Heat, high UV warning issued for the sierra; Food products with high lead content named; Exemptions to the revised curfew; ‘Food sovereignty’ lectures

Miércoles, 24/1/2024

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –

Postulaciones abiertas para fondos culturales (Applications for cultural funds now open) – The Dirección de Cultura del Municipio de Cuenca has opened the call for their Competitive Funds. It will consider innovative projects related to live arts, sports or recreational events, and cultural management (projects in formation and emerging festivals). If you want to participate get more information at http://bit.ly/FondosConcursables2024 and then meet a series of requirements and send your project to fondosconcursables2024@gmail.com.

ARCSA, Ecuador’s product safety inspection service, In warning consumers not to buy processed food productions with unsafe levels of lead content. (El Mercurio)

Conciertos sinfónicos publicados en YouTube (Symphony concerts posted on YouTube) – The Orquesta Sinfónica de Cuenca has updated its catalogue of concerts recorded during performances. There are 4 new programs including Concert for Flugelhorn and Winds by Daron Hagen; Porgy & Bess, 4th Symphony by George Gerschwin; Gloria 589 by Antonio Vivldi; and Concert for Marimba and Vibraphone by Ney Rosauro. An additional performance will be added el 26/1 with Sinfonía 101 “The Clock” by Joseph Haydn and Symphony 39 by Amadeus Mozart. The concerts can be enjoyed by going to www.youtube.com/sinfonicacuenca.

CIDAP convoca a Ciclo Internacional de Cine (CIDAP convenes International Film Series) – CIDAP has opened the call for cinematographers interested in participating in the XI Ciclo Internacional de Cine Sobre Artesanía y Cultura Popular which will be the preamble to the Festival de Artesanías de América. If you want to participate you need to meet the requirements listed in http://tinyurl.com/XICicloDeCine. After you have completed that you can apply until 31/7.

El Mercurio del martes, 23/1 (1 item):

Postulación a premio (Award application) – CIDAP will have a webinar el 26/1 a las 18:00 on how to apply for the first edition of the Premio Iberoamericano de Textiles y Cestería 2024 (Ibero-American Textile and Basketry Award 2024). The event will be held in Cuenca. To participate in the free webinar, register at https://forms.gle/mxt2L9Z1xE53GnYV9. <If these kinds of addresses are generated by AI, is this the start of AI taking over humanity?>

Titular –

Toque de queda, en Cuenca, será de 02:00 a 05:00 (Curfew, in Cuenca, will be from 02:00 to 05:00) – -See Wednesday’s article in CHL for story.

In Azuay, only Cuenca and Camilo Ponce Enríquez which borders El Oro and Guayas are medium risk with a curfew from 2-5:00. The rest of the cantons are low risk with no restrictions. <So the problem will be going to an event or party outside of Cuenca and remembering to leave early enough to get to Cuenca before the curfew. <According to Google, the penalty for violating the curfew can be 3 years in prison. Not worth that last drink at 1:45 when you know it takes you 20 minutes to stumble home.> The 39 high risk cantons with midnight to 5 am curfews include Troncal in Cañar, Machala in El Oro, Esmeraldas in Esmeraldas, Guayquil in Guayas, Babahoyo in Los Ríos, Portoviejo in Manabí, Quito in Pichincha, Santa Elena in Santa Elena, Santo Domingo in Santo Domingo, and Lago Agrio in Sucumbíos.

There are exceptions to who can be out after curfew and these include health services staff, public forces, public servants from institutions related to security and to the Asamblea Nacional <So what applies to the citizenry doesn’t apply to the lawmakers. Why would that surprise you?>, and members of the acredited diplomatic corps in Ecuador. Also exempt are people who are part of fhe logistic chain including the export sector, Government contractors, providers of interprovincial transport services, those going to airports <I hope that includes gringos being driven down to Guayaquil at 3 am to catch a 9 am flight>, journalists, lawyers, and workers in strategic sectors. If you are exempt, you need to show documents that support your membership in an exempt institution and justify why you’re in the streets when you got caught.

