Domingo, 21/8/2016: New runway will be good for two years, Drunks and double-parkers beware, Segovia exhibits in Europe

Hola, Todos –

Pagina cultural –

Upcoming agenda events –

Pre-evento – A pre-event to the “Octavo Congreso Mundial de Juventudes Cientificas” (8th World Congress of Young Scientists) will be held in Cuenca on 22/8 at 18:00 in the Biblioteca del Museo Pumapungo.  Biologist Fernando Caroprese will lead the conference.   The congress itself will be in Nov. in Lima.  (I imagine there are scientists among you, gentle readers, but young? AND Spanish speaking?  All three of you?)

Course – Estudio 14 has organized a course to learn the tools for making graphic advertising pieces.  For more info call 096 750 6499 or 099 350 3292.

Fotografía – The photographic show, “Cuenca Profunda y Vivencial” (Deep and existential Cuenca), organized by the Fotocultura-Cuenca is showing in the Salón del Pueblo.  (Would these be the type of images you see on postcards?)

Pintura – Also at the Salón del Pueblo is an exhibit, “Zoología Fantástica” (Fantastic Zoology) by surrealistic artist Iván Peña Cordero.  (Unicorns and basilisks and trump, oh my.)

Articles about –

Eduardo Segovia – Segovia’s work will be showing in Holland and Germany.  In addition to his ceramics, he will also show 4 acrylic paintings.

CCE – The Casa de la Cultura is seeking to open branches in all the cantons of the province  (which is Azuay, just in case you’re so new here or so completely disconnected from the country around you that you don’t know what province you live in.). The goal is to bring cultural activities – academic, artistic and popular to each canton.  Another goal is to teach young people the history of the cantons, the roots of their identities and the reasons for their customs so this knowledge will not be lost. (If you lose your roots, what’s left – western TV and reality shows with ads for crap you don’t need?)

Exchange – the Fundación Huambi Huasi has organized a cultural event for 27 & 28/8 at the laguna de Culebrillas in Cañar. The event will be an exchange of grains and knowledge of ancestral medicine.  Meet on Sat, 27/8 at 8:00 in the parque central of Cañar to organize and climb to the lake.  All are welcome.

Otras cosas – 

Titular –  Durabilidad de obras en pista será de 2 años (Work on runway will last 2 years) – The minimum guarantee on the runway work which will take until 19/9 will be for two years.  (My (worthless) advice would be to not book a flight out of Cuenca after Sept 19, 2018.  The runway will either be under reconstruction or look like the vía to nowherebamba.)  After the two years, it will be necessary to totally reconstruct the runway – down to the base, sub-base and drainage system.  Until Sept, buses from the alliance ATRAIN will be in the parking lot to take passengers to Quito and Guayaquil.  (Don’t fall asleep – you might wake up in Harlem.  Something that would probably scare 80% of you to death.  If you don’t know what I’m talking about, Google A-Train and Duke Ellington and listen.)

Presidential censure – Pres. Correa expressed embarrassment and threatened jail for robbers who stole clothing and luggage from foreign tourists after a transit accident. (So did any of you who’ve been mugged or robbed or burglarized get any response from the Pres.?  I think in the US you’d have to get killed dramatically to get a presidential response.  But it’s a much bigger country.)

Illegal parking – The “Solo un ratito también está prohibido” (Just a little while is also prohibited) campaign for respect for transit laws is being intensified.  Emphasis is going to be on illegal parking and stopping – no double parking, no parking at bus stops, on sidewalks or other pedestrian zones, don’t block the paso zebra (zebra striped pedestrian crossings – even if the paint’s worn off), don’t park in yellow line zones, in handicapped spaces, and don’t block handicapped ramps.  Fines range from 10-20% of the SBU (basic salary) and a loss of 3 points off your license.  If you’re not in the car, it will be towed.  (Now did that get your attention?)

Traffic controls – Because people drink more on the weekend (I guess at least Ecuadorians do – retired gringos can drink as much as they want all week long as long as they don’t get behind the wheel.), controls are intensified on weekends.  15 drivers were detained for drunk driving last Fri. night at controls along Gil Ramírez Dávalos and parts of 10 de Agosto.  Drunk here is .3 grams of alcohol per liter of blood (a lot lower than in the US.  Is that last beer or sixpack really worth spending 5 to 30 days in jail?)

Restorations – Restoration of 4 of the 6 historic houses in the Plan de Reconstruccion de Bienes Patrimoniales Municipales is underway.  The houses are the Casa de la Lira in the El Vado sector, Casa Palacios Abad next to El Otorongo plaza, Centro Múltiple Municipal El Cenáculo at Bolívar y Tarqui, and the Casa del Arco on Loja at the bridge over the Yanuncay.

Section B – Actualidades – I will just give you the subject of the articles in this human interest section.  It’s up to you to go to elmercurio.com.ec if you’re interested.

“Rafa” – An article about El Mercurio’s political cartoonist.

Manuel Cabrera – This healer with the magic hands alleviates joint pain, back pain and more.  He is located in the barrio El Triunfo, vía a San Miguel in the Ricuarte Parish.  (Get your facilitator to get you to the area and start asking around for the curandero if you need some magic hands.)

Michelle Cordero – This 18 year old Cuencana singer has been on the Nickelodeon awards in Bogotá, international channels such as MTV, HTV and Ritmo Son Latino.
 
Carlos Vázquez – This maker of scale models of classic cars has been working for 30 years.  It started as a hobby and turned into a living.

An article about Google.
 
4B is the religion page.
 
Intercultural – The article is about the Tsáchila or Colorados nationality who live in the canton Santo Domingo in the Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas Province.

Hydration – The article is about its importance during physical and sports activities.

7B is the entertainment page.

8B is the social page.  (This is where if I see pictures of gringos, I write their names as Jane D. or John S. along with the event pictured.  I hope you would recognize your name and last initial and remember if you were at the event.)

Internacional –
 
Perú – The number of people affected by the earthquake that struck in the Valle del Colca, in the Arequipa region has risen to over 6,000 including 4 killed and 67 injured.  The 5.3 quake left 382 houses collapsed and 1,469 uninhabitable.

Deportes –

Las Monjas 13K night bike ride – This bike ride will be next Sat, 27/8.  There was/will (?) be an informational meeting at 8:00 at Ciclo Rutas (Remeigio Crespo y El Oro to announce the official route.  The night ride itself will start at 18:00 on 27/8 at the vía a Chaullayacu-Tres Claveles with a 13k ascent to Las Monjas. The route will be along secondary roads and paths.  Cost $15.00 – register at Ciclo Rutas Ecuador.  To ride, you need basic security equipment and lights on the front and back.

And that´s all for today so Hasta Mañana –

Jeanne