Events and notices: Restaurants serve a ‘taste of the coast;’ Toral exhibit opens; ‘Nights at the opera’ at Teatro Sucre; Tour of rural villages; Power Rangers
‘Retrotopía’, visual del pasado – This exhibit of 25 years of work by artist Juan Pablo Toral will run at the Museo Municipal de Arte Moderno until el 15/9. The show brings together 170 works from museums in Guayaquil and Quito and from private collections and international fairs. With paintings, sculpture and archives, Toral recreates things that are no longer part of the modern urban landscape, but allude to an idealized past.
Cuenca a restaurant are serving up coastal dishes this week.
Talleres gratuitos – The Museo Municipal de la Paja Toquilla y el Sombrero is holding a series of workshops in traditional straw weaving in the Sinincay and Victoria del Portete parishes as part of an initiative to preserve and transmit ancestral knowledge. In Sinincay, the workshops will start el 4/8 on lunes and miércoles from 9-11:00. For more information call 098 123 0574. In Victoria del Portete they will start el 7/8 in the San Pedro de escaleras community on miércoles from 14-16:00 and on sábado from 10-12:00. For more info call 099 206 1174. <If you never got your easy “A” in basket weaving, here’s your 2nd chance.>
Noche de Ópera – The Chorus of the Conservatory “José María Rodríguez” will offer 2 shows of “Arias Inolvidables – Noche de Ópera” on martes, 30 and on miércoles 31/7 a las 20:00 in the Teatro Sucre. <Your guess is as good as mine for the dates or days of the performances.> Tickets are available at El Surtido (Borrero 8-68 y Bolívar), Palier (corner of Luis Cordero y Pres. Córdova), on the social networks of the Coro del Conservatorio <you might have better luck looking for the social pages in Spanish than in English>, and at the theater ticket office on the day of the event. Cost $6.00.
Ruta patrimonial recorre casas históricas y parroquias rurales – The “Rutas Patrimoniales Urbanas y Rurales” will start its 2025 program on el 30/8 with free visits to historic homes, traditional barrios, and rural parishes. The urban route includes visits to 7 houses in the Municipal System of Patrimonial Houses such as the Casa de la Lira, the Casa Márquez and the Quinta Bolívar. These tours, some theatricalized, can be done on foot, by bike or by collective transport (bus) according to the tour. In parallel, there are also routes to rural parishes such as Paccha, San Joaquín, Ricaurte, Quingeo, Tarqui and Llacao. All of these leave from the Parque Calderón and will visit sites of historic value and meetings with artistic presentations unique to each community. One of the bike tours leaves from the Casa del Artista and ends at the Parque El Paraíso. You do not need to register for the bike tours, but the tours by bus have a limited capacity of between 25 and 40 people. <25 if they’re all overweight gringos, and 40 if they’re normal sized Ecuadorians.> The schedule of the tours is published in the social pages of the Dirección Municipal de Cultura. <Better have your translator handy.>
Power Rangers y Jiban vendrán al Comic Con – Cuenca will be the headquarters of Comic Con Ecuador 2025 with David Yost (Billy in the Power Rangers series) and Hiroshi Todoro, the Japanese robot cop Jiban <If I translated that right – I’ve never heard of Jiban before and have no idea who or what he or she is.> The convention will be in the Centro de Convenciones in the Mall del Rio el 27 & 28 de septiembre. María José Córdova, spokesperson for the Comic Con said there will be 2 international dub actors, 3 cosplayers, 3 international actresses and artists, a gaming room, 5 interactive stations and more than 40 commercial booths. <Here’s your chance to dress up as your fantasy self, and it’s not even Halloween.>
There is a painting contest called ‘Reto Artist Alley’ and the theme will be ‘Leyendas y Tradiciones de Cuenca.’ If you’re interested, submit an illustration or sculpture 32.9 cm. high by 48.3 cm. wide on the relative theme. To apply, send your complete name, nom de plume <or whatever that is for a visual artist>, Instagram address, and phone number to artisascce@gmail.com by 22:00 on el 18/8. Tickets are currently available at Ticketmas. Cost: $12.00.
El “sabor guayaco” se sirve en Cuenca – There are restaurants in Cuenca that serve food typical of Guayaquil such as bola de verde rellena de carne zanahoria y arveja in caldo con choclo (ball of green plantain stuffed with meat, carrots and peas in broth with corn) yellow rice with seco de pollo, guatita (tripe), ceviche, and bolones (another ball of green plantain) with cheese sauce, salt and bacon. As part of the July fiestas when the 490th anniversary of the founding of Guayaquil is celebrated, restaurants in Cuenca are showing off the authentic flavors of the coast.
“La Costeña” is on Juan Iñigues and Padre Julio Matovelle. The menu includes seco de pollo <which I don’t think needs explanation. You’d have to be eating at US fast food chains exclusively to avoid seco de pollo.>, guatita, ceviche, cheese or mixed bolones with chicharrón, and tigrillo (more green plantain, only in a pile with an egg on top instead of mushed into a ball>.
“El Verde Comida Costeña” is on calles Francisco Estrella y Manuel Malo in the sector of the warehouses of ETAPA. Its most requested dish is the jumbo which is a one pound bola de verde, filled with ground meat, carrot, and peas served in a liter of broth. <I think bolas de verde are the Ecuadorian version of matzo balls and can be as heavy as a bowling ball or light as an angel cake. If this recipe serves the bowling ball version, can you imagine how it would sit in your stomach – 4 days later? You’d have to go to an emergency room to have it removed.>
“Cevichería Guayaca” has locations at Francisco Moscoso y Miguel Cordero and an express location in the Plaza del Río in Puertas el Sol. They serve ceviches in 4 styles: criollo, cholo, manaba, and prucho. The ceviche guayaco has fish, shrimp, octopus, crab meat, and clams. The menu also offers bolos, cazuelas, encebollados, and rice with seafood. The most requested dish is the chopsuey perucho,” in which you see the touch of their Peruvian chef, a Peruvian ceviche combo, chaufa rice, canguil de mariscos and bandera mariscos <the last two look like a fried seafood combo and seafood platter with the usual 3 starches.>
