Holy Week agenda; Growth puts strain on Puertas del Sol utilities; The gnocchi and pasta tradition at Mangiare; Rural areas suffer from poor bus service

Bored? –
(De El Mercurio del sábado, 28/3) Semana de retiro de cuaresma (Lenten Retreat Week) – <Pardon me for using a translation program, but I have no idea how to translate the religious terms, not having been brought up Catholic. The Easter schedule of activities below does not have dates, just days of the week.>
Semana Santa (Holy Week>)
DOMINGO DE RAMOS (Palm Sunday) –
Procesión (Procession) – 10:30
Misa y Bendición de Ramos (Mass and Blessing of the Palms) -11:00
MARTES SANTO (Holy Tuesday)
Procesion Pasos Santos (Procession of the Holy Steps) – 18:00

Thousands will observe the Holy Week tradition of the Procession of the Steps Tuesday night in Cuenca. The procession begins at 6 p.m. at Calle República and proceeds up Calle Simon Bolivar to the cathedral. (El Mercurio)

JUEVES SANTO (Holy Thursday)
Misa de la Cena del Señor (Mass of the Lord’s Supper) – 17:00
Adoración a Jesús Sacramentado (Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament) – 19:00
VIERNES SANTO (Holy Friday)
Celebración de la Pasión del Señor (Celebration of the Passion of the Lord) – 15:00
SABADO DE GLORIA (Palm Saturday?)
Vigilia Pascual (Easter Vigil) – 19:00
DOMINGO DE RAMOS (Palm Sunday) –
Procesión – 10:00
Misa y Bendición de Ramos (Mass and Blessing of the Palms) -11:00
LUNES SANTO (Holy Monday)
DÍA DEL PERFUME (PERFUME DAY)
09:00- Vía Crucis (en cada estación perfumar a Jesús) (Way of the Cross (offering incense to Jesus at each station)) <After all that perfume, those stations must smell like a cheap you-know-what.>
15:00 – Rezo de la coronilla de la Divina Misericordia y Vía Crucis (Prayer of the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and the Stations of the Cross)
16:00 – Rezo del Santo Rosario, Reflexión sobre el Sacramento de la Penitencia (Prayer of the Holy Rosary, Reflection on the Sacrament of Penance)
MARTES SANTO
PASOS SANTOS, PROCESIÓN CON EL SEÑOR DE LA JUSTICIA Y JESÚS NAZARENO (HOLY PROCESSION, PROCESSION WITH THE LORD OF JUSTICE AND JESUS OF NAZARETH)
09:00 – Vía Crucis (en cada estación perfumar a Jesús)
15:00 – Rezo de la coronilla de la Divina Misericordia y Vía Crucis
16:00 – Rezo del Santo Rosarior
18:00 – PROCESIÓN DE LOS PASOS SANTOS (PROCESSION OF THE HOLY STATUES)
MIERCOLES SANTO <For those of you who are aware that Miércoles is a euphemism used in Spanish the way “crap” is used in English, one could translate this day as Holy S**t>
09:00 – Vía Crucis (en cada estación perfumar a Jesús)
15:00 – Rezo de la coronilla de la Divina Misericordia y Vía Crucis
16:00 – Rezo del Santo Rosario y Meditación sobre el Sacramento de la Comunión (Prayer of the Holy Rosary and Meditation on the Sacrament of Holy Communion)
JUEVES SANTO
17:00 – Cena del Señor (Lord’s Supper)
19:00 – Rezo de las visitas de las siete Iglesias (Prayer during the Visitation of the Seven Churches)
20:00 – Adoración a Jesús Sacramentado (Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament)
21:00 – Adoración a Jesús Sacramentado
23:00 – Hora Santa Monasterio (Holy Hour at the Monastery)
00:15 – Canto de Maitines ( Matins)
01:00 – Vigilia de Oración, Rezo del Agreda (Pasión del Señor) (Prayer Vigil, Recitation of the Agreda (Passion of the Lord))
VIERNES SANTO
10:00 – Rezo del Vía Crucis
15:00 – Celebración de la Pasión del Señor
19:00 – Descendimiento del Señor (The Descent of the Lord) –
SABADO SANTO
09:00 – Soledad de María (Solitude of Mary)
19:00 – Vigilia Pascual (Easter Vigil)

Hungry? –
(De El Mercurio del domingo, 29/3) La tradición de los ñoquis y las pastas (The tradition of gnocchi and pasta) – Since its start, Mangiare Bene has been a reference for Italian cooking in the city. And it follows the most deep-rooted customs in the Mediterranean. On the 29th of every month, the restaurant serves gnocchi which originated in a popular story from northern Italy about a young doctor named San Pantaleón. He was going through Iberian towns (and when did Italy become Iberian?) and one night found himself both hungry and broke. He was invited by a humble family who shared a simple dish with him containing potato and flour and an intense flavor. As a sign of gratitude, the saint predicted they would have a prosperous year. The word got around, and the residents adopted the custom of serving gnocchi every 29th, placing a bill under the plate to attract abundance for the following month.

