First baby of the year, Años Viejo satire awards, Wall collapse kills five, The tranvía is back on the tracks again for tests, Landslides slow traffic

Jueves, 2/1/2020

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –
De la pagina cultural –

Painting recovered – The painting by Ariel Dawi which was stolen from the Salón del Pueblo of the CCE el martes, was recovered ayer. Someone who was sold the painting returned it when they found out it was stolen.

Del cuerpo del periodico –

Diablada de Píllaro – The 6 day festival in Píllaro, 150 km south of Quito in Tungurahua Province, started yesterday and will continue to 6/1. The fiesta started 150 years ago during colonization and was an act of rebellion by the indigenous. Currently, thousands of people dress up with devil masks and dance through the streets.

The tram was back on the tracks yesterday for the first time since May. (El Mercurio)

“Intensamente”- Comedian Santhiago Illescas, el Hombre Voz, will do his 3rd “Intensamente” stand up comedy show el 4/1 a las 20:00 in the Teatro Casa de la Cultura. He will review the stories of 2019 and talk about politicians such as Yaku Pérez and Pedro Palacios. Tickets are available at Surtido, the Suprema radio station, and on line at ticketmas.com.ec. Cost: $10.00 for main level, and $6.00 for balcony seats. 50% discount for children.

Otras cosas –

Titular – Humor sobre decreto 883 gana premio (Humor about decree 883 wins top prize) – The first prize for the Años Viejos contest went to the El Vergel barrio for the fourth year in a row. The title of their display was Ocho, Ocho, Tres after the decree 883 issued by President Moreno to raise fuel prices in October (the decree was rescinded as a result of the protests).

The second prize went to the ciudadela Tomebamba whose theme was “Lo que la Tecnología se Llevó” (What Technology has Brought). Its scene shows two rooms in a house with the members of the family completely divided by technology. One monigote is an old grandmother who is completely alone in spite of being surrounded by family members, all of whom are on their electronic devices.

Third place was taken by the barrio Central with “Lo Bueno, Lo Malo y Lo Feo del 2019 (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of 2019). The Good were “Las Leonas,” the women’s football team of Deportivo Cuenca, Ecuador champions. The Bad was ex-pres. Rafael Correa as a chef, a la Master Chef (M-F, 9:00 pm, Channel 11(?), an expert at making arroz verde <a reference to corruption scandals for those of you with short memories or recently arrived in Ecuador>. The Ugly was the national strike.

El Vado took 4th place with “Sigue Cavando tu Tumba Minero”(Keep digging your Mining Tomb) which contrasted mining and environmental conservation. <Don’t let it be said that Ecuador restricts freedom of political expression.>

Property taxes – $65,488.17 was collected from hundreds of property owners el miércoles. The municipality also is collecting a special tax for improvements at 3 megaparks. Besides the 9 cashiers at the main office at Sucre y Benigno Malo, you can pay at various municipal businesses including EMOV and Farmasol, and at financial institutions such as JEP, Caja, Banco del Austro, de Guayaquil and Bolivariano. There are discounts for early payments – 10% for the first half of enero and 9% for the second half. For rural properties, there is a 10% discount for payments made by 15/2, but none after that date. <This discount makes a good deal on property taxes even better.>

Landslides – There were several small slides on the night of 31/12 and yesterday morning on the vía Cuenca-Girón-Pasaje. Drivers using this route that connects Azuay with El Oro should use their headlights and slow down. There was also fog in the stretch between Victoria del Portete y Girón. Other slides occured on the vías Cuenca-Molleturo-Naranjal and Gualaceo-Plan de Milagro-Limón. The last closed the road to traffic until mid-day ayer. MTOP monitors the roads constantly so that drivers can take precautions. <Like stay at home.>

Renovations for Museo Pumapungo – The museum got more than 158,000 visitors in 2019 and will receive a general remodeling in 2020, which is also its 40th anniversary and the bicentennial of Cuenca.

5 killed in retaining wall collapse – A retaining wall in the Las Lomas community of Sígsig canton collapsed a las 00:45 el 1/1. A woman and 4 children were killed when they were trapped in a car. 4 others survived from the 4 cars that were buried. The 4 m. high by 20 m. long retaining wall was built about 5 years ago, and investigators are determining the cause of the collapse. <Built with arroz verde in the concrete?>

First baby – Pedro Pablo Pinos was the first baby born in Cuenca in 2020. He was born at the IESS hospital and one of 8 born on the 1/1 in any of the public hospitals. <That was your obligatory first baby article. It would have to be a very tiny town not to have someone born on the 1st.> The Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas y Censos (INEC – National Institute of Statistics and Census) estimated that 15,800 babies will be born in Azuay this year bringing the provincial population to 881,294. <I’d guess that they have corresponding death estimates.>

<And here’s more for you statistics junkies.> 11,200 babies are estimated to be born in Cuenca this year bringing its population up to 636,996. Nationally, 331,139 births are expected so that Ecuador will surpass 17.5 million inhabitants. Births in Azuay decreased by .74% in the past 10 years, largely to parents deciding to have fewer children for economic reasons.

Child mortality of children under 5 years has decreased by a third in the last decade in Latin America, although the decrease for new borns is slower. Babies who die in their first month represented 59% of all deaths of children under 5 in 2018.

Tranvía – Train rolls again as technicians inspected the tracks yesterday for damage to the electrical lines. Two five-car units were in operation. The Cantonal Council is analyzing the $6 million subsidy the city will need to assume. The consensus is for a 35-cent fare for frequent passengers, and to reduce the deficit in the system, a 38-cent fare for tourists and occasional riders. Mayor Palacios says full operation will begin in June. Yet to be resolved is an agreement with bus companies. <You think 3 cents is going to put much of a dent in that $6 million subsidy?>

And that’s all for today so Hasta ? –

Jeanne