Jueves, 17/12/2015: Christmas music, Complaints about taxi and bus mistreatment and pollution, Tranvia trivia

Hola, Todos – 

Pagina cultural –

Coros – 4 choruses will sing traditional “villancicos” (Christmas carols – your word for the day is a seasonal one – you think you’ll still remember it next Christmas? If you’re my age, still learning Spanish, and said yes, you are a hella optimist.) at Fri (18/12) at 19:00 in the Complejo Patrimonial Todos Santos.

Dibujos – drawings on the theme of the Pasada del Niño de Navidad by the students of the Luis Cordero School were shown in City Hall at 10:30.

Exposición – An exhibit of paintings and sculptures by Fausto Bravo will open tomorrow at 19:00 in the Casa de las Posadas.

Articles about –

The Childrens’ and Youth Orchestra will play a Christmas Concert this Sat at 12:00 in Chaguarchimbana.

A short film titled “Juventudes y Participación” (Youth and Participation) was produced by a youth group who took part in a series of workshops on film making.

Villancicos – (I hope you haven’t forgotten your word for the day this quickly.) sung by the childrens’ chorus of the Centro Cultural Andino (all cognates, so you’ve nailed your own translation, no?) along with 88 young women aspiring to be police officers will be on 4 days, all at 19:00. Thurs at the iglesia (church) de María Auxiliadora, Fri in the iglesia San Sebastián, Sat. in the Catedral Vieja (passes are being issued for this performance), and Sun. in the Glorieta del Parque Calderón.

A performance of “La Niña de los Fósforos” was today at 19:30.

Otras cosas – 

Titular – Emelec, a un paso de ser tricampeón (Emelec, one step from being triple champions)

Tranvia – municipal authorities say it will be done in July, 2016. Neighbors are skeptical. The bridge at the Yanuncay has been under construction for a year and is still unfinished. When the similar work starts on the bridge at the Tomebamba, the supposition is it will take the same amount of time. (That would put completion of the bridge after next Christmas – not exactly July.)

Tranvia trivia –

– 12 of the 14 trains are in the Patio Taller (the train yard) and the last two will arrive on the 16th and on the 30th. When running, there will be 12 trains in service and two in reserve.
– Each train has a capacity of 300 passengers and the system can carry a maximum of 130,000 a day.
– Trains will be spaced every 6 minutes during rush hours and every 10 minutes at other times with service from 5:30 to 22:00.
– There are 3 major sections to the system – av. De Las Américas, El Centro and av. España.
– In El Centro, the electric lines will be underground to preserve the historic character, and anti-vibration mats will be used to protect the buildings.
– The budget is $232 million. (Wonder how much it would have been in the US – a billion?)

Design Fair – at the U of Azuay from yesterday to tomorrow from 9-18:00.  The fair showcases the work of the students.

Años Viejos and Mascaradas contests – are open for entries. Register at the Amistad Club from 28-30/12 for the Años Viejos and from 2-5 for the Mascaradas. (If you’re just now thinking about entering, I think you’re very late. People have been working on their displays for a while already.)

Complaints – about buses and taxis for mistreatment, pollution, disrespect for fares, etc. can be made at number 157 of EMOV. You have to have the license plate number, municipal registry number and the time and place of the incident. (So instead of griping to your friends about how the driver took off before you were ready, you can make an official complaint. If you can’t do it in Spanish, better get your facilitator to talk for you.)

Chevron – won a judgement in Gibraltar for $28 million against the firm Amazonia Recovery which Chevron said was created by Steven Donzinger, attorney for the indigenous who are suing Chevron. (I can’t figure out what reason Chevron used to sue.)

Abdalá Bucamam Pulley – has announced his candidacy for the presidential elections in 2017. He is the son of Abdalá Bucaram Ortiz who was president for less than a year in 1996-1997. He was tossed out by Congress for “incapacidad mental para gobernar” (mental inability to govern). He was the guy who was up on a stage singing and dancing with the band. Bucaram, Sr. is now living in Panama.

Your sliver of life article today – is more like a sliver under your fingernail. 4 children ages 4, 9, 11 and 15 were abandoned in a small house (the picture shows a room where the sun is shining through the cracks in the boards and it looks like a messy toolshed.)  Dinapen (the part of the police specializing in kidnappings) gave another family member temporary custody of the children while they investigate the abandonment. The kids had been left for a week with no adult.

Internacional –

Nicaragua – will abide by the decision of the Corte Internacional de Justicia (more cognates – just think of them as typos.) which recognized Puerto Rico’s claim to the Isla Portillos. (Now is the island full of income generating resorts and hotels or is it a little chunk of rock and guano?)

Paraguay – 50,000 people were evacuated when the río Paraguay overflowed a 7 meter high “barrera” (barrier). (Which could be anything from a culvert to levees to sandbags.)

Venezuela – supporters of Chavismo have formed an alternate assembly with community representatives. The winning party has enough seats to form a quorum and conduct business. The constitutionality of an alternate Parliament is doubtful. (Oh, boy – nothing the US likes more than an internal squabble as an excuse to move in and protect the oil.)

Descuentos –

Sukasa – 15% discounts on audio/video, white goods, computers, and 20% off on bed and bath, table and kitchen, and “detalles” (details – are those like tchotchkes?)
Ecuagenera – orchids – up to 30% off – 23-24/12 – Francisco de Quevedo in front of the Parque Iberia.
Maxima Vision NG Optica – eyeglasses – 10-15-20% off – all Dec – General Torres 11-54 between Mariscal Lamar and Sangurima.
DekHogar – quilts, decorating, childrens’ clothing – 30% off selected merchandise – Luis Cordero 10-85 between Gran Colombia y Lamar.

And that´s all for today so Hasta Mañana –

Jeanne