Domingo, 24/1/2016: French film festival opens on Tuesday, 17 Zika cases confirmed, City living = diabetes, Medicinal garden plants

Hola, Todos – 

Pagina cultural – 

Música – The Polifónico Festival de Músicas del Mundo will open with the group “Tres Marías” on Tue, 26/1 at 20:00 in the Teatro Pumapungo.

Cine – “Humano” will open the Segundo Festival del Cine Francés (all cognates so you can do your own translation) on Tue, 26/1 at 19:00.

Electrónica – “La Noche Vudú” (Voodoo night), an electronic music session will be on 29/1 at 21:00 at Space (that’s the club on Remigio Crespo near the Totems that’s partly in an airplane.) with DJs Laura Jones y Alex Arnout.

Articles about –

A book by Simón Validivieso Vintimilla called “José de la Mar y Cortázar.  El mariscal de seis esclavos”  will be launched on Wed, 27/1 at 19:00 in the chapel of the Seminario San Luis (Simón Bolívar y Pres. Córdova).  From what I can gather from the article, de la Mar, a Cuencano, was a contemporary of Simón Bolívar (and you should all know who Bolívar was and shame on you if you don’t) and considered a traitor.  The Cuenca airport and the street Mariscal Lamar are named for him. Attendees of the book launch will get a free copy.  (And just because it’s free isn’t a good enough reason to go grab one if you aren’t going to read it.)

A concert with mixed church bells and ensemble on Tue., 26/2 at 19:30 in the Santo Domingo plaza.  A group of 10 musicians will fuse melodies with the sounds of the church bells at Santo Domingo, San Alfonso and the Museo Catedral Vieja. (This sounds like it’ll be as good as a piece I heard that fused music with a telephone ring – back when phones rang and before they barked, honked or played the William Tell Overture.)

Artist Josefina Flandoli is preparing a retrospective (I think) exhibit called “700 Lunas.”  (700 Moons)  She would be called a naif artist and has won awards and been exhibited in the US, Europe, Latinamerica and China.  (And before you complain that I didn’t give any date or time, let me remind you – if they’re in the article I always include them.  If they aren’t, be patient and have faith (sometimes I wish that English had an imperative tense), when the preparations come to fruition, there will be more articles in the paper.)

Two Argentineans who are holding a translation workshop.  (I bet there are those of you out there who think I would benefit by such a workshop.)  The workshop on 26 & 27/1, will be about translating literature and poetry from Portuguese and English to Spanish.  (That lets me off the hook.) Go to comunicacion@bienaldecuenca.org or call 283-1778 or 283-4253, ext. 112.

Otras cosas –

Titular – Super nevada azota EE.UU.  (Super snow lashes US – I like nevada/snow for your word for the day.  There’s a state named for it, too.) Up to yesterday, 2,014 flights had been cancelled (and you know more about this from CNN or whatever your US news sources are that I do.).

Pres. Correa rejected – criticism from his opponents about excessive public spending and pointed out that public savings from 2000-2006 was at 5.9% and from 2007-2014 it was 10.2%. He explained that without public savings there could not be public investment, and that Ecuador has invested in things that will benefit the future such as hydro-electric power which will save $1.3 billion/hr. in imported fuels.  To his critics who insisted that there should be liquidity he answered that putting your money under the mattress is dumb. (He’s talking about the stuff he got a Ph.D in.)

The Ministry of Health – confirmed 17 cased of Zika virus in Ecuador, but none of them are pregnant women.

Your sliver of life article today – is about Carnaval security.  “..evitar el juego en los cuadales de los afluentes.”  (Don’t play in the rivers.)

Actualidades – 

Articles about –

A new world of technology bursting into tourism with robot waiters, drones taking pictures (of your reaction to puenting or the zip line – the drone has to be back far enough to get more than a video of your dental work), and 3D printers.

Diabetes – 2/3 of sufferers live in urban zones, and city living favors diabetes according to architect and urban planner Richard de Pirro of Harvard University.  (He should know – it was architects and planners who designed cities for cars instead of walkers.)

San Felipe de Oña which is a town on the southern border of Azuay with a heritage going back to pre-Incan times.  (The photo shows a very picturesque dirt road between ancient houses with balconies over the sidewalks.  Imagine some of the older parts of av.? calle? Loja without asphalt.)

Medicinal uses for common garden and farm plants. The article covered the benefits of nettle, dandelion, and amaranth along with recipes and dosages.   For more info on nettle, go to www.ecoagricultor.com; for dandelion to www.ecoosfera.com and http://salud.uncomo;  and for amaranth to http://lasrecetasdesilvia.blogspot.com/.  (I only checked out one of the sites and it’s in Spanish and you have to poke around a little – what else did you expect?)  For the amaranth, there are recipes for breakfast hour, lunch hour, dessert hour, tea hour and supper hour.  (Isn’t that as many meals as hobbits eat?)

The Anthropocene Era which we are in and the 6th Mega Extinction which may be coming.  (And now you know what I know because I only read the headline and blurb.)

Internacional –

Bolivia – Pres. Morales has opted, for the second time in 10 years, to maintain the current cabinet for continuity and stability before next month’s Constitutional referendum.

Colombia – The Pope will visit Colombia in 2017.

Venezuela – Henry Ramos Allup, president of the Venezuelan parliament, said Maduro should step down because the economic crisis won’t be resolved by his government.

Deportes –

Bici Cuenca and Cooperativa Jardín Azuayo – sponsored a ride to commemorate the fiestas de Sinincay.  About 300 cyclists left the Coliseo at 9:00.  (I wonder how many made it to Sinincay – that’s all uphill.  So interested cyclists need to look up Bici Cuenca.)

And that´s all for today so Hasta Mañana –

Jeanne