Events and notices: Couples dance contest; How to use public panic buttons; Mask and puppet workshop
“Danza en Pareja” – The 2nd Edition of Dance in Couples will be Saturday, July 19 at 19:00 in the Teatro de la Casa de la Cultura. The event is part of the Festival Internacional Tradiciones y Culturas del Mundo. There will be groups from MĂ©xico, Colombia, Costa Rica, PerĂº, Bolivia and Ecuador presenting their best traditional folklore dances in couples format. Cost: $5.00.
Marcha por el agua hasta Kimsacocha – Social organizations, the Archdiocese of Cuenca, and other citizens groups are convening a march to Kimsacocha for the “defense of water,” Saturday, July 19. It will start with a mass at the New Cathedral at 7:30. At 9:00 the mobilization will start in Cuenca to Victoria del Portete. At 10:30, the ascent to Kimsacocha will start. There the placement of a throne with the image of the Virgen de las Aguas is planned. <If you’re lucky she will turn the water into wine.>
Taller de puntillismo – From July 22 to 25, from 14:00 to 16:30, the Museo Municipal de la Paja Toquilla will offer a free workshop in pointillism geared for youth and adults interested in this painting technique. Since space is limited, you should register beforehand with information about the workshop on the social networks of the Museo Municipal de la Paja Toquilla y el Sombrero. Attendees should bring the materials asked for by the Museo. <This technique might be especially suited to those of you whose hands are already shaky.>
Curso vacacional de mĂ¡scaras y tĂteres – There will be a vacation workshop in mask and puppet making in the El Prohibido Centro Cultural in the El Vado barrio from July 21 to August 9 on M-W-Th from 15:00 to 17:00. It’s open to anyone 10 years and older. To register, call 098 990 0163. Cost: $30.00.
Cuenca tiene 255 botones de pĂ¡nico – The canton of Cuenca has installed 255 panic buttons in neighborhoods, plazas, parks and streets. These posts have a camera above and the button below with new reflective signage and QR codes to identify them. These 255 panic buttons also include 10 totems in secure locations in parks and universities. When you push the button, it activates two-way video and audio and you can hear an operator from the Consejo de Seguridad. All of the buttons are working <currently, until a delinquent takes a baseball bat to it. You might remember that the speed monitors on the Autopista took beatings — probably from some guy who got a ticket for driving 130 kph.> You can report medical emergencies, violence, accidents and more.
You can also report minor emergencies such as children falling down <In “my” day, kids falling down was only an emergency if you fell off the top of a minimum 20′ tall tree and broke something.> Response is interinstitutional so it could come from the Consejo de Seguridad, ECU911, Police, Ministerio de Salud, or others. The response can also activate emotional support from psychologists from the Consola Violeta program. This is an innovation in security response systems.
To use the system, first press the button which automatically activates the audio and video in real time. An operator will talk to you about the nature of your report. <If you don’t speak Spanish just show them where you’re bleeding.> Cameras will be activated to monitor the situation and the operator will alert ECU911 which will dispatch the National Police, ambulances from the Health Ministry, and/or Guardia Ciudadana depending on your need. Response time will be 5-7 minutes depending on your location <The time should be doubled if you were an asshole to the operator who answered the call, although I think the operators are way more professional than that.>
Naranjal ya prepara Festival del Cangrejo – The Crab Festival will return to Naranjal this August 3. One of the signature activities will be the making of the largest crab salad in the world, with hopes that it will registered in the Guiness book of Records. Over a ton of red crab meat will be used in the salad <I pity the people who are going to have to hammer all those crabs apart. They should probably wear clothes they were going to throw away.> The salad will be sold to the attendees at $5 per plate. To get to the festival, take the vĂa Cuenca-Molleturo-El Empalme. In El Empalme, take the vĂa Guayaquil-Machala. <Then pray that there are signs to the site..>
