Holiday events, Indonesian crafts, $600 million fraud ring busted, Chordeleg gets UNESCO designation, Forest fires, Antique bike show, Colada morada

Miércoles, 1/11/2017

Hola, Todos –

Pagina cultural –

Today’s agenda events –

Concierto – “Esperanza” (Hope), a show by singer Diego Zamora was Wed. in the Iglesia Todos Santos. Free.

Concierto – the Orquesta Sinfónica de la Universidad de Cuenca played Wed. in the Cementerio Patrimonial next to the mausoleum for Personajes Ilustres (VIPs). <Wonder what you have to do to get a spot in that mausoleum – writer? artist? have a ton of money? athlete? mass murderer? I think politicians get buried in unholy ground.>

Events that are over included a Desfile Estudiantil (Student Parade) Wed. and a drawing contest in the Los Eucaliptos Cultural Center.

Upcoming and ongoing agenda events –

Feria – The IX feria de Sombrero started Wed. and will run through the week in the plazoleta La Merced.

Cancellation – The Festival de los Grupos CIOFF scheduled for Thurs. will not be held “por motivos de fuerza mayor” (reasons of force majeure – uncontrollable circumstances).

Festival – “Galería Innovación: Colada Morada” in the Museo de la Ciudad is Thurs. a las 19:00. This is a gastronomic/cultural event.

Articles about –

Festival Internacional de Cine La Orquídea Cuenca (The Orchid International Film Festival Cuenca) – The special invitee to this film festival is Sonia Braga (Kiss of the spider woman and Doña Flor and her two husbands). The opening ceremony will be on 24/11 in the teatro Carlos Cueva Tamariz. Ms. Braga will be in attendance during the screening of “Aquarios.” There will be over 40 films in 6 categories. The program for the festival should be ready on 10/11. Tickets to the films can be downloaded from an app which will be available before the festival starts. Tickets for films at the Multicines can be gotten at the ticket window.

Muestra – “Segundo auge cacaotero en la Costa ecuatoriana 1870-1920” (Second cocoa boom on the Ecuadorian coast 1870-1920) is an exhibit that opened hoy a las 18:00 in the Museo Numismático at the Banco Central. The exhibit will run for 3 months. Hours are Tues.-Sun. from 8:30-17:30 and on Sat, Sun, and holidays from 10-16:00.

“Poetry Slam” – About 30 poets have signed up for the second round of this contest which was Wed. on the terrace of the CCE building.

Magic – “El Primer Encuentro Nacional de Magia Cuenca 2017” (The First National Meeting of Magic Cuenca 2017) will run through Thurs.

CIDAP – The “quinto Festival de Artesanías de América” (fifth Festival of Handicrafts of America) opened Wed. Tents are set up along av. 12 de Abril and Paseo Tres de Noviembre between the Mariano Moreno and Juana de Oro bridges with 110 exhibiters, selected by a jury. A giant tent in the patio of CIDAP will house 28 booths with craftsmen and women from Perú, Bolivia, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Uruguay, Japan and more. The featured country is Indonesia which is near the CIDAP museum, and there will be 7 craftspeople and a special food booth.

Otras cosas –

Titular – El significado de la colada morada (The meaning of colada morada) <“The meaning of purple laundry” is Google’s translation and the reason you don’t want to rely heavily on a translation program. Better to learn enough Spanish to know when a translation is nonsensical.> Colada morada and guaguas de pan are traditionally served before the Día de los Difuntos, but many who sell it only know that it’s a tradition. The guagua is a symbol of el niño who is related to rebirth or reincarnation. Another element is the earth with its agriculture-lunar-solar cycle of the chacra which says when to plant. The purple of the colada morada is related to blood and sacrifice. It’s a religious symbol is for pain and mourning. <A list of ingredients follows. You could also go to the market and ask your lady to give you all the things you need to make a colada morada – the spices already come in a bundle.> There are two Colada Morada festivals between Wed., which is over, and Thurs. a las 19:00 in the Museo de la Ciudad.

Chordeleg – The city has received a UNESCO Ciudad Creativa (Creative City) designation. <The photo shows tourists Bill Milligan and Indiana Montes looking at a giant silver filagree chandelier earring. If no one claims the copy of the paper via the comments section in a couple of days, it’ll go to ARCA to get peed on.>

Income evasion – Authorities have broken up an income tax evasion network that created 5,954 false facturas totaling $600 million for clients, defrauding the tax office by $200 million. An individual created 64 “empresas fantasmas” (ghost companies “fantasma” – ghost is your word for the day – a day late, but remember it for next year.>

Odebrecht – The son of the ex-Comptroller Carlos Pólit and two businessmen, Estéfano Isaías (any relation to the Isaías brothers now residents of Miami?) and Mauricio Neme have been linked to the Odebrecht corruption case for the alleges crime of “concusión” (extortion – not a concussion). All three are currently out of the country <Enjoying the beach life in Miami, I imagine.>.

CRS – The Centro de Rehabilitación Social in Turi (jail) had a fair today to sell things made by the inmates. The photo was of a model of an old sailing ship – 3 masts, a bowsprit and lots of string/rigging. You could also have bought “ropa para perros” (clothes for dogs).

116 homes – The City of Cuenca delivered the 2nd phase of the Los Capulíes project which are houses “tipo social” (social type – subsidized housing?) including 36 for people in vulnerable condition. Buyers can get a bono (cash assistance?) with preferencial interest rates. The 80 sq. meter houses have living and dining rooms, kitchen, 1 and 1/2 baths, laundry area, back patio, 3 bedrooms and a study area. They cost from $39,990 to 54,650.

Forest fires – <The annual weather news cycle has gone from floods to fires. Floods will be returning in 6 months or so.> A fire burned about 2 hectares in El Descanso between Cuenca and Azogues, and the fire departments of both cities responded. The crews found a lot of dumped tires. There were other fires on the vía Cuenca-Loja at Cumbe, one in Nulti, and one in Quimsacocha-Victoria del Portete.

Deportes –

Classic bikes – The “Exposición y cicleada de bicicletas clásicas” (Classic bicycles exhibit and ride) will be este viernes, 3/11, from 9-15:00 on av. Remigio Crespo y Alfonso Borrero (corner). The 30 min. ride will start at 14:00. Register at 095 886 4994.

Descuentos y compras –

RM – From 3/11, pay for all purchases starting in enero with direct credit or participating cards (AmX, Visa, MasterCard, PacifiCard, Discover, and Diners).

And that´s all for today so Hasta Mañana –

Jeanne