Jueves, 21/4/2016: Stories from the earthquake zone, Bars remain closed, Events postponed, Theater to be renovated

Hola, Todos – 

Pagina cultural – 

Upcoming events –

Teatro – An Ecuadorian adaptation of Ibsen’s “An Enemy of the People” (Un enemigo del pueblo) will be presented Sat at 19:30 in the Teatro Sucre.

Ongoing or finished events –

Laboratorio de actores (Actors laboratory) – The final productions of the “Laboratorio de Dirección de Actores y Actuación para Cine” (Laboratory for directing and acting in movies) was shown Thurs. at 19:30 in the centro cultural República Sur (Pres. Córdova 5-55). It was followed by a musical act with DJ Christian López.

Colombian film – “Los viajes del viento” (The Voyages of the Wind) was shown Thurs. at 10:00 and 19:00 in the Sala de Conciertos at the CCE.

Article about –

Plans for the CCE theater – The Casa de la Cultura (CCE) will start spiffing up the theater next week.  It will recover the seating, change the carpets, and paint the walls followed by improvements to the lighting, sound and projection systems.

Pres. Iván Petroff Rojas plans to have ongoing programming in the arts and film. The theater is still able to have events – Wed. they had Caravana Solidaria to benefit quake victims and will have a similar program this coming Wed.  The reopening of the theater will be in the 3d week of March with show honoring the folk dance group Expresión Latinoamericana which is 35 years old.

Otras cosas –

Earthquake news – 

Titular – Gente pide agua; Correa sube el IVA.  (People ask for water; Correa raises the IVA)  As quake victims, especially those in rural areas of Manabí and Esmeraldas plead for water, Pres. Correa announced temporary measures to collect money to deal with costs of reconstruction.  IVA will increase from 12% to 14% for one year, there will be a one time 3% tax on profits, and a one time .9% tax on natural persons with assets over $1 million.

From Pedernales –  In the doors of the main church, a sculpture of the Divino Niño Jesús stands with his arms outstretched.  He was rescued almost intact by 3 soldiers who found him sheltered by pews. His placement there is an act of faith by the people in the canton who have lost everything.  Some are sleeping in shelters and others in the streets.

Two friends stood by the rubble of a hotel where one of the teens lost his sister and baby nephew.  The other teen’s family owned three hotels, all collapsed.  In the area of the central square, only the Alcaldía de Pedernales (City Hall) remained standing.

3 Cubans and a US citizen were killed in the Gran Hotel. Their bodies have been recovered and were taken by the authorities for repatriation.

From Bahía de Caráquez – The city desperately needs help. People are sleeping in the streets and in makeshift camps and the most urgent need is for water, then cleaning supplies, medicine, and light clothing.  Shortages of many products have been reported.  The Bahía de Caráquez Bridge is fine and what little traffic there is, is flowing smoothly.

From Crucita – In this parish of Portoviejo canton, part of the Virgen de Guadalupe Church in the center of the city was destroyed. There were also houses destroyed and there is a need for water and clothing.  Some people are sleeping outside for fear of aftershocks.

Rescue workers – Workers are still holding onto faith that survivors will be found in the ruins.  Fire and police workers from Quito found 12 survivors and 98 dead in Tarqui, Canoa, Jama, El Matal, Flavio Alfaro, Estero Seco and Pedernales.

One described the two aftershocks of 6.1 and 6.3 that hit at 3:33 Thurs. They were recovering equipment, resting, and regaining their strength when the aftershock hit. He said they exited on the run, got to a safe place and immediately heard more houses falling.  He expressed gratitude to the population who opened their churches and schools for sleeping, prepared their food and arranged for water for bathing as well as acting as “guides.”  Locals helped show the workers where to search and would stop to talk to the rescuers, giving them psychological support.

The injured were taken to Quito by air, in the same planes that brought help, rescue workers, doctors and volunteers. Other refugees left in land transport offered by the City of Quito which is using their trucks to bring in aid. Neighbors are saying, “Vecino, si usted no tiene a dónde ir, le ofrezco mi casa.” (Neighbor, if you have nowhere to go, I offer you my house.)

Plan Internacional –  This international group, which focusses on the protection and security of children, is organizing a fund drive to raise 4 million euros to provide water, food, hygiene and household goods and open 30 childrens’ centers to help relieve the trauma suffered.

Survival in makeshift shelters – Survivors are working to rebuild their lives from makeshift shelters.  Families have gathered with whatever they could salvage. Olga Quiroz and her six children are living under a sheet with barely enough space for her to heat water for coffee.  One child is washing clothes. She is cooking the food supplied by authorities – rice, pasta, coffee, bread. Basic toiletries are also in the kits. Other families are living in parks.

Six mobile health units are operating in the area, one in Portoviejo.  They are offering comprehensive medical services including psychiatric attention. What they are seeing most are respiratory conditions aggravated by all the dust and allergic reactions.  3 mobile hospitals have also been sent to Portoviejo.

The large refuge in Cayambe has the extra benefit of a police substation which is helping to control theft throughout the city.  Olga Quiroz and her children sleep in shifts to guard their possesions.

Health emergency – Despite suggestions from epidemiologists, a health emergency has not been declared.  The Minister of Public Health said that they have stopped neither epidemiological nor vector control and are still fumigating against dengue, sika and chikungunya. These actions were in process before the quake.  The director of the Ecuadorian Medical Federation said that there is a grave risk of epidemics especially with unrecovered bodies in an advanced state of decay.

UN – the United Nations intends to make its fund for emergencies available to Ecuador to fill gaps in government programs that aid its citizens.

Misc –

Azuay has sent 77 trucks with a capacity of 250 tons to Manabí and Esmeraldas.

