Martes, 16/8/2016: Latest airport update, Vietnamese gastronomy, Repairs on Pan Americana Sur near Cumbe

Hola, Todos –

Pagina cultural –

Upcoming agenda events –

Stand-up comedy – Mexican actor Franco Escamilla will be performing Wed. at 20:00 in the teatro Carlos Cueva Tamariz with his show “Y Ya…”  (Even if you speak Cuencano Spanish, you might need to bring a translator for Mexican Spanish.  Ask anyone who speaks Mexican Spanish about their linguistic transition to Cuenca.)

Sono – As part of Sono’s 8th anniversary, there will be a show Wed. at 19:00 in Sono (Borrero 6-83) with Reina hispana que canta (Spanish Queen who sings) accompanied by Stock-Hous-en DJ.

Foto exhibit – “Cuenca Profunda y Vivencial” (Deep and Experiencial Cuenca), about every day Cuenca, is showing at the Salón del Pueblo.  The show is organized by Fotocultura-Cuenca.

Exhibit – “Zoología Fantástica” (Fantastic Zoology), with surrealistic works by Iván Peña is also showing at the Salón del Pueblo (Sucre y Benigno Malo).

Artes – A variety of arts including new bands, poetry, short stories and more will be showcased this Sat. at 17:00 in the teatro Casa de la Cultura.

Gastronomy – A demonstration of Vietnamese gastronomy will be given by Adam Milenusky at El Salón Café Bar (Luis Cordero 6-75).  Reservations at 099 316 5176. (No day and time given, so you’ll have to call yourself if you’re interested.)

Rock – The Los 70 màs 10 will play Argentine rock this Sat. from 21:00 at the Dnegrus Bar (Los Andes y Altiplano 2-324)  Cover charge: $3.00.  (I wonder how Argentine rocks differs from other rock.)

Articles about –

Film preview – The new film by Sebastián Cordero will preview on Fri at 20:00 after a concert at 19:15 in the teatro Casa de la Cultura.  “Sin muertos no hay carnaval” (Without deaths there is no carnaval)  (Aren’t you glad Cuencanos only hit you with water and foam nowadays?) The film combines the themes of property invasions (I think it’s like squatting only more violent), crime, dangerous sentimental relationships and fútbol into a story about the social tensions in Guayaquil.  Cordero’s other films are showing all this week in the teatro CCE at 19:15.  “Ratas, Ratones y Rateros” (Rats, Mice and Shoplifters) yesterday; “Crónicas” (Chronicles) today; “Rabia” (Rabies or rage) tomorrow; and “Pescador” (Fisherman) on Thu.

CCE – The national elections are today.

II Caminata de Arte (2nd Art Walk) – The inaugural will be on 30/9 in the Galería de la Alcaldía and the walk itself on 1 & 2/10. There will be an expansion of the kinds of art including dance, photography, music, poetry, weaving, performance, and improv. Organizers are inviting artists from all disciplines to submit their proposals to cuencaartwalk@gmail.com.  There will be a catalogue in English and Spanish.

Municipal Library –  The “Daniel Córdova Toral” Library has planned short and medium term projects which include enlarging the reading room and increasing their lending collection in the short term, and moving to the old jail as part of the Parque de Libertad project in the medium term.  (Parents – you can lock your kid in a cell with a book and his homework and not let him out until he’s finished or 18, whichever comes first.)

Film award – The Ecuadorian film, “Alba” received the Mejor Ópera Prima (Best First Film) award at the 20th Festival de Cine de Lima.

Otras cosas –  
 
Titular – Exigen detener explotación minera (Call for a stop to mining).  Read Tueday’s article in CHL for more details.

Road work – Work on the Panamericana Sur betweeen km. 11 & 12 started yesterday and will continue for 15 days.  Traffic will be rerouted from the entrance to the Estación de Cumbe to the redondel (traffic circle – there’s another word for it which I’ve forgotten) de Cumbe.

Airport – (more dates and yada, yada, yada) – The latest news on the airport closure is that work will start “el próximo sabado, como máximo” (next Saturday, at most – this is your phrase for the day and may be a new way to say mañana for mañanas a little further out.).  Bidders for the work will be known today.  The closure will last for a month to make emergency repairs that are intended to allow the landing restriction to be lifted. WED. MORNING UPATE: The airport admin says that a contractor has been chosen for runway resurfacing and that the airport will close Friday night at 10 p.m. The airport will remain closed for 30 days.

There will be 15 passenger microbuses that will leave the airport to take passengers to and from Guayaquil and Quito. That service was supposed to start yesterday morning, but didn’t start until 15:00.  The fare to Guayaquil and back (drop off point in the Formación de Oficiales de Tropa – EFOT) will be $12.50 with 14 daily trips between 2:00 and 20:30.  To Quito, the fare will be $21.00 (drop off at the parque Bicentenario – I think the site of the old airport.) with 26 trips from 0:00 to 23:30. (Will you have to present a ticket or can you just show up if you want to go to Guayaquil or Quito for any other reason?  And why can’t the buses take you straight to the airports?)

Gran Colombia – As of publication time, the paper had not heard of any sanctions being issued although the reporter saw pedestrians strolling along the Tranvía track and in the vehicle lane as well as motor vehicles, bicyclists and motorcycles in the sidewalk and track area.  (Wait until the train starts running – everyone will figure out pretty quickly where they’re supposed to be since the Tranvía will have to stay where it’s supposed to be.)

Traffic controls – 30 speeders were ticketed yesterday on 12 de Octubre (that’s a street and not a date in this context – I know yesterday’s date was 15/8) in a 1-1/2 hour period.  During the holiday (11-14/8), there were 6 accidents resulting in 6 injuries.  29 drivers were sanctioned for “transporte informal,” 4 for driving without a license (you gringos on permanent visas and driving around on your US licenses might need to rethink your situation), and 51 drunk drivers were detained (as in jail).
 
Cuy festival – Biblián celebrated the anniversary of its cantonization with a cuy festival.  Contests included the heaviest cuy (a 42 pounder who was fed with water from Fukushima – that one also glowed in the dark – not), cuy races, the cuy with the best costume and the best food stand.
 
Quito earthquake – A 3.4 quake struck 17.67 km from Quito on the north flank of the Pichincha volcano early yesterday morning with a depth of 6.04 km.  Minor damage was reported.  (Is a big chunk of western South America getting ready to fall into the ocean?)

Comic Con Ecuador 2016 – This convention will be in Guayaquil from 26-28/8 from 10-21:00 in salons B & C at the Centro de Convenciones Simón Bolívar de Guayaquil.  Cost: $7.00 with discounts for tercera edad (third age – seniors) and disabled. Present your cedula for the discount (amount unspecified).

Your sliver of life article today – is about training for itinerant vendors in the areas of food handling, hygiene in preparation and safe storage.  (So those of you who are afraid to eat street food may get a little reassurance from this.)

Internacional –
 
Perú – A 5.3 earthquake struck the province of Caylloma in the Arequipa region leaving 1,253 families with damage, 4 deaths and 68 injuries.

Venezuela – Students from 36 universities in Venezuela are planning a national mobilization on 24/8 to call for a referendum this year to remove Pres. Maduro.  It is important that the referendum be this year which will allow removal of just the president, but not the whole government which would pass into the hands of the Vice President if the referendum were this year.

And that´s all for today so Hasta Mañana –

Jeanne