Farmers warned to prepare for drought conditions; Mob beats man for robbing an 88-year-old; Road work planned for Cañar; Bolivia to make coca toothpaste

Jueves, 13/1/2022

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –

Exposiciones reactivan los espacios culturales (Exhibitions reactivate cultural spaces) – With the beginning of the year, cultural spaces have opened new exhibits. “Juguetes, de lo ingenuo a lo perverso” by artist Darwin Guerrero opened ayer at the “Saladentro” gallery (Paseo 3 de Noviembre 4-78 y Bajada de Todos Santos) and will run until 29/1 with hours from 15-19:00, lunes a viernes. “Intercambios” organized by Humá Creativa, opened hoy in the Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana (CCE), Núcleo del Azuay and will run until 13/3. “Terra Incógnita,” by photographer Mónica López also opened hoy in the gallery of the Alcaldía de Cuenca (Antonio Borrero y Simón Bolívar) and will run until next month.

Farmers in the sierra are being advised to save grain for feedling livestock during the drought. (El Mercurio)

Concurso premia a mejores cronistas (Contest rewards the best chroniclers) – The winners of the 2nd Concurso Nacional de Crónica 2021 have been announced. The first place went to Leonardo Ceballos from Manta for “Los hijos del hambre” and is about children who were given away as gifts in Cojimíes, Esmeralda. You can read it at https://n9.cl/ebe43. <Or your translating program can read it for you.> The honorable mention went to Cuencano Juan Carlos Astudillo with “Nadie vio sus manos.”

Titular –

Carnet para viajar (Travel card) – See today’s CHL article for details. Note that the curfew for private cars is desde las 5:00 hasta las 2:00. <I think they reversed that. Should be from 2:00 to 5:00.>

Cuenca –

Aumento significativo de casos (Significant increase in cases) – According to the COE Cantgonal, Cuenca has seen a significant increase in cases. However, rates of hospitalization show only a light increase due to high levels of vaccinations. Early identification of cases is fundamental for reducing the spread of the virus and to that end, the City has done a total of 2,616 antigen tests with 17.16% testing positive. The price of a PCR test has been set at $45.08 nationally.

MAG da recomendaciones ante sequía (MAG gives recommendations in the face of drought) – Ahead of the forecast for intense drought and sun due to la Niña, the Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganaderia (MAG) is making recommendations. These are directed especially at the agriculture and livestock sectors in Azuay which are among the most affected by this change in climate. Because when there is intense sun, the nights can be cold and even freezing. The recommendation is to cover the ground with rastrojo (stubble – our word for the day) to prevent insolation, dehydration, and increased soil dryness.

Other recommendations are to not till the soil excessively, and don’t burn rastrojo or fields in order to maintain better organic material and microbial life. <How about fertilizing the fields with active yogurt?> Fertilizing the land is recommended to provide more moisture, as is not throwing glass bottles into stubble or grassland since that can cause fires. <Think back to when you set fire to dry grass or paper with a magnifying glass.> Recommendations for irrigation include using drip and aspersion methods, timing watering for the afternoons, and concentrating the water on the base of the plant. <I think if you’re actually farming, you should get in touch with MAG and not rely on an iffy newspaper translation.>

Sucesos –

Propinan paliza a presunto asaltante (Suspected mugger beaten up) – A security camera filmed a mugger robbing an 88 year old man who was walking with a cane on Luis Cordero y Gran Colombia. Passersby noticed the mugging and hit and kicked the mugger who tried to escape. Various people united to keep the mugger from escaping. <I’d call this a good use of the Latin machismo spirit, but I’m also assuming it was mostly men who responded to the mugging.> The mugger was eventually detained by the Guardia Ciudadana and turned over to the Policía Nacional. If a robbery is a mugging, with threats or violence, the penalty is 5-7 years. If the robbery is a grab and run, the penalty is 3-5 years. According to the Prosecutors Office, between enero y noviembre of 2021, there were 22,614 complaints of robberies of persons nationally. July, 2021 was the month with the most reports and the afternoon hours were the most common for these crimes. <Makes me wonder if I should start carrying a cane or if I already look old enough for people to jump in to help me without one. Then there is the fact that a cane could be used as a weapon if needed.>

Region –

A intervención la Pana Norte (Intervention on the Pana Norte) – An intervention is planned for the Panamericana Norte by the Ministerio de Transporte y Obras Públicas (MTOP) for this year. The old road between Azuay and Cañar was forgotten about when the vía rápida Cuenca-Azogues-Biblián was built. There are projects under contract in the stretch in Azuay, and routine maintenance in the part in Cañar. A budget of $500,000 has been assigned, mostly to the part in Azuay from the redondel with av. González Suárez, also known as the “Mujeres de Piedras,” to the Guangarcucho bridge. The Pana Norte is one of the 9 projects MTOP announced for 2022.

Mundo –

Bolivia producirá dentífrico a partir de la hoja de coca (Bolivia to produce toothpaste from coca leaves) – Bolivian president Luis Arce announced during a commemoration of the Día Nacional del Acullico or chewing on coca, that a factory to produce toothpaste from coca leaves is being planned. The coca leaves have an alkaloid that prevents cavities. He said that one has to ask why, in the millenia when there weren’t dentists, the people didn’t have dental problems. Arce said that there was a private company who had a factory, but couldn’t get the primary material due to previous governments’ policies of reducing coca cultivation. He also said that this plant is the first initiative and will be followed by others. <I wonder if this toothpaste will make your gums numb?

And that´s all for today so Hasta ? –

Jeanne