Cuenca –

En “La Huerta” se cultiva la soberanía alimentaria (Food sovereignty is cultivated in “The Garden”) – The U. of Cuenca started a project in octubre that combines community and multidisciplinary activities, an interchange of knowledge, and learning about how to “criar a una planta” (raising a plant). <There’s evidently more to it than shoving a seed in the ground, throwing some water at it once in a while, and waiting for it to be ready to eat.> The project was started on the Balzay campus of the U. of Cuenca and connected members of the educational community and different ages (children, youth and adults) who were assigned one of the ninety 13 sq. meter parcels where they could grow food. With the vision of sustainability and technical support, the gardeners learn how to grow food, to care for the plants and to harvest them, and how to care for the soil and water. Participants attend a meeting every first sábado of the month for a talk about various aspects of growing food. <Well, I’m self-sufficient in raspberries or mora which appeared and has been growing itself for a few years now. It seems to thrive on water and getting cut back now and then. Good berries, too.>

De El Mercurio del martes, 23/1 (2 articles):

Plomo afecta más a niños y a mujeres en edad fértil (Lead affects children and women of childbearing age more) – Lead, which has been found in various products for mass consumption, affects children and pregnant women more than the general population. The maximum level of lead in a body is 10 microgramos per deciliter (pg/dl). However, as little as 3.5 pg/dl can affect childern’s intelligence and cause behavior problems and difficulty in learning. ARCSA has found 6 products with unsafe lead levels: Morcillas tipo1: “Embutidos Oro,” lot 317318; Nuez moscada molida (ground nutmeg), Doña Jana,” lot 34923LG; Salsa de tomate (catsup), “Gustadina,” lot 83186593; ¨Premezcla para preparar cono sabor a vainilla (vanilla flavored ice cream cone mix), “Bakels,” lot 117562023; Canela en polvo (powdered cinnamon), “Los Nogales,” lotCNP.01.018, 030723; Salsa de tomate (ketchup), “Marcellos,” lot 2311043. “Gustadina” responded that their products meet international standards, but they will pull the the identified lot from the entire market. As of 17:00 on lunes, “Marcellos” had not responded. <Maybe you should start eating your fries and burgers with just mayo and skip the ketchup for a while. You can control the stuff in your own kitchen, but how about the restaurants.>

Temperturas de hasta 25 grados pronostica Inamhi (Temperatures of up to 25 degrees forecast by Inamhi) – The Instituto Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología announced that there will be high temperatures at the Costa and in the Sierras starting Wednesday and lasting into the beginning of febrero. Highs in Cuenca, Girón, Nabón y Oña will be between 23 & 25° C (73F to 77F), with the rest of Azuay between 21 & 23°C. The area between El Oro and Azuay near Pucará, could reach 26° C. This heat could affect crops, decreasing their yields. Inamhi recommends not exposing yourself to the sun without “protección social” <Do you think maybe spell check ran amok and the writer meant facial protection?> Moderate to strong winds from 20-40 km/h are also forecasted, especially in the inter-Andean alley.

Inamhi reports that 2023 was the warmest year on record for Cuenca and many other locations in the sierra.

Nacional –

De El Mercurio del martes, 23/1 (2 articles):
Disparan a docente (Teacher shot at) – A 16 year old student in a school in la Libertad de Toachi, a rural sector of Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, brought a gun to his high school el lunes, where he shot at a teacher who was not hurt because the gun se encasquilló (jammed – your word for the day) The student also threatened other teachers and students. When police arrived they took the students and professors to safety and neutralized and detained the student. <What he apparently did not do was hold a conference outside while they waited for experts to reinforce them.> The teachers and students will be in virtual classes until el 25/1. <I hope that kid with the gun isn’t the first of more who have been watching way too much US news and thinking if kids there can do it, why not me.>

Dan equipos a la Policía (Equipment is given to the police) – Pres. Noboa and the ministra del Interior, Mónica Palencia, gave $11,500,000 worth of equipment to the Grupo de Intervención y Rescate (GIR – Intervention and Rescue Group) of the Policía Nacional. This included 21,787 bullet-proof vests, 1,752 portable radios, 4 robots for anti-explosive work, another 4 tactical reconnaissance robots, disruptor cannons <are those the ones that spray a scene with dollar bills – or $100 bills to really disrupt a riot?>, frequency jammers, and X-ray machines.

And that’s all for today so Hasta ? Whew. –

Jeanne