Lunes, 10/10/2016: Digital workshops, Auto import restrictions lifted, New museum bathrooms, Haiti is still hurting

Hola, Todos –

Pagina cultural –

Upcoming agenda event –

Fotoclub Cuenca – There will be a meeting of the Cuenca Photo Club on Martes, 11/10 in the Pasamanería factory.  (You’ll have to look up where that is for yourselves.)

Articles about –

CCE – The Casa de la Cultura is continuing to open new extensions.  Currently, 12 of the 15 cantons in Azuay have branches.

Museo Pumapungo – Jonathan Koupermann, the cultural director said that the museum will be renovating its sistema hidrosanitario (water/sanitary system – your words for the day).  It’s part of a multiyear project called “Abriendo el cubo gris” (Opening the gray cube) to improve the spaces and services for visiters.  Good bathrooms are part of what visitors expect and these will be a new image for the museum.  (Which seems to have been built in the stylistic era of “new brutalism.”)

Digital workshops – Workshops on productive use of Smart Phones and digital literacy will be held in the municipal cultural centers – El Cebollar, Eucaliptos, El Angel de Chaguarchimbana, Tomebamba, El Rosal, El Alfarero, Los Sauces and Barrial Blanco.  Call 409 6994 or 282 4462 for more info on these free workshops. (Remember to put the (07) area code in front of the number if you’re calling from a cell phone.)

Escenerios del Mundo – The International Stages of the World Festival will run from 12-24/10.  The first week’s performances will be in the Teatro Pumapungo at 20:00. The opening play is Lunático from Colombia on Miércoles, 12/10.  On Jueves, 13/10 is Malayerba from Ecuador, and Viernes, 14/10 is Money from Chile.  On Sabado, 15/10 from 14-18:00 there will be street theater in the Parque de la Madre with Vagamundo from Brazil. Domingo, 16/10 will be Amarillo from México. (I’m using the Spanish words for the days, because like it or not, you are in a Spanish speaking country and should learn something.)

Otras cosas – 

Titular – Poco optimismo en negocio automotriz (Little optimism in automotive business) – The announcement made 10 days ago to eliminate quotas on auto imports hasn’t generated optimism or enthusiasm.  Nationally, auto sales have fallen by 50% from Enero-Agosto, 2015, when 53,000 cars and trucks were sold to the same period in 2016 when 24,000 were sold.  In Azuay the fall has been 36%.  One dealership manager said the lifting of the quotas had to do with the UE trade agreement and that the cost of a vehicle won’t be affected.

CAF credit – The city administration confirmed that the $60 million credit from the Corporación Andina de Fomento (Andean Development Corporation) will not be diverted to finish the Tranvía.  The money was exclusively for a 4 year program, “Barrio para Mejor Vivir Fase 2” (Neighborhood for Better Living Phase 2).  Projects under that program include paving and repaving streets, drainage and sidewalk improvements, and 20 parks.

Elections – Both AP (Alianza Pais – Pres. Correa’s party – but you should know that already.) and the opposition want transparent elections.  So each has its own “plataforma tecnológica” (technological platform) for “control y conteo electoral” (control and electoral count).  Votes are uploaded to a counting center where they can be read by international monitors.  The AP’s system covers at least 90% of the polling places.  (But someone could still fiddle with the voting machines.  Hard to fiddle with the voters (like the voter ID laws in the US that suppress the votes of different groups of Americans) when there is mandatory suffrage.)

Pananorte – Neighbors are complaining about the state of the Panamericana Norte which is the old main route between Azogues and Cuenca.  The stretch between the González Suárez and the bridge at Guangarcucho is damaged with cracks and potholes, worn off lane lines, no sidewalks, overgrown drainage ditches and speeding vehicles.  Neighbors say the speeders are intercantonal and interprovincial buses who compete with each other for passengers.  (That explains why bus crashes are such common stories.  These drivers must think they’re sitting in a race car.)
 
Your sliver of life article today – El Plan Cuy, Phase 2 is underway.  Agroazuay is giving families a male and 10 females of a breed that reproduces well.  Once the original batch has litters, the family returns 11 cuys to Agroazuay which allows the project to grow and rural families to benefit.

Intercultural –

Comida mestiza – 3 Saragurans studying at the Instituto San Isidro and motivated by a famous chef will offer tapas that fuse ancestral ingredients of the Sierra with recipes that originated in Spain.  They are at El Farol (av. Loja y av. 12 de Abril).

Internacional –

Colombia – Pres. Santos announced that he will donate the 8 million coronas he has received as part of his Nobel Peace Prize to victims of the war.

Haiti – There are still communities in Haiti that are without contact with the rest of the country and there are conflicting counts of deaths and injuries.  One father of 4 said the ONGs and gov’t showed up and left, but didn’t bring any aid.  He’s been trying to find food for 2 days.  However, various countries have pledged aid and some is arriving.

And that´s all for today so Hasta Mañana –

Jeanne