Cuenca-to-Galápagos flights approved; These Cuenca restaurants reinvent the sandwich; Poster exhibition; Film festival; Garbage ant celebrates her birthday

Bored?
“Carteles para la Cultura” en Museo Universitario – The exhibit, “Carteles para la Cultura” (Posters for Culture) by designer Pablo Iturralde opened at the Museo Universitario of the U. of Cuenca. The designer collected an anthology of posters created since 1995 for film, dance, music, theater, activism and social protest which have become part of the visual patrimony of the collective memory. The show will run until el 30/9 with hours from lunes a viernes, 9:00 – 13:00 and 14:00 – 18:00. Free.

Se reabre la Biblioteca “Manuel Muñoz Cueva” – The “Manuel Muñoz Cueva” library in the Casa de la Cultura (CCE) will reopen to the public el 1/10 after a closure to update its services. The library is open from M-F from 14:00 – 17:00 to access its collections for reading, studying and consulting. The Archivo Nacional de la Historia Sección Azuay is open M-F from 8:00 – 13:00. <After an hour for lunch, the staff switches over to the Manuel Muñoz Cueva library?> The Archivo is open for consulting historic documents and to promote research about regional patrimony and memory.

Latam will fly the recently approved Cuenca-to-Galápagos route.

Festival de Cine Justicia Ambiental – This film festival will be held in Cuenca on el 24, 25, & 26/9 with screenings at the U. of Cuenca and Park Cuenca. The opening on 24/9 a las 17:00 will be in the Auditorio de Arquitectura at the U. of Cuenca. The film will be La Vida de un Río by Jorge Anhalzer and Naia Andrade which tells about a complete cycle of a river from its source in the Sierra (mountains), fed by páramos and glaciers, to its mouth at the ocean, while crossing different environmental and contamination problems.

Also, el 24/9 a las 20:00 but at Park Cuenca, Se nos hacen agua los helados (Our ice cream is melting) will be shown. <Climate change on an individual level> On el 25/9 a las 20:00, Palo Quemado: Ajedrez en la Casa Común (Burnt stick: Chess at the Common House) will be shown at the Park Cuenca with Pocho Álvarez and Carlos Zorrilla in attendance. On el 16/9 a las 11:00, Helena de Sarayaku will be shown at the U. of Cuenca.

Organizan II edición del evento “Tejiendo Moda” – The 2nd edition of “Tejiendo Moda” (Weaving Fashion) will be held el 11/10 from 15:00 in the Plaza Cívica Gualaceo. Students, local designers and fashion experts will participate with their outfits. Attendees can buy the clothing as well as other varieties of crafts, and more. <All you weavers out there might find this interesting, or maybe you’ve seen it all already.>

Hungry?
La reinvención del sánduche – In the gastronomic world, there’s always space for innovation, and in Cuenca there are different businesses known for fusing the best of their cultures to opening the way for tempting culinary offers.

Mathews Bagels in Puertas del Sol is a Jewish bakery that specializes in sandwiches on bagels <with a description of a bagel following>. It started in Queens, NY in the Jewish neighborhood of Forest Hills and expanded to Cuenca in 2016. Some of the most popular combinations are chicken salad, tuna with vegetables, and cream cheese with smoked salmon. There are also vegetarian, vegan and gluten free options. The menu also includes breakfasts with eggs, bacon, ham, and sausage <made from turkey? or from pork for all of us goys?> Address: Miguel Cordero y Pasaje Miguel Cordero.

Tonino Panino offers Italian style sandwiches. Founder Chef Internacional Tony Pera is from Lucca, Italy, and the idea to sell paninis came from nostalgia and love for focaccia rellena, a typical dish from Tuscany. He wound up in Shanghai where he met his Cuencanan partner. They decided to emigrate to Cuenca where they opened a fresh pasta and Italian restaurant called TPasta. Last year they opened Tonino Panino. Some of their most popular sandwiches are the ‘Dante’ with roast beef; ‘Pinocchio’ with proscuitto cotto; and ‘La Principessa,’ a sweet combination with chocolate and manicho. In addition to classic paninis, the menu has Italian desserts including 3 kinds of tiramisu and a torta mojada (wet cake) with salted caramel.

