Holidays wrap up, Glas’ future is uncertain, Black mama festival in Latacunga, Land and water

Domingo, 5/11/2017

Hola, Todos –

Pagina cultural –

Today’s (Sunday) agenda events –

Workshop – The hopefuls for the “Taller de actuación para cámara” (Performing for a camera workshop ) have been selected. The workshop is part of the VI Orquídea Film Festival School from the 20-30/11. You can see the list at http://www.festivalcineorquidea.com.

Articles about –

Religious art – The Congregación de los Oblatos have a varied collection of religious paintings, sculptures and art at their mother house in the Convento de la Merced.

Mama Negra – The Mama Negra parade in Latacunga is a symbiosis of the Indigenous, Spanish and African cultures as well as of music, dance, food, religion <or, I’d imagine, many religions>, politics and economy. The parade had bands, clowns, the Ángel de la Estrella (Angel of the Star), and La Mama Negra. <The character would be considered highly politically incorrect in the US. In the photo, the person who represents the Mama Negra is a man in very showy Chola garb with his face painted black.> The origin of the celebration has different versions. One is to celebrate the intercession of the Virgen de la Merced who calmed the Cotopaxi volcano; another version came from African workers imported by the Spanish to work mines, and who attributed their freedom to the Virgen de la Merced; and a third is that the celebration started in 1963 with people living in a central barrio who organized a festival around the independence of Latacunga. <And, as they say, it took off from there.> The character of Mama Negra wears blackface as a symbol of the fertility of the earth.

Otras cosas –

Titular -Desfile militar para celebrar a Azogues ( Military parade to celebrate Azogues)

Retired teachers – Only 595 of retired teachers receive “el incentive jubilar” (the retirement incentive – I think for taking voluntary retirement>. There are some 27,000 teachers in the country who have that right which the Government has been postponing. The Coordinadora de Maestros Jubilados (Coordinator of Retired Teachers) called for everyone to be paid since there are retirees with pressing needs, and some have died without receiving any money. Payments which have been pending since 2001, have started with the 595 retirees suffering from catastrophic illnesses and disabilities.

Festejos (Celebraciones – your synonym for the day) – The celebrations are continuing in Cuenca with events until the end of the month. Sunday activities includes:
Puento Roto – art show
Plazoleta de Las Monjas (Pres. Córdova y Borrero) – Ikat, cheese and chocolate.
El Otorongo – Crafts fair.
Centro Agrícola Cantona, exCREA (av. México) – Azuay in your hands expo.
Lighting ceremony in the San Blas, Calderón, Sebastián, and Barranco parks and the Churches.

Glas – Judicial, administrative and political debates are going on over the “salida” (exit) <If you’re somewhere and the fire alarm goes off, look for that sign and arrow.> of Glas. Administratively, his “ausencia temporal” (tempory absence) will be over in enero. Once the absence is longer than 3 months/90 days, it becomes an “ausencia definitiva” (definitive absence), and Pres. Moreno can send a list of candidates to the Assembly for the election to replace Glas. Another alternative for removing Glas is a trial in the Assembly (impeachment) which would be difficult since currently, a majority of the AP block does not support this.

Garbage bills – <This could be a repeat article from last year.> EMAC (the garbage company) is asking the EERCS (the electric company) to continue collecting for garbage service in the electric bill. This was prohibited in 2015 with a law that said electric bills should contain bills only corresponding to electrical service. <Make that a repeat article from 2 years ago.> The general manager of EMAC says it is working on a collection system of their own. Right now, they pay about $700,000 to the electric company to collect, and they have spent $180,000 for a consultant, and are prepared to pay $700,000 for software. <Let’s hope that they weren’t sold software recycled from a loan collection company.>

Actualidades – As usual, if any of these short descriptions of articles interests you, go to elmercurio.com.ec to look them up for yourself. <But they are in Spanish and you know how I feel about the accuracy of translation programs.>

Las Fiestas de Cuenca en fotografías. <If only all headlines and articles were as easy to translate as that one.>

Agua y tierra, armoñia vital de los pueblos Andinos (Water and land, vital harmony of the Andean peoples) – “como la sangre es para el hombre, el agua es para la tierra” (As blood is for man, water is for the earth – your bit of wisdom for the day). The article talks about water in the Andean cosmovision, and improved <sophisticated, I think even by modern standards> irrigation and water systems brought by the Inca.

A history of the Cuencano independence process. Cuenca declared independence as the “República de Cuenca” on 3/11/1820. <It would have been bigger than than the Vatican which is its own country.>

Intercultural page – Today the article is about the Galápagos which was declared a World Heritage Site in 1979 and a Biosphere Reserve in 1985.

Remigio Crespo’s gold 32 leaf laurel crown will be going on public exhibit. <Somewhere, over the rainbow>

Sunday supplement – A spa in your kitchen –
This mask is for sensitive skin. Mix 4 tsp. of cream cheese, 1 tsp. of oatmeal <doesn’t say raw or cooked – I’m guessing raw>, and 1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice. Plaster on your face. The oatmeal (avena) absorbs and removes dirt and impurities from your skin and leaves it smooth and moisturized.
Dry skin mask – Creamy guacamole with only a few drops of virgen olive oil but no other salt, seasonings, etc.) Plaster on your face and neck and leave 30 min.
Anti-acne mask – <Might not be worth it – just see the list of ingredients.> – Combine aloe vera, apples, avocado, carrot, cream cheese, cucumber, lemon, mango, pear, peach, strawberry, pineapple, wheat germ and yogurt with the honey. <Now you have a use for leftover fruit salad.> Remove seeds and peels and grind everything together or throw it all in a blender until smooth. Plaster on your face and leave for 15 min. Rinse off with tepid water.

Internacional –

US – Pres. Trump is making his first Asian tour and will visit Japan, S. Korea, China, Vietnam, and the Philippines. <How is he going to do in Japan? How is a culture with such exacting standards of behavior going to handle a man with the manners of a baboon? China may be easier since this is a country where their tourists to western countries have to be cautioned not to spit in the streets.>

And that´s all for today so Hasta Mañana –

Jeanne