Cuenca is country’s most expensive city; Ecuador’s oldest movie is screened; 10 de Agosto market celebrates; Bountiful gardens feed the Achuar

Miércoles, 7/8/2024

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –

3 días de música en el cantón Sígsig (3 days of music in Sígsig canton) – National and international artists will perform in Sígsig as part of the vacation season. The schedule started miércoles. “Sígsig fest 2” will be el viernes starting a las 20:00 in the playas de Zhingate with DJs Papa Oso, Marco Rojas, y Gustavo Cajamarca. The shows will end el sábado a las 21:00 in the plaza 24 de Mayo with performances by Papá Chango, the Los del Río orchestra, and DJ Cristian Trujillo.

The 10 de Agosto market is the first in Azuay Province and the second in the country to receive the certification as a “Gastronomic and Tourist Market”. The designation will be celebrated Thursday. (El Mercurio)

Concierto por el Día de la Cultura dará la Sinfónica (Symphony Orchestra Concert for Culture Day) – The Orquesta Sinfónica de Cuenca and the Lumiére Estudio de Danza will perform a concert mañana <jueves since I am translating on miércoles> for the 79th anniversary of the Casa de la Cultura del Azuay as part of the Día National de la Cultura which is commemorated every 9 de agosto. The concert will be a las 20:00 in the Teatro Casa de la Cultura with parts of the ballets, “La Bella Durmiente” (Sleeping Beauty) and “El Lago de los Cisnes” (Swan Lake) performed by the orchestra and dance studio. The orchestra will present “Yumbo” without the dance studio.

De El Mercurio del martes, 6/8 (2 articles):

Festejos para el mercado 10 de Agosto (Festivities for the mercado 10 de Agosto) – The mercado 10 de Agosto is the 1st in Azuay Province and the 2nd in the country to receive the certification as a “Mercado Gastronómico y Turístico” (Gastronomic and Tourist Market). The event will be Thursday a las 18:00 as part of the festivities to commemorate the market’s 70 years. <Celebrate with a plate of hornado, cuy, or fried chicken or fish depending on your individual tolerance for local delicacies.> Marisol Peñaloza, vice-mayor, said that the “Diez” will be an example for the rest of the markets that are following the steps to get this certificate.

Diego Cedillo, director of the Municipal Markets, said that the festival schedule will continue el viernes, 9/8 from 14:00 with performances. Activities will start a las 8:00 el sábado with the Guardia Ciudadana band, a solemn session, and more.

“Escenarios del Mundo” tiene ya las 12 obras para el festival (“Stages of the World” already has the 12 works for the festival) – The “Escenarios del Mundo” Festival Internacional de Artes Escénicas de Cuenca announced the winners which will be part of this festival which will start in octubre. The XVIII edition will have 12 works, 6 in a conventional format and 6 in a outdoor short format. In addition to Spain, which is the guest country of honor, there will be performances by groups from Argentina, Chile & Perú as well as national companies. The program will include text theater, gestual, dance, new circus, clown, stand up, pantomime, puppets, and theater with new languages. (The article has the list of all 12 works and the theater companies.)

Titular –

Los 100 años del cine ecuatoriano (100 years of Ecuadorian cinema) – The 23 minute movie “Film Centenario,” made in 1922, was shown in the Teatro Sucre Wednesday. This is the oldest film that Ecuador has and the restored movie premiered in Cuenca as part of the celebration of 100 years of Ecuadorian film. The movie filmed the celebrations of the first Centennial of the Republic including parades with the cavalry and infantry marching in traditional 19th century uniforms and Prussian spiked helmets, inaugurations of monuments and buildings, clothing revealing the widespread use of the hat, and the population shining at their major galas. <Sounds like something that would be covered by news broadcasts now.>

The original film was found in a storeroom in the Ecuadorian Embassy in France by the cultural attaché, Jorge Luis Serrano. He decided to explore and found 25 reels of old 16 and 35 mm. films. There were 6 really old ones labeled ‘Centernario del Ecuador.’ Serrano contacted the Instituto Nacional del Audiovisual (INA) in France, and it was determined that the film itself was cellulose nitrate which was used in the 1910’s and 20’s. A private lab played the film and found the images were of high quality and the film in perfect condition due to optimal storage conditions in the Embassy. The movie was digitized and copied onto polyester 35 mm. The hard disc and 35 mm. film were given to the Cinemateca Nacional in Ecuador to be preserved, while the original stayed in France due restrictions on transporting the cellulose nitrate which is flammable or inflammable.

The “Film Centenario” is not the first Ecuadorian movie, but is the oldest film that has been conserved. El 7 de agosto, 2024 commemorates 100 years of Ecuadorian film in honor of Augosto San Miguel, a Guayaquileño who is considered the first film maker in the country. His films are only known through newspaper archives and include “El Tesoro de Atahualpa” (1924) (The treasure of Atahualpa) which is an inverted Western in which the indigenous <the Indians> are the heroes. “Se necesita una Guagua” (1924) (A baby is needed) satirizes the persecution by the conservative party against the revolutionaries of the era. “Un abismo y dos almas” (1925) (An abyss and 2 souls) tells of the repression by the feudal employers of the Indigenous. <San Miguel sure wasn’t shy about expressing his political leanings.>

Cuenca –

Cuenca continúa con canasta básica más cara del Ecuador (Cuenca’s basic basket continues to be the most expensive in Ecuador) – The cost of the canasta básica (basic basket <of 75 products>) in Ecuador reached $798 last julio. This is an increase of $18 over julio de 2023, and $2.25 over last month. Cuenca has the most expensive basic basket in the country at $840.24 in julio. In julio, 2023, it was $808.32, and in junio, 2024 it was at $834.95. The 2nd highest basket was in Manta with $827.87 with Quito 3d at $824.62.

Cuenca also had the highest annual inflation, closing julio at 2.6% above the national rate which was at 1.57%. The inflation rate in julio, 2023 was 2.07%. Air fares and low octane gas were among the products the increased the most between the prices in julio, 2024 and julio, 2023. The annual inflation rate for air fares was 18.69%; Extra gas rose 15.95% from last year, and Ecopaís rose 9.43%.

Actualidad –

‘Chacras’ de la Amazonía nutren, curan y enseñan (Amazon ‘Chacras’ nourish, heal and teach) – (chacras – huertas – vegetable or market gardens, your word for the day) The chacras found in indigenous communities in the Amazon aren’t just simple crops but a labyrinthine amalgam of plants and trees that nourish, cure and transmit centuries of learning. In Sharamentsa, an indigenous commmunity near the border with Perú, Verónica Tentets emphasized the importance that these agricultural systems worked by women have for the achuar life. The astonishing variety of plants in Tentets’ chacra include yuca, green plátano, papa chino (taro or pituca), papa achuar, pineapple, guaba (guama or pacay), yellow and white camote, green onions, papaya, sugar cane, and a countless number of timber trees and medicinal plants. As in all chacras, the products are used mainly for family and community consumption. But in Sharamentsa they also sell the products in their own Centro de Turismo Comunitario (CTC). Tentets said that with the chacra, instead of going to the market, we get everything we want. She emphasized the importance of the space which needs to be cared for with dedication since they consider it as part of their life.

And that’s all for today so Hasta ? –

Jeanne