Jueves, 5/5/2016: Court confirms Coopera sentences, Aftershocks, Two crafts fairs

Hola, Todos – 

Pagina cultural – 

Upcoming events –

Comedy show – Ave Jaramillo will perform his show, “Vivir Mata” (To live, kills) on 19&20/5 at 20:30 in the República Sur.  Cost: $8.00.

Ceramics show – Fabiola Roura Herrera is showing show 25 pieces at the Museo de las Conceptas until 31/5.  The show, “Por eso te quiero Cuenca” includes figures of storytellers, candy sellers and others.

Teatro y clown – The groups Clowndestinos and Teatro Pie will perform “Brocoli, el mejor mago del mundo”, “Rigoberto” y “Raices muertas” (Broccoli, the best magician in the world, Rigoberto and Dead roots) tomorow (Fri.) at 20:00 and Sat. at 16:00 in the Teatro de Bolsillo del Sono (Pre. Borrero 6-83 y Pres. Córdova).  (We’ve got clown shows in the US, too.  Mostly they’re running for office.)

Articles about –

CCE (Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana Núcleo del Azuay) – The CCE has a goal to open branches in each cantón of the province.  Branches have already been opened in Sígsig and Paute.  CCE also plans to open un Centro de Saberes Ancestrales (Center for Ancestral Knowledge) in the museo “Manuel Austin Landivar.”

Crafts fair – “Soy artesano, soy patrimonio”  (I am a craftsman, I am heritage) will start tomorrow (Fri.) and run to Sun. from 10-20:00 in the Plaza de la Cultura next to the Pumapungo Museum (Calle Larga y av. Huayna Cápac).

Another crafts fair by the Casa de la Mujer – “Madres Emprendedoras” (Enterprising Mothers) will run from today to Mon. from 9-20:00 in parque de San Blas (on the Bolívar side). (I don’t think you could miss it even without knowing what side it was on.)

Otras cosas – 

Titular – Golazo de Kouffatty da empate al Cuenca (Cuenca ties with goal by Kouffatty)  (Well, the earthquake is no longer current news if the headline is fútbol)

Bills – Neighbors of the Luis Cordero barrio in El Centro received bills of $3-4,000 up to $7,000 for sidewalk reconstruction, sanitary lines and undergrounding electrical and phone lines.  The neighbors are complaining that they’re overpaying, weren’t notified, and can’t afford it.  (So we have gringo prices which are similar to government prices.  Governments get charged more because of the extra hassle of dealing with them – true for gringos, too? You may have noticed that prices got lower as your Spanish and attitude got better. Or maybe not if you’re one of the relentlessly monolingual.)

Earthquake aid – The Spanish Red Cross delivered 300 temporary housing units which can house 1,500 people.  The structures are raised off the ground and made of galvanized steel frame with canvas walls and a roof.  (Wonder if they’ll be better than the FEMA trailers after Katrina that had mold problems from the get-go.) Ecuador also got shipments of 600,000 anti-tetanus vaccines from Brazil and beds and bedding, food, water and personal hygiene kits from Iran.

Aftershocks – the Instituto Geofisico de Ecuador has counted about 1,200 aftershocks – normal for a quake of this magnitude.

Water deliveries – ETAPA is still delivering water to Manabí, both in half liter bags and in tanker trucks.  So far it has delivered 119,700 liters in tankers and 31,500 in bags.

Holcim S.A. – In an act of solidarity, the company (I think it’s cement) turned down a tax exemption of $1,409,000 on machinery for its new aggregate plant in Daule.  The plant will create 80 jobs and will add more for the reconstruction.  (I bet they’ll be selling as much concrete as they can make.)

TPS (Temporary Protective Status) – is being discussed for Ecuadorians residing in the US.  The status is available to citizens of countries affected by armed conflicts or natural disasters.  The designation would halt deportations and allow Ecuadorians to get work permits.  It does not need congressional action.  (I bet Trump is thinking “no!no!no! – send them all back!”)

Seismic map of Azuay – The Red Sísmica del Austro (Seismic Network of the South) in the U of Cuenca, has seismic vulnerability maps showing buildings and damage scenarios in an earthquake.  They were developed from studies done from 1998 to 2002 and identified the “falla de Girón” (Girón fault) as the main fault that could damage Cuenca.  It could cause an earthquake up to 7.1 on the Richter scale. There was a 7.0 quake in 1911.

The director of the Red Sísmica calculated that in a 7.1 quake, structures in El Centro could suffer severe damage or collapse due to their age.  The city wants to create a seismic map in order to make a micro-seismic zone map which would classify soils for future building.  (Like not putting much of anything on soil with a potential for liquifaction.)  (Those of you in hi-rises might want to consider being on vacation when the “Big One” hits.)

Coopera – The Criminal Court confirmed the sentences of 8 years for 5 of the 7 Coopera officials accused of “peculado” (peculation or embezzlement – that’s your useless word for the day).  The CFO and auditor were acquitted.

Tranvía extentions – The request for more time to complete the work is being discussed by the council.  The issue is who was responsible for the delay, since some were not caused by the contractors, and if “multas prescritas” (Google says prescribed fines.  I knew them as liquidated damages.) will be applied.  One council member cited the current mayor’s stopping the job when he came into office, the wait for UNESCO’s report, and another stoppage so businesses wouldn’t lose Christmas shoppers.

Corpus Cristi – Cuenca will celebrate this holiday from 26/5 to 2/6.  This year here will be a group of crafts people from Manabí selling huevos mollos, rombitos de leche, and dulce de guineo. (More things to make your dentist happy.  If this is your first Corpus Cristi here, you’ll see what I mean.)

TVs on buses – Televisions showing 70% cultural, educational, touristic and entertainment programming and 30% public and private advertising (hemorrhoid medication?) will be on every bus starting with the first phase of 75 buses. The TV will coordinate with the system that announces bus stops.  This Mon. will be the first test of security cameras on the buses.  The planning for WiFi on buses is ready.

Intercultural –

Women in Sayausí and Tañiloma are experimenting with a “trueque” (barter) market. The difficulty is how to value the products.  Are two hens worth one pig?  What if the pig looks sick?

And that´s all for today so Hasta Mañana –

Jeanne