Domingo, 8/11/15: Black theater, red meat, Correa & water

Hola, Todos –

Pagina cultural –

Cómic – More than 100 illustrators, graphic designers and students exhibited their vision of Pokémon at the Café Cómic in Bolivia.

Cine – With the screening of “Tangerine” by American Sean Baker, the jury of the Mar del Plata International Film Festival will select one of 12 films for the Astor de Oro prize.

Ordenanza – The City of La Paz passed an ordinance to publish its materials in Spanish and Aimara and use both “idiomas” (languages – your word for the day. In spite of its ending in “a” it is masculine because words ending in “ma” are almost all masculine.) on posters and signs.
(Must be a slow culture day here in Cuenca. None of the agenda items are local.)

Articles about –

Mexican author Rubén Cortés who has just published “Un bolero para Arnaldo.” (A Bolero for Arnaldo. A bolero is a type of music or dance – as in Ravel´s Bolero).

Chilean writers who went to Sweden as political refugees during Pinochet´s reign of terror. (So what turned that country around 180 degrees that now they can´t promise they won´t just ship Assange to the US if they get their hands on him?)

The II Bienal Internacional de Danza de Cali (got all that without my help?) will be until 14/11/15.
(Real slow day – I might as well put these items into the Internacional section.)

An ad for – The Teatro Negro de Praga (The Black Theater of Prague) will have one performance on Sun, 15/11/15 at 17:00 in the teatro Banco Central with “Las Aventuras de Fausto” and “Sueño o Realidad?” (The Adventures of Faust and Dreams or Reality?) Buy tickets at ecu-ticket. Info at 0981231527 (if your Spanish is up to it.)

Otras cosas –

Titular – “Monseñor solo siente “gratitud” para todos”. (Monsignor feels only gratitude for everything) as he leaves Cuenca to take over the archdioses of Guayaquil. (Sounds like a promotion to me.)

Drones casero (homemade drones – another word for the day – casero.) – were demonstrated in parque El Paraiso yesterday. One of the booths was how to make your own drone cheaply. (But I bet they didn´t teach anyone how to mount a gun on it to start shooting Middle Easterners in hospitals and at weddings.)

Red meat – consumption has gone down since the World Health Organization issued its report that red meat can cause cancer. Ranchers are worried. (So the answer to “Where´s the beef?” is “In the pasture.”) Per capita consumption of meat in Ecuador is 14 kilos. (That´s about 1-1/3 oz per day.) In Uruguay it´s 65 kg and Argentineans eat 105 kg. (Google says In the US, meat, poultry and seafood consumption is 202 pounds with half of it red meat. Almost as much as Argentina.)

Correa´s Sat. speech – The Pres. denied that cargo vehicles will need to be retired and replaced at the end of their useful lives of 30 years, but said that only the vehicles which pass the annual technical inspection will be allowed to operate. He also announced a project to calculate water usage and charge water wasters 2 cents more per cubic meter if their water comes from a municipality and 6 cents more if it comes from the feds. Industrial rates are also being looked at. Ecuador pays the most in the region for water with Cuenca´s rates the highest in the country. (The accompanying photo shows Correa sitting behind a desk with a puppy (looks like a Golden) in his lap, licking his ear. Remember Nixon and Checkers? Clinton and Buddy? Ford and Liberty? It´s as if you need a dog to be really presidential.)

Police – caught 3 suspicious characters on a bus to Guayaquil on Fri. night after the other passengers called to report suspicious activity. The cops found a loaded gun and 3 knives (looks like half a set of steak knives) in a juice carton in the last seat. (A juice carton should slosh instead of clunk when it´s picked up. Have any of you decided that from now on, you´re flying instead of taking the bus?)

Mining – 3 mines are in Cuenca´s jurisdiction and in the páramo. FOA (Federación de Organizaciones Campesinas e Indigenas del Azuay – Federation of Countryfolk and Indigenous of Azuay) are saying that extensive studies of underground water sources should be done before any mining activity is started. ETAPA contracted with a French firm in 2012 to review the environmental studies and it recommended more detailed studies about underground water. Pres. Correa said 700 test wells were drilled at Loma Larga and Río Blanco without water being found. (But where did they drill? At the rockiest parts of the site?)

An ad for – a conference before Habitat III on medium sized cities – an international debate on sustainable urban development. From 9-11/11 in Cuenca. Go to www.habitat3.org/cuenca for more info.

Actualidades –

Articles about –

Don Carlos Pesántez Pesántes, a poet among other things, born in 1872.
Hidden treasures of El Tablón and Saraguro which include Putushío hill, a condor habitat, La Chorrera and local food.

Calle Santa Ana – a Colonial street in the vicinity of del Vado which has disappeared. One end is blocked by a wall with a door and the other appears to be through a store. This is the oldest neighborhood in Cuenca dating back to 1557. There are several historic houses around the Cruz del Vado including la Casa de la Lira (which houses the music conservatory), Casa Donoso, Casa Rodríquez, Casa Patio and Casa Taller.

Aziza – a 14 year old Afghan girl whose family fled the war and went to Kabul. She now works to educate other refugee children and is one of 3 nominees for the International Peace Prize for Children which will be awarded in Holland on Mon.

Birmania (Burma/Myanmar) – was an isolated state from 1962-2011. The country where most of the population still doesn´t have electricity is “El Dorado” for foreign investors who want to exploit resources such as gas and precious stones. (What do you want to bet you´ll be able to see the gas plant from space – set in darkness because the neighbors still won´t have electricity?)

Amenidades –

The Rolling Stones – announced a Latinamerican tour which will start in Chile on 3/2/16 and go to Buenos Aires (7, 10, y 13/2); Rio de Janeiro (20/2), Sao Paolo (24 y 27), Porto Alegre (2/3) in Brazil; Lima, Perú (6/3); Bogotá Colombia (10/3), and México, DF (14/3). (Better start making your plans now.)

Deportes –

An article about – “Richard Boroto: un “Gringo” más bien cuencano” (Richard Boroto; a gringo more a good Cuencano) has been retired a year from the Abraham Lincoln Center, but he hasn´t left his two passions behind – practicing sports (which is probably why he´s in the sports section) and teaching his native tongue (Pennsylvania-ese).

Saturday´s news of note-

El Paseo del Niño Viajero – the big pre-Christmas parade will have a new starting point and staging area. The parade will start at the iglesia de San Sebastián instead of the usual Corazón de Jesús and participants will line up along 3 de Noviembre in the sector Puertas del Sol rather than along Gran Colombia. (So if you live along the new staging route, either plan on leaving town or staying at home all day. And maybe giving a parade watching party.)

A town in Minas Gerais, Brazil, was wiped out by a flood of toxic mining waste from a burst holding pond. (Hello, Loma Larga and Río Blanco – contamination of subterranean water isn´t the only problem to be faced. You know the mining company isn´t going to clean up after itself. It´ll leave toxic lakes all over the Cajas.)

And that´s all for today so Hasta Mañana –

Jeanne