Cuenca-Manta and Cuenca-Galapagos flights begin service in 2022; Cultural events slowly reactivate; More vaccines on the way; 47 craftsmen graduate

Jueves, 30/9/2021

Hola, Todos –

Going to be a short issue today. My paper arrived soaking wet and sort of fell apart when I tried to separate the pages to dry them. No, I didn’t iron it – just hung what survived over the stair railings.

Actividades –

Al pasillo le rinden hoy tributo con conciertos (Tribute to the pasillo with concerts today) – Bit by bit, Cuenca is reactivating cultural and social events. There were 5 simultaneous chamber concerts today honoring the pasillo. <Remember when this section of the Periodico used to have as many as 10 or 12 activities?>

Titular –

Buscan evitar más asesinatos en las cárceles (Seeking to prevent more murders in prisons) – See story in Thursday’s CHL.

Cuenca –

Cuenca’s Mariscal La Mar Airport will welcome new airlines n 2022.

47 maestros artesanos se gradúan en la Escuela Taller (47 master craftsmen graduate from the Workshop School) – This miércoles, 47 students received Maestro Artesano degrees from the Escuela Taller Municipal, endorsed by the Municipio de Cuenca and the Junta Nacional de Defensa del Artesano. The theoretical and practical two year program prepared the students, who were from at risk populations, to work in beauty, ebanistería (carpentry), jardinería, decorations for the house, and gastronomia. This was the 4th course with the 5th starting on martes. <Sounds sort of like a technical school or junior college.>

Hábitos saludables y ejercicio diario para tener un corazón sano (Healthy habits and daily exercise for a healthy heart) – The Día Mundial del Corazón (World Heart Day),is celebrated each 29/9. The Hospital Vicente Corral Moscoso called for the population to be conscious of the factors for cardiac risk which include high cholesterol, obesity and overweight, smoking, arterial hypertension, diabetes, and more. To prevent deaths from a derrame cerebral (stroke) or infarto agudo de miocardio (ataque cardíaco – heart attack – your words for the day and for the 911 operator if you should be so unfortunate to need an ambulance), the hospital started a Hemodinamia service in julio, 2019. The cardiologist’s advice didn’t make it through the soaking.

Autorizados vuelos entre Cuenca y Manta (Flights between Cuenca and Manta authorized) – Ecuatoriana Airlines plans to start flights next year on various routes in Ecuador including between Cuenca and Manta. On 31/8/2020, the airlines applied for permission to operate regular, public, and domestic air transport of passengers, cargo, and mail. <Except there isn’t a mail service any more.> The airline will be based in Quito, and received authorization to fly between Quito and Cuenca with 7 flights per week, and between Cuenca and Guayaquil with 6 flights per week. It will also fly between Quito and Loja, Tulcán, Esmeraldas, Salinas, Guayaquil, Santa Rosa, Lago Agrio, Coca, Manta,and Macas. Other routes include between Guayaquil and Quito, Latacunga, Manta, Loja, and Santa Rosa. Included in its fleet will be Beechcraft B1900C, Bombardier Dash 8-Q2002, ATR 42-500, Airbus A-220-100, Airbus A319-320, Boeing 737-300-400-500, and Boeing 717-200 aircraft. Tour operators are hoping that more tourists will come to Cuenca from Manta and Manabí.

A Galápagos tourism promotor, Víctor Vanegas, of Ecuador Turismo, said that Galápagos Airways Gaw received authorization from the Dirección General de Aviación Civil (DGAC) to fly betwen Cuenca and Baltra and San Cristóbal. The company was a beneficiary of the redistribution of routes left by TAME when it went into liquidation. <Good for Cuenca – operators can offer Cuenca/Galápagos packages.>

Mundo –

OPS cierra acuerdo con Sinovac para dar vacunas en América (OPS closes agreement with Sinovac to provide vaccines in America) – The Organización Panamericana de la Salud (OPS) announced that it reached an agreement with Sinovac to sell 8.5 million vaccine doses on the American continent through its rotating fund. The director of OPS said the organization has started accepting the first requests from countries ready to accept delivery. So far 24 countries have requested doses, and Sinovac has offered 8.5 million doses for the rest of 2021, and another 80 million for 2022. The OPS is also in advanced negotiations with other companies. <If the US wants to counteract Chinese influence in Latin America, a good place to start would be releasing information that would allow Latin American countries to start manufacturing their own vaccines. The whole give a man a fish vs teaching him to fish thing.>

And that´s all for today so Hasta ? –

Jeanne