New condos sell out in three hours; Hungry for Italian and U.S.-style BBQ?; Guide promotes ancestral medicine; Seniors sue gov’t for late IVA refunds
Bored? –
(De El Mercurio del martes, 9/12) Coro Santa Catalina dará recital navideño (Santa Catalina chorus to perform 
Christmas recital) – The Santa Catalina chorus will perform the “No sé niño hermoso” concert el miércoles, 17/12 a las 20:00 in the Teatro Casa de la Cultura. The program will include carols and classic pieces that evoke the Christmas spirit. <For those of you who think Christmas spirit begins with egg nog and ends with hot buttered rum, you’ll have to find a different venue.> The concert will also have the participation of the Children’s Choir from the Estudio de Piano Cristina Arindia. Free, but come early since you won’t be able to get in after 20:00.
(De El Mercurio del miércoles, 10/12) Guía promueve rescate de saberes ancestrales (Guide promotes the preservation of ancestral knowledge) – The Universidad Politécnica Salesiana (UPS) presented the “Guía Etnobotánica de Plantas Medicinales en las Parroquias Rurales de Cuenca” (Ethnobotanical Guide to Medicinal Plants in the Rural Parishes of Cuenca). The research was done by the Department of Environmental Engineering in collaboration with the Biotechnology and Environment Research Group in which the process involved diverse rural communities. Fredi Portilla and Geovana Zea, project coordinators, highlighted the importance of the trabajo de campo (field work). The dialogue with shamans, midwives and ancestral medicine experts was essential in understanding that it isn’t just the use of plants but also the cultural spiritual symbolism that accompanies these practices.
The guide has 3 sections: the first puts the historic and cultural value of ancestral knowledge in context, the 2nd describes the methodology used in the research, and the 3d includes an illustrated catalogue with detailed information about the species, their local names, therapeutic properties, and traditional forms of preparation. <Sounds like a short cut for big pharma to take this knowledge and monetize it while making it illegal for the local communities to use their own knowledge without violating patents.> The guide is available for free at the UPS repository.
(De El Mercurio del jueves, 11/12) 28 barrios inscritos para concurso de Años Viejos (28 neighborhoods registered for the Años Viejos contest) – The traditional Años Viejos contest has 28 participants this year: Elia Luit, 3 de Noviembre, Juan Jaramillo, Bellavista, Yaruquí, Miguel Heredia y Sangurima, Uncovía Centro, El Sagrario, San Francisco, Tres Tiendas, Cuatro Esquinas de San José de Balzay, Mutualista Azuay, La Gloria, Tandacatu, Familia Tigre, Real Arte, Gran Cove, Familia Campos-Herrera, Club Juventud Unida (Cdla. Tomebamba), Chilcapamba, El Vado, Calle Cruz del Vady y Coronel Talbot, Bosque II de Monay, Equis Club, Virgen de Bronce, Las Peñas, El Vecino and El Vergel. <Happy bonfire night.>
Hungry? –
(De El Mercurio del domingo, 7/12) Un festín para los sentidos (A feast for the senses) – 2 places are recommended to explore the pleasures of the Italian kitchen and authentic American BBQ: Fabianos, and Pájaro y Bestia.
Fabiano’s was started by Fabíán Auquilla and his wife Jackeline González who lived in Connecticut for 15 years where they learned techniques. Fabián said their pizza is NY style and one of their star dishes. Their lizard logo is a tribute to Fabián’s childhood when he watched the lizard Juancho on TV. It represents happiness that the owners want to transmit to their customers. During this season, they have a special menu with 8 options including Christmas rice and lomo fino in a mushroom sauce. The desserts, created by their daughter Jocelyne and Jackeline are a true delicacy. Their 5 locations are at Pres. Córdova 4-84 y Mariano Cueva, Calle Santa Ana, Primero de Mayo y calle Avellaneda, Eduardo Crespo Malo y Gran Colombia, and Cultura Chirije y Cultura Cosanga in Challuabamba.
Pájaro y Bestia was opened in julio, 2022 by gringo Leroy Kent and 2 cuencanas where it was intended that the restaurant would only be open 2 days a week. But with high public demand, the restaurant moved to av. Ordóñez Lasso in front of the Hotel Oro Verde. The most popular dishes are their southern fried chicken. BBQ ribs with mac and cheese, cole slaw, onion rings, potato salad, dirty rice, and cowboy beans. Meats are smoked for several hours and up to 2 days in a built to order wood smoker. The menu changes daily, and weekends include special dinners with 4-cm. thick pork chops, prime rib, fried shrimp, ribs, fish, and more. See the menu online at www.barbecue.cafe. Starting los miércoles, the restaurant offers breakfasts with unlimited French press coffee, Canadian bacon, corn bread, biscuits with gravy, eggs Benedict, cinnamon rolls and more. On los viernes y sábados, BBQ is the main thing with service starting at 13:00. Los domingos from 11-15:00, fried chicken is the star.
