Environmental concerns for low river flow rates; Tranvía photo contest; Ecuador wins again in World Cup qualifier; Puppet festival, online and in person

Miércoles, 18/11/2020

Hola, Todos –
I can’t remember when I last took a break, so I’m going to take next week off.
Actividades –

De la pagina cultural –

TitiriCuenca tendrá una programación inclusiva (TitiriCuenca will have an inclusive program) – This year’s Festival TitiriCuenca (puppet festival) will have both in person and on-line events. On el 28/11 desde las 10:00 hasta las 15:00, there will be puppet events at CIDAP. The performances will be short to maximize the number of people who can participate. There will also be video presentations on the theme of the bicentennial and health. The first chapter will premier el 22/11 a las 18:00 on their Facebook page where you can also see the event schedule. A magazine will also be printed in which educators and artists will write about art and education during the pandemic.

Línea de fomento cultural (cultural promotion line) – The Ministerio de Cultura is presenting a promotion line focused on human rights. Artists can speak about gender, disability, interculturality and infancy through photography, music, card design, and literature. Whoever is selected will have the opportunity to win $6,500 to develop their project. Go to uac.culturaypatrimonio.gob.ec to participate.

Diego Sojo en concierto (Diego Sojo in concert) – Costa Rican cantautor (singer-songwriter) Diego Sojo will perform el 28/11 a las 19:00 in the Teatro Sucre. The free event is being organized by the Centro PEN de Ecuador and the Dirección de Cultura del Municipio.

Del cuerpo del periodico –

Children cross the almost-dry Rio Tomebamba in the Puertas del Sol neighborhood. (El Mercurio)

Tranvía llama a concurso de fotos (Tram calls a photo contest) – The Unidad Ejecutora del Proyecto Tranvía (UEPT) is convening a photo contest, Somos Patrimonio, as part of the commemoration of 200 years of Cuenca’s Independence, and the 21st anniversary of its designation as a World Heritage Site. You can enter until miércoles, 25/11 at concurso-tranvia@gmail.com in either the professional or afficionado categories. The theme is tranvía and patrimony with photos later than mayo of this year. The photos should be in JPG format and not have won any previous awards. A contestant can submit a maximum of 3 images with a minimum size of 3,000 x 2,000 pixels and a maximum of 10MB. Along with the file indicate the category in which you’re entering, your names, email, city, phone, description of the photo and your social network info.

Otras cosas –

Titular – Qué Tricolor goleada (What a tri-color win) – Ecuador beat Colombia 6 to 1. Ecuador hasn’t won against Colombia since 2012 in the World Cup eliminations. Ecuador currently ranks third, behind Brazil and Argentina, in World Cup qualifier rankings. <if you’re a fútbol fan you can find the rest for yourself.>

Suspenden festejos por la Navidad y Fin de Año (Christmas and New Year’s Eve celebrations suspended) – The call by the national Comité de Operaciones de Emergencia (COE) to not allow Christmas and New Year celebrations given that there has been a considerable increase in cases in Guayaquil and Quito, was well received by the City of Cuenca. Councilman Xavier Barrera said that the current ordinance will not allow massive holiday celebrations. Monseñor Marcos Pérez Caicedo, archbishop of Cuenca, said that the church does not endorse any parade by neighborhoods, parishes, or families and asked that the faithful refrain from these types of events.

App permiterá agendar citas médicas (App will allow scheduling of medical appointments) – The Prime Doctor free app for Ios and Android phones will allow users to schedule appointments with specialists at the Hospital Municipal in Patamarca. Once you have downloaded and installed the app on your phone, follow the steps on the screen to make your appointment. <Better have your facilitator do it if you haven’t bothered to learn any Spanish in all that downtime that started in marzo.> Before you pick a doctor, you can review their academic and professional credentials. Arrive 40 minutes before your appointment for nursing staff to take your vital signs and make sure you don’t have Covid symptoms. This app is an addition to the www.telesaludalcaldiacuenca.ec platform which is already in use and which has brought attention to some 1,400 patients. Through these programs, you can access specialists, labs, pharmacy and clinical services at a cost much lower than private medical institutions. <Sounds like a good fit for those of you who are basically self insuring.>

Impacto ambiental por bajos caudales (Environmental impact due to low flow rates) – Besides water rationing, the extremely low flows in Cuenca’s rivers are having negative environmental impacts. According to biologist Romel Saldaña, the lack of flow is interrupting the rivers’ ability to transport sediment and feed the species that depend on it. A civil engineer said that these periods of estiaje (low water – our word for the day), point out the need for the Proyecto Hidroelécrico Soldados-Yanuncay on the río Yanuncay which would create a 21 million cubic meter reservoir behind a 42 meter high earthen dam. <I hope there aren’t a lot of gophers in the Cajas.> The system with two power stations, one in Soldados and another in Yanuncay, would be similar to the Machangara where two dams at Chanlud and Labrados feed a Central Hydroeléctrica at Saymarín. The dams help the river keep a controlled flow and during the rains, help avoid flooding.

Nueva variedad de avena (New variety of oats) – A new variety of oats called “INIAP – Fortaleza 2020” was presented after 18 years of research by the Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias at the Estación Experimental del Austro. The variety which can be used for both grain and forage has high levels of protein (around 23%) and is drought tolerant, disease and frost resistant, and can be grown at altitudes between 2,200 and 3,400 meters above sea level. It can be grown and harvested for less than $800 per hectar. Growers in different cantons of Azuay and Cañar received the seeds and are hopeful about the results. <This article is in here only because I spent my childhood summers on an agricultural experiment station.>

Agenda –

sábado- 21 de noviembre:
8:00 – Rutas ancestrales: Caminata al cerro El Plateado (Ancestral routes: Hike to El Plateado hill) – register at eulloa@cuenca.gob.ec – limited capacity.
10:00 – 16:00 – Visitas guiadas al Museo de las Conceptas (Guided visits to the Museo de las Conceptas) – Hermano Miguel 6-33 – limited capacity.

And that’s all for today so Hasta ? –

Jeanne
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Editor’s note: Jeanne’s Periodico is a translated digest of news from the Cuenca daily newspaper El Mercurio. If details, such as event dates and times, do not appear in the translation, they did not appear in the newspaper. The text between the carrots, or guillemets (< … >), is Jeanne’s personal opinion and not part of the news translation.