Holy Week services, concerts and exhibits agenda; Folkloric festival of sacred music; Highwaymen kill Cuencano near Pasaje; New botanical garden hours

Lunes, 25/3/2024

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –

Dos días de música sacra – The 2nd folkloric festival of sacred music “Plegarias de mi tierra (Prayers from my land) will be el 27 & 28/3 a las 20:00 in the Teatro de la Casa de la Cultura. The cultural corporation DIZA is organizing the event which will have over 200 artists on stage. Tickets are available at Almacenes El Surtido. Cost $10.00.

Ritos Religiosos –

Holy Week in Cuenca features music, art and services at historic churches throughout the city, many of them only open on special occasions. The highlight is the visitation of the seven churches Thursday night. (El Mercurio)

25/3, 10:00 – Coro de Música Sacra – San Blas.
26/3, 18:30 – Procesión de los Pasos – San Blas.
27/3, 19:00 – Coro de Música Sacra – Iglesia de San Alfonso.
28/3, until 24:00 – 7 churches, all open until 24:00.
19:00 – Circuito Cultural – All of calle Bolívar between Coronel Tálbot y Luis Cordero.
29/3, 19:00 – Vía Crucis – Catedral Nueva.
30/3 – Vigilia (Vigil) – All Churches.
31/3, 9:00 – Domingo de Pascua (Easter Sunday) – Catedral Nueva.

De El Mercurio del domingo, 24/3 (2 articles):

Muestra de arte sacro en el Salón del Pueblo (Exhibit of sacred art at the People’s Hall) – <People’s Hall sounds vaguely communistic which would not be the expected venue for sacred art.> The exhibit ORA PRO NOBIS will open el 27/3 a las 19:00 in the Salón del Pueblo de la Casa de la Cultura. The show will have candlestick virgins and decorative urns. The artists will be there to interpret the classic objects which are part of the religious tradition in Ecuador. <If you’re lucky, there might be an artist who can do the presentation in English. If you’re not, I don’t think you’ll have enough time to bring your Spanish up to the level needed. If you don’t speak Spanish, how do manage to thrive, to say nothing of survive, here?> Cost: Gratis (free – a handy word to know).

Opciones de talleres da la Dirección de Cultura (Workshop options offered by the Department of Culture) – 2 workshops run by the Department of Culture will start today el 25/3. The first is a painting in acrylics workshop in the Centro Municipal Los Sauces (Juan Ruiz Morales y av. de Las Américas) a las 14:00. It will run until el 27/3. The 2nd wil be in the Casa del Alfarero (Convención del 45 y Mariscal La Mar) between this 25 y 28/3 a las 14:30. It will be about making macetas (flowerpots). Cost: gratis >See? that word has already come in handy.>

Titular –

Matan a alcaldesa más joven del país (Youngest female mayor in the country killed) – See today’s article in CHL for story.

Cuenca –

Jardín Botánico atiende con un nuevo horario (Botanical Garden opens with a new schedule) – The new hours for the Botanical Garden of Cuenca, located between the Tarqui and Yanuncay rivers in the La Isla sector <I know – a double “the,” but I’m going with La Isla as a complete name am putting a the in front. You grammarians can either correct me or confirm my choice.>, will be from 7:00 – 9:00. <My guess is that the 9:00 means 9 pm since opening for only 2 hours in the early morning doesn’t make much sense.> During visits to the garden it is recommended that you follow the established recommendations: stay on the marked paths; follow the indicated directions; don’t run or use means of transportation such as bicycles, scooters, or skates; take care of the space and don’t touch or pick the plants on exhibit; don’t smoke or light fires; avoid littering; and if you enter with a pet, the owner should bring a bag for poop. <And use that poop bag even though it wasn’t specified in the article.>

Iglesias iluminadas con motive de Semana Mayor (Churches illuminated for the Easter Week) – From ayer until el 31/3, there will be special lighting of the churches in Cuenca to commemorate Holy Week. From 19:00, you can see the lighting at the Catedral de La Inmaculada Concepción; San Sebastián, San Francisco, San Alfonso, Santo Cenáculo, y del Carmen de la Asunción churches; y la Catedral Vieja. Last weekend, the domes of the New Cathedral were turned off to observe the ‘Hora de la Planeta’ when lights for the main monuments of the world were off for this environmental observance.

Sucesos –

Prisión preventiva por tráfico de 221 kilos de cocaína (Remanded in custody for trafficking 221 kilos of cocaine) <Now I theoretically know what prisón preventiva means. Had to google what remanded in custody means> – 2 people were arrested by Armed Forces personnel at a shrimp farm in the “Tres Bocas” sector in the Gulf of Guayaquil. Also seized as evidence were a cellphone, a 9 mm. pistol, an electronic device and other evidence. The cocaine was in 199 brick type packets hidden in plastic tubes almost buried in the floor. According to preliminary investigations, this cargo for export was transiting through the site with the final destination unknown. <You and I know that it was probably the US or Europe with maybe a stopover in Brazil.>

Un fallecido en asalto a cuencanos en Pasaje (One dead in assault on Cuencanos in Pasaje) – <This article is to scare the stuffing <I know the more common word used, but I’m trying to respect the sensibilities some of you have towards vulgar language.> out of all you fearful gringos. Not that this makes me want to go to Pasaje.> A 35-year-old man was killed in a robbery during the madrugada <remember that word? If not, look it up.> of el 24/3 in the Bellavista parish of Pasaje in El Oro Province. The victim was returning to Cuenca with his family after going to his cousin’s wedding in Huaquillas canton. On the return to Cuenca, the pickup truck was intercepted by armed robbers in another vehicle who apparently wanted to rob the pick up. The family was shot at and the victim was shot in the head. He was taken to a hospital in Machala where he died.

And that’s all for today so hasta ? –

Jeanne
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Editor’s note: Jeanne’s Periodico is a translated digest of news from the Cuenca daily newspaper El Mercurio. If details, such as event dates and times, do not appear in the translation, they did not appear in the newspaper (please don’t ask her for them). If information is incorrect, it is the responsibility of El Mercurio. The text between the carrots, or guillemets (< … >), is Jeanne’s personal opinion and not part of the news translation.