Miércoles, 6/2/2019
Hola, Todos –
Actividades – 
De la pagina cultural –
Relics – Relics of Hermano Miguel, Cuenca native son and Ecuador’s only male saint, will be brought to Cuenca as part of the celebration of his death on 9/2/1910. They will be taken to the iglesia San Blas el viernes with a mass and serenade in his honor a las 20:00. There will be a procession el sábado a las 9:00 from San Blas to the catedral La Inmaculada with a mass a las 10:00.
Hermano Miguel
Cine y Filosofía – There will be 3 sessions of this event, in marzo, julio y noviembre, which will address Latin American film in 3 periods. There will be films shown and discussed on 4 Saturdays of each month.
Agenda items –
Libro – “Cuenca, memoria y Cocina: 1900-1950” by Marialeja Cordero y Muñoz will be launched mañana a las 19:00 in the Museo de la Ciudad.
Taller de clown – “Entrenamiento Callejero” (Street Training), a clown workshop, will be held este jueves y viernes a las 17:00 in Lakomuna. Cost: $5.00 per class. <You wonder if the jugglers and dancers at intersections are graduates of this workshop.>
Taller de Acrobacia – The “Acrobacia Aérea” (Air Acrobatics) workshop will be Thursday a las 17:00 en Lunacruza (calle Pueble de lo Quitus, Challuabamba) <It seems to be directed at circus artists and actors and actresses.
Concierto – The OSC will play el viernes a las 20:00 in the teatro Pumapungo. The program will include the Ecuadorian premier of “Passione Amorosa para dos Contrabajos” by Giovanni Bottesini, “Concierto para Clarinete” by Aaron Copland, and Beethoven’s 2nd Symphony.
Del cuerpo del periodico –
Concierto Solidario – An ad for a fundraising concert for the Club Rotario de Cuenca Yanuncay on 07/2 a las 20:30 in the Teatro Casa de la Cultura. Tickets available at Casa Deportiva Ortega, Bocatti, Las Golosinas de Antaño, Casa Farah, Servientrega, and the theater box office. Performers include Camilo Sesto, Sandra Argudo, Fernando Vargas and the duo Gabriel Ochoa and Edmundo Jerves.
Otras cosas –
Titular – En la CC hay 14.000 causas pendientes (In the Constitutional Court 14,000 cases are pending) – <This is your civics lesson for today – may it come in handy when you take the citizenship test.> 9 judges were sworn in Tuesday to the Corte Constitucional. The Legislature, Executive, and Transparencia y Control Social proposed candidates that went through a competitive merit process. The Qualifications Commission named the 9 judges who then had to be approved by the CPCCS-T which was done last week. <Seems like a more dignified process than the interview with the guy who likes beer.>
Parqueo a personas con descapacidad – The Consejo Nacional para la Igualdad de Discapacidades (Conadis) and the Agencia Nacional de Tránsito (ANT) are issuing handicapped parking passes to be pasted to the windshield of a car. This will allow a handicapped driver or passenger to park in designated handicapped spaces anywhere in the country. The previous system issued passes that had to be carried and shown. Separately, EMOV also issues “salvoconductos” (passes – your word for the day) to use the Sistema de Estacionamiento Rotativo Tarifado (SERT) parking spaces on the street. <These are the ones you buy cards for, fill out and put on your dashboard. Those of you who don’t drive may have no idea what I’m talking about. Ask your taxista and practice your Spanish at the same time.> To get a sticker, go to www.consejodiscapacidades.gob.ec and go to the “Identificación Vehicular” link. It’s free, and in 15 days, your pass will be delivered to the office of Conadis in the Senplades building on av. México y Unidad Nacional. Conadis has received 23 applications since 15/1, and EMOV issued 248 passes in 2018.
Voto 2019 para alcalde – Today’s candidate is Pedro Palacios of the “Azuay el Futuro que Soñamos” alliance, lista 4-20. The alliance is a coalition between the Ecuatoriano Unido and Democracia Sí movements.
One of his main challenges will be to make the Tranvía sustainable with little or no subsidy. He proposes to sell ads on the inside of the coaches; design a tourist card with discounts at hotels, restaurants and museums; and encourage use of buses close to the Tranvía route. Another challenge will be to decentralize services.
For traffic – the creation of markets in El Valle, Ricaurte, Baños and Sayausí so people could shop closer to home, offer city services in strategic sectors outside the Centro Histórico, and build 2 new terminales terrestres in the north and south.
On mining – recognizing that mining is administered by the federal government, he would do stuff at the local level to protect resources like water.
On security – changing and improving the Guardia Ciudadana de Cuenca and the Empress de Movilidad (EMOV EP) for better security.
Getting the equipment to the livestock market in Cumbe and the municipal slaughterhouse in Tarqui.
In a nutshell – He would:
Traffic – change the concept of flows and counter-flows, eliminate most of the intersections on large streets, and reconnect some streets with the riverbanks.
Security – the best way to address insecurity is with jobs and to support that with projects and programs that facilitate small business formation.
Wholesale market – relocate the wholesale market at El Arenal including a modernization project at the Feria Libre.
Airport relocation – contract for a feasibility study to determine possible zones the airport could be relocated to.
Municipal paperwork – re-engineer the steps needed to get paperwork done at the city reduce it by at least half.
Industry – identify new land for industrial uses accompanied by a 50 year land use plan to insure orderly growth for industrial and business development.
<2 down, 11 to go. I hope my brain doesn’t explode first. If I can, I’ll translate the candidate article daily, but the full paper will only be summarized 4 days a week.>
Visado electrónico – 2,000 electronic visas have been issued in the last few days with many Venezuelans benefitting. This is part of the modernizing the Cancillería (State Department), expediting the service, and saving $500,000.
Intercultural – Voces de Ébano (Voices of Ebony) is a radio program inaugurated by the Movimiento Afro del Azuay. It can be heard on Radio Católica Cuenca, 98.1 FM from 15-16:0, broadcasting from studios in the old Seminario San Luis. They will have segments on culture (music, dance, literature and oral traditions), sports, politics, people and businesses including gastronomy.
And that’s all for today so Hasta ? –
Jeanne