300,000 people have volunteered to help through the web page www.trabajo.gov.ec.

MAGAP has sent 8 mobile veterinary units to attend to animals and prevent health emergencies.

If you have a tanker to transport water, call 4058 141 and 4058 142.

A Radio Maratón was today at the Glorieta in Parque Calderón to raise money for children in Manabí y Esmeraldas.

The Catedral Vieja was lit Wed. night with the colors of the flag as a symbolic act of solidarity with those who have lose family.

El Frente de Voluntario “Gran Mariscal Sucre” has signed up 10,000 volunteers at a national level through a virtual call.

MIES has opened a number for organized groups to call to organize relief without duplicating efforts.  Call 2888-413.

COE has picked the “Jorge Calvache” coliseum as the center for classifying and storing aid supplies.  Volunteers can go to help assemble kits.

ETAPA is providing technical assistance to Manta to inspect their water distribution network.  The Municipal Public Works Department is also sending equipment for debris removal.

A private business, Pisos y Maderas, has partnered with volunteers to build coffins. They need hinges, wood planks and carpenters.  Call Santiago Abril at 099 705 1817 and are located on calle Antón de Sevilla y Nicolás de Rocha in the Coral Centro sector.

“Héroes de cuatro patas” (Heros with 4 paws) – Search dogs are being used.

The accepted 72 hour window for searching for survivors has passed, and heavy equipment will start removing debris.  This phase will take several weeks.

Paramedics – 3 paramedics who were among the 12 sent by the José Carrasco Arteaga IESS Hospital to the coast were interviewed about their experience.  I will try to translate what the newspaper quoted. Paúl Maisincho: “At some point I wanted to cry, because it is difficult.  In spite of our experience and professionalism, we are human beings.”  Mesías Pacheco: “We had an expectation about the catastrophe and we entrusted ourselves to God and let Him work for us to be able to help.”  Renso Montalvo: “There were moments when I wanted to break just like my companions, but being in a team helped us gather forces and keep working.”

Otras Cosas – 

Día Mundial de la Bicicleta (World Bicycle Day) on 19/4 – The Casa del Ciclista is asking for new public policies to encourage the use of bicycles. Manuel Larriva, an activist with #MasaCriticaEcuador (Critical Mass Ecuador) is pushing for use of the term “bisiusuarios” (bicycle users) rather than “ciclistas” which infers recreational use.  One lack is parking for bicycles as well as a lack of awareness or respect from motorists.  Next week, EMOV will start a new campaign to promote respect for bicycle users.  The city’s Dep’t of Transit will build bicycle “circuitos.”

Wifi – Public wifi will be coming to parque Los Héroes in El Vecino Parish.

Cerebral palsy – A new location of the Instituto de Parálisis Cerebral del Azuay (IPCA) has opened in the Yanuncay sector between av. 1 de Mayo y Isabel La Católica.  Besides the treatment areas for children suffering from this disease, there is ample parking.

Sinincay – The government of Sinincay Parish is buying a dump truck with a $104,000 loan from the Banco de Desarrollo Del Ecuador (Ecuadorian Development Bank).  This will allow for the cleaning of more than 120 km of roads in the parish.

Suspension – Nightlife activity has been suspended for another 72 hours until Sat, 23/4.  This includes bars, discos, karaokes, reception halls and other places where alcohol is sold and consumed.  Some people chose to drink in the streets and were moved out in a police operation.  (I guess you barflies will have to do your drinking at home.)

Superintendent of Control – is telling store owners and managers to not to speculate and raise prices because of the disaster.  (Always someone who thinks making an extra buck is more important than anything else.  Too many of these guys in the Fortune 500 and on Wall St.)

Store owners are reporting that they are out of gallon bottles of water which have been bought as donations.

Amenidades – 

Various events have been suspended including Rotofest which was scheduled for Sat, 23/4 – no new date; Modea Designer Book was scheduled for 28/4 – no new date; and Topa en Junior Express – Todos a Bordo which was scheduled for Sat, 30/4 will be rescheduled to Sat, 18/6 at 16:00 in the Coliseo Mayor Jefferson Pérez.

Earthquake benefit – A buffet dinner show with Diego Zamora and 5 other artists will be on Fri, 22/4 at 20:00 in “La Parrillada” (av. Remigio Tamariz y Federico Proaño). Cost: $25.00.

Internacional – 

Argentina – 31,000 people have been affected by flooding in northeast and central Argentina.  22,700 are still isolated by flood waters especially in Entre Ríos.

Brazil – The Supreme Court of Brazil has left ex-president Lula da Silva in limbo as to his appointment as a minister in Rousseff’s government who is herself facing impeachment.

Deportes –

Club Andinismo Sangay – the club will not cancel its weekend hike this Sunday. Meet at 5:30 at the club house (Sucre 3-12 y Tomás Ordóñez).  The first stop will be a visit to Susudel parish at 7:30, then to Saraguro at 10:00.  Next stop is the community of Gera and a visit to the Silban hill to see the markers of the French Geodesic Mission and other sights.  The 6 km. hike will be from Gera to Pucaras and take 4 hours. Call Adrián Aguirre at 099 151 8593.

Discuentos y compras – 

Banco Guayaquil – is introducing “Efectivo Móvil” (Mobile cash). With their app, “Banca Virtual Móvil” available from the App Store or Google Play, you can send money from your B. Guayaquil account via your phone which the recipient can pick up at a B. Guayaquil ATM.  (I bet the rest of the banks won’t be far behind on this.)

Expo vive Viajando 2016 – a travel fair at the Convention Center in the Mall del Río – today to 24/4 from 10-20:00.

And that´s all for today so Hasta Mañana –

Jeanne