Food trucks roll into Cuenca, New flights to Guayaquil, Coca operation destroyed, Political activists found innocent, Military music in Tarqui

Viernes, 23/2/2018

Hola, Todos –

Pagina cultural –

Today’s agenda events –

Libro – “El Enigma: Pretextos,” research by Napoleón Saltos was presented Friday in the Sala de Conciertos de la Casa de la Cultura.

Upcoming agenda events –

Muestra de Cine Latinoamericano – This film festival organized by the the Film and Audiovisual Dep’t of the CCE will run from el próximo lunes hasta el miércoles a las 10:00. There will be films from Venezuela, Colombia, and Cuba.

Teatro – “Los Durmientes” (The Sleepers) will be performed from jueves, 1/3 to sábado, 3/3 in El Prohibido Centro Cultural.

Articles about –

Concierto – Argentine singer Rodrigo Soler performed with the Cuencano band La Doble Friday in La Guarida. They will play rock, reggae, and Balkan music. <Maybe someone got a Balkan music CD as a gift, and it sparked something.>

Concierto – A new composition by Ecuadorian Jorge Oviedo Jaramilllo will premier Saturday a las 11:00 in Portete de Tarqui. “Tarqui: divertimento sobre marchas militares para orquesta” (Tarqui: divertimento on military marches for orchestra) was written to commemorate La Batalla de Tarqui on 27/2/1829 which led to the Treaty of Girón and the retreat of the Peruvian forces. Also on the program will be Tchaikovski’s 1812 Overture.

Tribute – There will be a celebration of 100 years since the birth of Paraguayan author Roa Bastos el próximo miércoles alas 11:00 in the auditorium of the Museo Remigio Crespo.

Otras cosas –

Titular – Villavicencio y Jiménez son inocentes (Villavicencio and Jiménez are innocent) – The activist and ex-asambleísta from Pachakutik were accused of divulging “información reservada” (reserved information – classified?) during the Correa administration. They were not charged after a 5 year legal process.

Student bus cards – Students at 16 schools and high schools got their Movilízate cards yesterday.

Airline – Aéro Regional based in Guayaquil, will start flying routes to Cuenca, Quito and Guayaquil starting el próximo mes (month). The flights will leave Cuenca a las 6:00 and arrive in Quito a las 7:00. From there they will fly to Guayaquil at 8:00 and return to Cuenca at 9:00. <Doesn’t that sound a little ambitious in terms of the boarding and deplaning process? There definitely wouldn’t be time to clean the plane.> The afternoon circle will leave Cuenca a las 16:00 for Guayaquil, fly to Quito a las 17:00 and return to Cuenca a las 18:00 and land here around 19:00. The plane will be a Boeing 737-500 with a 130 seats. The fare will be a flat rate of $160 whether you fly the same day or reserve months in advance. The airline has rented office space in the Cuenca airport and is in its 3rd and final stage of approvals after which it will have a 20 day period for testing.

Coca plantation – The Ecuadorian Navy discovered a coca plantation with some 1,000 plants in a clearing the middle of the mangroves in El Cauchal, in Ancón de Srdinas parish, in San Lorenzo canton, Esmeraldas Province near the Colombian border. Ecuadorian security forces have seized 24% more drugs in the past year than in the previous year. So far this year, they have seized 10 tons.

Business page –

Statistics – Passive interest rate – 8.17%, Gold – $1,331, Barrel of oil – $66.23, “Canasta basica” (basic basket – of consumer goods and services) – $729/mo. Exchange rates – Euro – $1.233, Colombian peso – 3,009 pesos, Peruvian sol – 3.247 soles.

Los food trucks – “Camiones restaurantes” are opening in Cuenca with the 4th one, “Gastro Plaza” planned to open in abril at av. Núñez de Bonilla y España. Gastro Plaza will operate from 8-24:00, lunes a domingo. The owners selected the location which is near the Terminal Terrestre, airport and businesses after a market survey.

Amenidades –

Movies – as usual, go to www.multicines.com.ec for show times and locations. The following movies open this week.

2D El Cavernícola – (?)
2D La forma del agua – Esp.
2D Enjualado – Esp.

The following movies are continuing.

3D Pantera negra – Esp.
2D Pantera negra – Esp. y Sub.
2D 50 sombras liberadas – Esp.
2D Maze runner: la cura mortal – Esp.
2D Coco – Esp.

Internacional –

Argentina – Russian and Argentinean authorities thwarted a narcotics trafficking ring operating between Russia, Argentina and Germany from the Russian Embassy in Buenos Aires. The operation started in diciembre, 2016 with the seizure of 389 kg. of cocaine when a worker reported that there were 12 diplomatic bags containing drugs in an “anexo” (annex) of the embassy.

Embassy officials and the Russian security service inspected the suitcases and substituted flour, which they went out and bought in the middle of the night at the mercado central. <That’s about 850 pounds of flour! Whatever that market is, I’m impressed.> Tracking devices were also placed in the bags which were shipped 9/12/2017 on a Russian federal security service plane as diplomatic pouches to avoid searches at airports. 5 people were arrested, 2 in Argentina and 3 in Russia. The leader of the ring, “señor K” is a fugitive in Germany with a request for an international arrest in effect.

And that´s all for today so Hasta Domingo –

Jeanne