídea Film Festival said that the future of film in Latin America is co-production. The Rally Cinematográfico was won by a team from the U. of Cuenca for their short film “Antojo.”

Otras cosas –

Titular – Se confiaba en Glas (He trusted Glas) – The ex-legal secretary of the President’s Office, Alexis Mera, reaffirmed that Glas “maltrató y ofendió” (mistreated and offended – your words for the day) <It seems like too many of you have mistreated and offended way too often while on line.> Odebrecht for pointing out faults in the San Francisco project and then kicking Odebrecht out of the country. <Maybe all that means is Odebrecht didn’t hold a grudge.> He also pointed out that when Glas was appointed to manage the strategic sectors of telecommunications, hydroelectrics, and oil; he wasn’t responsible for awarding contracts.

An assistant to Glas since 2007 confessed she worked for Odebrecht from 1996-2003. She was asked if she’d seen Odebrecht’s Ecuador director in the VP’s office (sporadically); if Glas’ uncle called him a lot (but the VP didn’t answer); and if Glas met with private investors on his trips to Brasil (probably met with Odebrecht).

Vía Rápida – The new date for the completion of the vía rápida Cuenca-Azogues-Biblián will be 25/2/2018. The part of the road in Azuay will be ready at the end of the year.

Referendum support – A majority of mayors support the referendum and marched from the parque de El Arbolito to the Plaza Grande in Quito to show their support. The president of the Association of Municipalities of Ecuador said it would not get into “la disputa” between Correa and Moreno and that “no nos queremos inmiscuir en temas que no nos competen” (we do not want to interfere in issues that do not concern us) <Whereas unelected gringo residents are only to happy to weigh in with all four feet, the anchor, and the kitchen sink.>

Meanwhile, about 500 members of Confeniae (Confederación de Nacionalidades Indígenas de la Amazonaía de Ecuador) <All cognates, all yours which in the future I will abbreviate to ACAY.> started a march from Puyo in Pastaza Province to Quito. The group wants answers to issues they raised last 4/7 such as emblematic disputes over land and territories, restitution of bilingual intercultural education and institutionalizing the dialogue process.

City budget – The 2018 budget is $244,242,919 plus a “complementary amount” of $29 million for a total of $273 million, $10 million above last year’s budget. The $29 is for a package of projects such as park construction and remodeling under the Cinturón Verde (Green Belt) program. The budget was sent to the City Council’s Financial Planning and Budget Committee for their analysis after which it will go to the Council for a first hearing and then a second and final hearing. It should be approved by 10/12. <Just enough time for each entity in the chain of approval to stamp it and pass it on.> Other big amounts include $79 to finish the Tranvía and pay for start up costs and maintenance; and $18 for a new interchange at De Las Américas y Del Toril spread over 2 yrs.

The 8 municipals businesses present their budgets to their own board of directors. The businesses are administratively and financially autonomous.

Airports – CORPAC, which administers the Cuenca airport, and Quiport S.A, which manages the Quito airport, signed an agreement Monday to coordinate and share information to improve airport operations. The Cuenca airport currently has 27 daily routes to Quito and Guayaquil, flying 25,000 passengers a month.

Euro 5 study – The Department of Science and Technology at UDA was commissioned to do a study for the city. It will do performance testing on Euro 5 buses with the diésel that is currently available in Cuenca. The report will be needed to make decisions about the fare increase to 31¢ which had as one of its 23 conditions, renewing the fleet with Euro 5 buses.

Discounts – For Christmas, there will be discounts at the municipal mercados during diciembre. They will have 15-40% off, raffles, and yapas.

Chordeleg – The city was named to UNESCO’s Network of Creative Cities in the Crafts and Popular Arts category. It’s known for ceramics, jewelry, straw weaving, and footwear.

Internacional –

Venezuela – The Government and the opposition will be meeting in the República Dominicana starting 1/12 for for a dialogue before the elections on 10/12.

And that´s all for today so Hasta Mañana –

Jeanne