Martes, 14/6/2016: Mining moratorium, Rivers are raging, Intersection reopens

Hola, Todos –

Pagina cultural –

Events –

Teatro – The festival of works by actress Juana Estrella, primarily her monologues, opens this week with “Penélope” at 20:00 in the sala “Alfonso Carrasco” (Luis Cordero y Pres. Córdova).  Tickets available at Librimundi and El Gañal (across the street from or outside of the teatro Carlos Cueva Tamariz).  Free.

Exhibit in CIDAP – “Manos Mágicas” (Magic Hands – no, this is not about basketball) opened yesterday at CIDAP (hermano Miguel 3-23 (Escalinata) y Calle Larga).

The exhibit is of items from the museum’s reserve collection.  The works are of master artesans (thanks to the reader who brought this word to my attention) known for their inventiveness, creativity, designs, treatment of materials, etc.

Articles about –

Bienal – The XIII Cuenca Art Biennial is preparing the contest and publication of 2 collections.  The first, “Los Nuestros,” is about the great masters of contemporary Ecuadorian art and the second is a mini encyclopedia about artist Eduardo Solá Franco. The second is ready and will be presented on 30/6 at 19:00 in the Museo de las Conceptas.

Nuevo Festival –  This new film festival shows movies based on genre rather than based on well known directors.  The two themes for this year’s festival are Visión Latina and Zona Oscura (Dark Zone – crime and horror movies).  The inaugural program is today at 19:00 in the Salón de la Ciudad with the films “Kriptonita” and “Me quedo contigo.” (Kriptonita and I stay with you.)   Suggested donation:  $2.00. For the full schedule, see Monday’s Periodico.

Art and entertainment – The Mall del Río is planning events this week starting with an exhibit of paintings by Daniela Calle which opens at 18:00 tonight in the Piazza del Rio and runs until 30/6. On Fri. at 17:00 the event is part of the Semana de Venezuela and will be a show of “flirt y coctelería.”  Typical Venezuelan drinks (without alcohol) will be demonstrated in the food court with “degustaciones” (tastings – your word for the day) for attendees.  (I hope that you can still go and enjoy even if there isn’t alcohol involved in the drinks.)  The final event will be “el próximo” at 12:00 in the parking lot with “Red Angels Stun” for adrenaline junkies.  (I have no idea which “proximo” (next) they’re referring to – maybe next Tuesday?)

Otras cosas –

Titular – Deslaves afectan vía Loja-Zamora (Landslides affect the vía Loja-Zamora). There were 10 landslides along that route with a major slide at Limón which covered about 120 meters of road.  (Maybe you need to wait until things dry out before you go on that jungle trip.)

An announcement from the U of Cuenca – (This is for those of you who are curious about how much things cost here.)  The U. of Cuenca is offering a professional masters degree in veterinary medicine “Medicina canina y felina” (Dog and cat medicine).  The degree takes 2 years and costs $7,800.00.

Rivers – Cuenca emergency services declared a maximum alert for the possibility of the Tomebamba and Yanuncay Rivers overflowing their banks.  (There’s a reason the Tomebamba’s nickname is “The Killer.”)  Stay away from the banks which can be undercut and weak when the rivers are high and flowing fast.

Isaías brothers – The brothers’ claim the Human Rights Committee of the UN that they did not receive due process has been rejected.  The former owners of the Filanbanco were sentenced in absentia to 8 years for embezzlement and misappropriation of funds.  Ecuador has revived its petition to extradite the brothers from the US.  (I guess even in Ecuador, bankers can evade justice – at least for a few years.)

Earthquake update – As of Sun. at 18:00, 1881 aftershocks were registered.  Chilean engineering experts in the latest structural methods will be in different cities in Ecuador from 14 to 17/6 to talk about seismic resistant regulations and Chile’s experience.

A Spanish theater group will perform works by Homer on 24/6 in the Teatro Español de Madrid to benefit the earthquake victims.  (I don’t suppose the omission of the time matters to you.)

Rating teachers – The “Ser Maestro” program will evaluate 139,474 teachers in their knowledge of various disciplines.  So far, 53,625 in the Sierra and Amazon areas have been evaluated with 63.5% getting 600-700 points out of 1,000 which corresponds to average knowledge.  These teachers should attend refresher programs of 330 hours in their specialty.  These ratings indicate  that the teaching level is insufficient to elevate the country to a level of educational excellence.

Mining moratorium – A majority of El Concejo (Cuenca’s council) is in favor of a mining moratorium since studies on aquifers and hydrogeology at the mines have not been done.  The Río Blanco, Loma Larga, and Ruta del Cobre mines are within the council’s jurisdiction.  The council declared a moratorium in 2012 that mining projects be suspended until they could demonstrate that they would not pollute.  (Which would have to be a permanent suspension – is there even such a thing as a mine that doesn’t pollute?  And would you trust giant foreign mining companies to do this study?  Me neither.)

Road reopening – The intersection of De Las Américas with La Mar in the El Punto sector is open for traffic.  The south to north lanes opened yesterday.

Animal rights – Animal rights activists rejected the remarks of Loja’s mayor who suggested “disappearing” the street dogs and using the remains as fertilizer.  A representative of the Observatorio de Derechos de los Animales (Animal Rights Observers – watchdogs?) said the mayor’s suggestions appear to violate Article 249 of the Penal Code that prohibits animal abuse.  The Animal Protection Ordinance in Cuenca was approved at the 1st debate months ago, and everything has been done to schedule the 2nd and final debate.  Putting it on the agenda is now in the mayor’s hands. Activists will meet today at 19:00m at the Glorieta in the Parque Calderón to apply pressure to approve the ordinance.  (An evening activity for you and your dog.)

English for cops – 22 guardias ciudadanos (the cops it in the green vests) got certificates for completing 2nd level English classes bringing the total to 52.  Most of them will be assigned to El Centro in the areas with the most tourists.  The city and U of Cuenca have also signed an agreement to teach municipal workers basic, intermediate and advanced English.  (But that doesn’t let you off the hook for learning Spanish.)

Discuentos –
 
Autollanta – Father´s Day Sale on Maxxis tires – buy 3 get the 4th free – valid through June – González Suárez 2-79, 280 0022 and www.autollanta.com.

And that´s all for today so Hasta Mañana –
 
Jeanne