Owner Daniel Hernández said that the restaurant has followed this tradition for several years, as part of sharing Italian culture in an authentic way. The gnocchi recipe is a family secret passed down from generation to generation, but it contains potato, flour, egg, salt, and a touch of nutmeg. Their pastas are artisanal and made at the moment with products from local growers, using traditional techniques, adapted to their surroundings. The sauces go from the traditional sauce with tomatoes and herbs from the garden to pesto with basil, parmesan, olive oil and nuts. They also have cream sauces with cheeses, carbonara, a red sauce with seafood, and more.

Other artisan pastas are made by Elizabeth Martinez who learned from Silvia Veron in the Stella Maris factory in Buenos Aires. She offers white raviolis and green raviolis with spinach, filled with 3 cheeses and with cheese and spinach. The raviolis are packaged in portions for 2 people and cost $12. She recommends ordering 4 days in advance at 099 973 0006.

Curious? –
(De El Mercurio del sábado, 28/3) Deficiencias en servicios hay en Puertas del Sol (Service deficiencies in Puertas del Sol) – Residents of the Cazhapata sector of the Puertas del Sol area, report that urban and commercial growth could be a factor in the frequent power outages. One medical doctor has lived in the Cazhapta sector of Puertas del Sol for over 2 decades. In her first years in the area she never had the problems that are now common: frequent power outages, and on occasion, low water pressure. This sector of Cuenca was originally a residential zone with 1 and 2 story houses. It has evolved into a commercial area with shopping centers and large apartment buildings. This rapid growth has transformed the zone, affecting the tranquility of the residents. She believes that this could be one of the main causes of the service interruptions, especially electrical. Although the outages started a couple of years ago, they have become almost constant in the last months. Sometimes they are short and others last hours.

Another neighbor commented that when she reported the outages to Centrosur, the answer was “birds land on the wires.” She believes that the problems are in the transformers which are overloaded due to the growth of large buildings, leading to occasional outages. She also said that low water pressure is worrying, especially for those without reserve tanks. Added to this is the fear that the sewage system, designed for a smaller demand, might collapse due to the current high demand. <All those gringos flushing their toilet paper into a system not designed to handle that extra waste?> Businesses in the zone are also suffering due to the deficiencies in basic services. Another resident said her daughter has a hamburger place which is affected mainly by electrical outages. However, residents have noticed repairmen working on light posts.

The Mercurio contacted both the Empresa Eléctrica Regional Centrosur and the Empresa Municipal ETAPA EP about the problems. ETAPA said it is coordinating with their technical departments to do inspections regarding the complaints. No response was received from Centrosur before the close of the edition.

(De El Mercurio del lunes, 30/3) Déficit de transporte público golpea a parroquias rurales (Public transportation shortage hits rural parishes) – There are parishes in the rural zone of Cuenca which face serious problems with public transport. In some cases, service is limited, and in others, buses don’t go to distant communities. In Nulti, for example, residents have service barely 6 hours a day in 3 time slots: 6-8:00, 11-13:00, and 17-19:00. People in distant sectors such as Zhizhio have no other options than to hire pick-up taxis to get to the city. The situation in Sidcay is similar to Nulti. Also a problem are the bus stops which do not provide shelter from sun or rain. In Chaucha the situation is more critical with only 1 bus trip which leaves Cuenca at 06:45 to Chaucha and returns to Cuenca at 12:00. The other alternative is to hire a private vehicle for $150 which is a significant expense for local families.

The Dirección de Gestión de Movilidad (DGM) del Municipio de Cuenca explained that public transport in the canton has different coverage between the urban and rural zones. Urban transport goes directly to parishes such as Ricaurte, Baños, San Joaquín, Sayausí, Sinincay, Turi and El Valle that have greater functional integration with the city. There is partial coverage in Paccha, Santa Ana, Nulti, Octavio Cordero Palacios, Checa, Llacao, Sidcay, Tarqui and Chiquintad where the urban routes mostly go to the parish centers or major roads. Intracantonal transport serves parishes with smaller populations and farther from the urban area such as Tarqui, Quingeo, El Valle, Nulti, Santa Ana, Cumbe, Victoria del Portete, Turi, Sinincay, Molleturo and Chaucha.

Regarding the limited frequencies of the buses, Pablo Carvallo, director of the DGM, explained that coverage responds mainly to the low population density and a scattered demand. Added to these are geographic conditions and complicated roadways with larger distances and irregular topography <Have you ever seen buses making 3 to 5 point turns to get around some of the hairpin turns?>. These conditions increase times and operating costs. So transport in these parishes is usually concentrated in peak hours or at key times for connections which means long intervals and less service during the rest of the day. Carvallo said that frequencies and routes are reviewed periodically according to the needs of the population. Municipal planning for 2026 is considering increasing coverage both urban and rural with progressive improvements to service.