Jueves, 3/12/2015: Polyphonic quintet, expat integration, cuy festival, new iTur

Hola, Todos – 

Pagina cultural – 

Feria – A Christmas Fair at the Alianza Francesa this Sat. at 9:00.  Free.

Diálogo – There was a program about Kapac Raymi at the Museo Pumapungo Thu (3/12) at 19:00.

Concierto – The Quinteto Polifónico Ciudad de Cuenca (The Polyphonic Quintet of the City of Cuenca) will play Fri (4/12) at 10:00 in the Glorieta in Parque Calderón.

Articles about –

The management plan for the old Seminary, which will contain religious and cultural spaces, is being discussed. There are 3 spaces in the discussion – the new cathedral, which is having emergency work done on the domes (sounds like a dental repair) and which needs complete studies of the building; calle Santa Ana which will be reopened; and the uses for the old Seminary. Calle Santa Ana is between the cathedral and seminary and the end opening to Padre Aguirre is behind a brown wooden door in a wall. The Benigno Malo end is bricked off.

The 2015-2016 Directory of Ecuadorian Photographers was distributed by the Asociación de Fotógrafos Ecuatorianos which is a new organization with 220 members.  Requirements for membership are the demonstration of a sincere dedication to photography and a portfolio (either physical or electronic) of at least 3 years of work.  Go to www.fotografosecuatorianos.com for more info

A concert today Thu (3/12) at the Catedral Vieja. (It’s long over)

Casa de América is calling for entries for the XVI Prize for American Poetry. (The America the contest refers to is all the Américas – north, south and central)  The poetry must be written in Spanish.

Otras cosas –

Titular – Máxima seguridad para debate (Maximum security for debate). The debate on the constitutional amendments started early this morning.

Marimba music – has been accepted for a Patrimonio Inmaterial (Intangible Heritage) designation. The World Cultural and Intangible Heritage list will now include “Música de marimba y cantos y bailes tradicionales de la región colombiana del Pacífico Sur y de la provincia ecuatoriana de Esmeraldas.” (Marimba music and traditional songs and dances of the South Pacific region of Colombia and the Ecuadorian province of Esmeraldas.)

Your sliver of life article – is about the alternate route to Ordóñez Lasso. El Tejar is the alternate route and it’s dusty and full of potholes. Neighbors are spraying down the street to try keep the dust down. (Different in the US where the neighbors would be on the phones complaining about the dust. But maybe the people on El Tejar already did and it didn’t work.)

Parking – in SERT zones of EMOV is limited to 2 hours. A ticket for exceeding the time limit as well as using parking cards from another day gets you a $17.70 fine. (I was told about a stingy gringo who wrote out the parking card in pencil and kept erasing and rewriting the card with new times and days as needed.  Tsk, tsk.)

The Cuencanízate campaign – was launched by the city in Parque Calderón yesterday.  The campaign is to get foreign residents integrated into the celebrations that are traditional in Cuenca and to get them more information about the modismos (idioms – another word for the day) characteristic of Cuencans. (Is the unstated goal – learn something about where you’re living and get used to it because you aren’t in Kansas anymore?)

The new ITUR – office is located in the Museo Municipal Escuela Central and provides service in English, Spanish and French.  It also has Wi-fi, a waiting room and bathrooms.  There are two other locations – on Sucre frente al Parque Calderón (front – your Spanish word for the day), and in the airport.

An industrial park for mine processing – is being analyzed for Ponce Enríquez. The intent is to centralize the processing which would minimize environmental impacts. (Not if they put it next to water sources.)

Police found – 17 potted pot plants in Paute.  (So chew on that one, Peter.)

Quillopungo is having a cuy festival – on Sun (6/12) from 9:00 in the parochial (Luis Cordero Parish) stadium.  There will be contests for the heaviest cuy, best costume, etc.  The cuy growers? ranchers? farmers? In Spanish they’re cuyeros and they raise an average of 200 animals which reach maturity in 3 months and are fed grass and corn meal. (By the way, that corn meal is the same grind I used in the US for corn bread (Was Alber’s a national brand?). The polenta is a a little too course, and the harina de maíz is a little too fine. But cuy food is just right.)

Amenidades – 

The Rotary Club Tomebamba is having a gran mercado de pulgas (big flea market – I imagine you dog owners already know the word pulgas) on Fri (4/12) and San (5/12) from 9-16:00 at the Club on Av. 27 de Febrero 41-15 (between the fire station at Roberto Crespo and Fco. Moscoso which goes to the U of Azuay).

Health Council closing ceremonies – at which ARCA and Happy Dogs in Cuenca were acknowledged. Pictures of Marcia G., Teresa W., Julie S., Neil P, Inge P, Karen C, Vickie C, and Jeanne C.

Descuentos –

Whirlpool – liquidation – factory prices – in Hotel Oro Verde – Sat, (5/12) from 9-16:00.

Areldi Jeans – 50% off all merchandise – Mall del Rio, Monay Shopping, C.C. El Vergel, Centro Histórico – 3, 4, 5, 6 de Dec.

And that´s all for today so Hasta Mañana –

Jeanne