Curious? –
(De El Mercurio del domingo, 7/12) Nuevo proyecto inmobiliario Paseo Solano (Paseo Solano – new real estate project) – The Paseo Solanol by Millenium, is a mixed-use project with housing, office, and commercial space on av. Solano. The proposal incorporates contemporary buildings without altering the traditional architectural character of the sector. <From the photo of the model, it looks like it’s where Florencia Astudillo T’s into Solano at the Sindicato de Choferes). The project was presented el 5/12 in the Colegio Benigno Malo by the Promotora Inmobiliaría de Grupo Campana and the FE Group. Pablo Campana, representative of the Grupo Campana reported that all of the apartments sold in 3 hours with high demand for the office and commercial spaces as well.
(De El Mercurio del martes, 9/12) Devolución del IVA (IVA refund) – An action for protection that was presented by senior citizens to demand that the Government comply with the legal deadlines for making IVA refunds was denied by Judge Cruz Torres, who determined that there was no violation of rights. The plaintiffs appealed. The law obligates the SRI to issue IVA refunds to people over 65 and the disabled within 60 days. This has not been complied with and current delays sometimes reach 5 months.. <So if you haven’t gotten your refunds, at least someone is out there suing on your behalf.>
(De El Mercurio del miércoles, 10/12) Azogues estrenará Centro de Revisión (Azogues to open new inspection center) – A new $1.6 million Centro de Revisión Técnica Vehicular (CRTV) opened el viernes in the San Pedro sector near the autopista Cuenca-Azogues-Biblián. It has the capacity to inspect about 21,000 vehicles per year. The operation will be managed by the City of Azogues so that the income will go directly into the municipal coffers.
(De El Mercurio del miércoles, 10/12) 21 personas llamadas a juicio en caso Sinohydro (21 people called to trial in Sinohydro case) – Associate Judge Olavo Hernández decided to call 21 people belonging to 2 family groups to trial. The Attorney General’s office theorized that the families of ex-president Lenin Moreno and Sinohydro lobbyist Conto Patíno distributed $76 million paid by Sinohydro receive the contract to build the Coca Codo Sinclair hydroelectric plant. As direct perpetrators of the crime of bribery, the judge called ex-pres. Moreno, his wife, daughter, two brothers and a sister-in-law who received over $1 million through the Panama based Recorsa company.
(De El Mercurio del miércoles, 10/12) USD millones debe pagar el país a Texaco (The country must pay Texao $220 million) – Within an international investment arbitration initiated by Chevron and Texaco, it was determined that Ecuador must pay $220,806,941 in damages. The sanction was established for miscarriage of justice and other alleged violations of the Tratado Bilateral de Inversiones (TBI – Bilateral Investment Treaty) signed with the US. The Attorney General’s office said that since it learned of the award by the Arbitration Tribunal in 2018, it has been working with an international law firm to reduce the initial award of $3.350 billion. <This whole issue really makes me mad. Chevron was the party that wanted the trial for polluting the Amazon to be in Ecuador and when they received a huge fine ($20 billion?>, they screamed miscarriage of justice, shopped judges in the US to get a sympathetic judge, paid off witnesses, and did all sorts of things that should have landed them in a special circle of hell for evil corporations.>
(De El Mercurio del jueves, 11/12) Ya se puede pagar tasa de recolección de basura: EMAC (You can now pay your waste collection fee: EMAC) – EMAC announced that paying your garbage fee for the months of noviembre y diciembre, 2025, can be done through a special method due to the transition in the method of payment. According to María Caridad Vazquez, EMAC’s manager, the company only has verifiable data about consumption up to agosto since Centro-sur hasn’t provided subsequent information. Because of this limitation, EMAC will bill the same amount that the customer paid in agosto plus current operating costs. You can pay in person at the offices of EMAC at 3 de Noviembre y Juan Pablo I or at BIOMAC on Av. 24 de Mayo, diagonal to the Garaicoa high school. You can also pay on-line at www.emac.ec with your cedula number through the payment Botón. EMAC is working on the possibility of payment through banks and coops.
