Holiday safety tips: Watch out for thieves, kids and fireworks; Preparation underway for Feb. election; Argentina wins again; Protecting water in Oña

Lunes, 19/12/2022

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –

Titular –

¡Tricampeones! (Triple champions!) – Argentina won the Mundial for the 3d time. The first two times were in 1978 y 1986. <It’s still sports so if you weren’t watching the game like 99% of your fellow Cuencanos, you’re on your own.>

Especial – 

De El Mercurio del domingo, 18/12:
Estudian saberes del agua en comuna: Oña (Study of water knowledge in the commune: Oña) – If there’s anything that characterizes the commune of Marcos Pérez de Castilla, it’s the impetus to care for their ecosystems. The commune is in Oña and is composed of 7 communities that protect the water. In 2019, it became the 2nd protected community area in Ecuador. Through it’s inhabitants, over generations since 1940, the communities have fought to safeguard the páramo. However, in the last years, migration caused by lack of employment has left the commune in some danger. One of these is the loss of ancient knowledge.

Patricia Pulla and her son Marcelo, prepare the chicha that will be distributed free in the Pase del Niño. The family will make 10,000 liters of the holiday beverage. (El Mercurio)

Researcher Daniela Samaniego recognized this problem and put together a project to revitalize the heritage behind water management and use. The commune has united to protect about 11,000 hectares. This is a territory in which care and use of water is managed communally. Just by walking around the páramo, it can be seen how things are organized. For example, in the commune and protected zones are channels that supply water to the different sectors of Marcos Pérez de Castilla. The 10-15 km. long channels are constructed in mingas, another characteristic of the commune. Without the mingas, the structures and water management wouldn’t be possible. This convinced Daniela to make a proposal in response to call from the Instituto Nacional de Patrimonial Cultural for projects that maintain the social memory of Ecuador. It was one of the projects selected for funding.

The project has two objectives. The first is the recovery of knowledge about community water management to see how past generations administered the water and managed the páramo. The second is to find learning pathways so others can access the knowledge of Marcos Pérez de Castilla. She expects her project to be finished in 2-1/2 months with learning guides and audiovisual materials that can be shared with anyone who wants to know how the families of the commune care for one of the most valuable assets of the Earth.

De El Mercurio del sábado, 17/12:
Chicha con sabor pauteño prepara la familia Pulla (Chicha with flavor of Paute prepared by Pulla family) – Starting el viernes, 16/12, everyone living near the Tótems redondel (roundabout) knew the Pulla family had started making the 10,000 liters of chicha to be shared on 24/12 at the Pase del Niño Viajero. The smells of pineapple, orange and cedrón permeated the air, especially near the house on av. Remigio Crespo where the cauldrons of the drink are made on the back patio. Patricia Pulla decided to maintain the 65 year old tradition in spite of her father’s death in August.

She starts buying the ingredients little by little at least 2 months before the Pase del Niño. One day is for the pineapple and naranjilla. Another is for the cedrón, manzanilla and orange leaves. After that, the cane is bought and the jora <maybe malted wheat?> which needs to be milled. Then come the spices – anis, cinnamon and ishpingo. <So far sounds a lot like what goes into colada morada, but without the red fruits.> Once she has all the ingredients, they go into the kettle. After cooking, the beverage is fermented so that it will reach its best the day of the Pase del Niño.

Cuenca – 

De El Mercurio del sábado, 17/12:
Llegaron los kits técnicos para votaciones secionales: Azuay (Technical kits arrived for the sectional voting: Azuay) – The Delegation of the Consejo Nacional Electoral (CNE) in Azuay announced the receipt of 114 technical kits for the 5/2/2023 elections. The packages, which were distributed nationally, contain computers, scanners and USB cables for data transmission. They will be in the custody of the Fuerzas Armadas (FF.AA. – Armed Forces) which is also responsible for their transport. 2,172 kits were distributed nationally and will be used in the Centros de Digitalización de Actas (CDA). The CNE also provided biosafety kits to protect election volunteers from Covid. The CNE will test the equipment on el 8/1 and el 22/1.

Sucesos – 

Sugerencias para la Navidad y fin de año (Suggestions for Christmas and year-end) – There are some emergency calls that are more common in diciembre including traffic accidents, fireworks accidents and gas tank accidents. Due to the frequency of these reports, ECY 911 is conducting a campaign called “El regalo más grande es tu vida” (The best biggest gift is your life). In 12/2021, there were 29,176 reports of traffic and mobility accidents, 237 emergencies involving pyrotechnics, and 303 reports about LPG tanks. ECU recommends that drivers respect speed limits, traffic signals, don’t drive after drinking, don’t use your phone while driving, and use your seat belt. <That should be for every day . Can you imagine what damage a bottle rocket ricocheting around in your bathroom could do? Your new nickname would be Uni-ojo or sin cojones.> Don’t light them near gas tanks either. Don’t try to remove the contents of a firework.

For personal security during this shopping season, observe the following when walking around the city or when in crowds. Before leaving the house, only put what you need in your purse or wallet. Be careful with your purse, carrying it in front of you as closely to you as possible. Don’t leave your phone where everyone can see it. Don’t count your money in the street. Thieves like commercial areas so follow this advice.

If you bring kids shopping with you, it’s absolutely necessary to have another adult with you to help with the kids. Don’t pull out wads of money or count it in front of everyone. When trying on clothes or shoes, don’t forget to keep track of your purse and packages. <Do you really want to chase the thief who grabbed your purse from the dressing room down the street in your underwear?> When paying, don’t lose sight of your credit or debit card, and if you see it being scanned in different scanners, ask for a supervisor.> <I wonder how many people got their pockets picked at the Mall del Río during the game yesterday?>

Descuentos y compras – 

Ford – Ranger in deciembre from $32,990 including 1 year maintenance, free matrícula (registration), $1,000 bonus, and no payments until 3/2023 – financing for 84 months at 8.52% <with financing, get one truck for the price of 2!>

And that’s all for today so hasta ? –

Jeanne