Roll-it has a creative concept for sushi called a sushiburrito. The invention started when its founders were at university and wanted a different way to eat sushi without losing its essence. The basic sushiburrito is made of sushi rice, nori, fresh vegetables and premium proteins such as salmon, shrimp, octopus, tuna, or crab. Each burrito has its own sauce which gives the burrito a special flavor different from traditional sushi. <Salmon sushi with enchilada sauce? or horseradish sauce? or oyster sauce?> Some of their most popular offerings are ‘Salmon al grill’ sealed with a smoked and different touch; ‘Crabby Crunch’ with crab, avocado, cream cheese and a crunchy coating; the ‘Vegetariano’ which is light, made with fresh vegetables and sauces, and doesn’t have animal proteins; and the ‘Frios’ which were inspired by tradition sushi but with a stronger shape. Roll-it is at Calle Larga 863 and has plans to expand to Guayaquil, Quito, Manta, Cumbayá and Samborondon. Next year they are planning to start franchising their brand. For more information, visit their web page or call 098 584 1924.

Curious?
Cuenca retomará conexión aérea con Galápagos – José Luis Aguilar, manager of the Corporación Aeroportuaria de Cuenca (CORPAC), announced the restart of procedures for the approval of an air route between Cuenca and the Galápagos. He foresees an increase of about 1,200 more tourists each month. The route was requested by LATAM but was delayed due to internal questions about the management of the Galápagos. The situation with UNESCO was resolved and procedures will be restarted in a few days.

LATAM’s proposal is for 2 weekly flights with a capacity for 150 passengers each, most of them from international markets. <Maybe most Ecuadorians able to go to the Galápagos, have already been.> For Aguilar, this new route will improve the connectivity of Cuenca, facilitating the access of a higher level of tourists to the city <As in tourists with more than average money?> He said that the Galápagos are the jewel in the crown for tourists from the US and Europe, who, apart from experiencing the islands, the sea and the beach, want to experience the mountains of Ecuador <Go ahead – name them – the ANDES, – that mystical place from North American grade school geography lessons. The Rockies or Alps never carried that other worldly aura.>, and Cuenca is the best city to do this.

La Hormiga Chúa celebra su cumpleaños (The Clean (Quichua) Ant celebrates her birthday) – The Hormiguita Chua, symbol of EMAC (the municipal garbage company) celebrated its 20th birthday on sábado in the Parque El Paraíso with hundreds of families and a huge cake. <You might have seen the posters with a cartoon ant in the parks.> The campaign, “Todo Suma” (It all adds up) was presented as an initiative to ask citizens to assume shared responsibility in taking care of public spaces. Taking little actions such as picking up trash, or putting scrap paper in your pocket instead of throwing it on the ground adds up to a cleaner city.

Incautan 12 toneladas de droga que iba a EE. UU. (12 tons of drugs bound for the US seized) – 12 tons of drugs bound for the US and México were seized in Ecuador by the Policía Nacional, anti-drug agencies of the US, and with the logistical support of the Ecuadorian Armed Forces. 5 operations were carried out yielding 16 arrests and the seizure of the drugs. Ecuador is 3d in the world in terms of drug seizures, behind only Colombia and the US with an average of 200 tons annually since 2021 and a record of 300 tons in 2024. Official data shows 105 tons of drugs, mostly cocaine, seized in the first half of 2025. <It feels like Ecuador has been stuck with cleaning up another country’s problem and got hit with extra tariffs as thanks.>
________________

Information in this column, including dates, times and locations, is courtesy of the El Mercurio newspaper. Comments between the carrots, or guillemets (< … >), are the personal opinions of the author and not part of the news translation.