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Ecuador’s plastic bag tax takes effect April 1 despite lobbying efforts to push back the start date. Under a law passed late last year, single-use plastic bags will be taxed four cents each. “This is Ecuador’s first step to eliminate non-recyclable plastics and to...
Hundreds of holiday swimmers were forced out of the water Monday in Salinas as a torrent of foul-smelling water poured into the ocean, the result of heavy rains that fell over much of the country on the first day of Carnaval. The rains triggered landslides west of...
By Deborah DuBoff Auki Tituaña was elected as mayor of Cotacachi in 2019. The alcalde cordially invited me to his offices at city hall to share his plans for his administration. He is a soft spoken man and I was impressed with his amiable nature and the thoughtful...
By Matthew Peter Casey Peru's Jan. 26 special election was exceptional. Not only did voters elected 130 new legislators, replacing their entire Congress; they also brought into the fold a messianic religious group called the Israelites of the New Universal Pact. After...
With new outbreaks of the coronavirus in Europe, the Middle East and Korea, Ecuador officials say they are preparing for a “worst case scenario.” On Monday morning, the World Health Organization said that the pandemic appeared poised for “an explosion” of new cases....
As you may have noticed, for the past three years I have been writing a weekly love letter to Cuenca. The serendipities that guided me through this year seem no less than the work of angels. On occasions over this last year, someone would pause as they passed me and...
Azuay Province Prefect Yaku Pérez vowed to continue his fight against mining following the rejection by Ecuador’s Constitutional Court to allow a referendum to end mining in Azuay Province. By a six to two vote, the judges ruled that the petition did meet the...
Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru will begin removing international roaming rates in voice and data communications as part of an initiative to boost integration and modernization between the Community of Andean Nations (CAN), the block’s secretary said Wednesday....
Officials at the Turi prison are being tight-lipped following the hanging deaths of six inmates Thursday morning. After first saying it appeared the deaths were suicides, they later conceded that revenge could be a factor but refused further comment pending an...
Jueves, 20/2/2020 Hola, Todos - I will be taking a break until martes, 3/3. Even volunteers need an occasional vacation. Actividades - De la pagina cultural - Feria en CEMUART - The 80 craftspeople that are part of the crafts center, CEMUART launched an "Expo...
Thieves love Carnaval. That's the message the National Police want to send to everyone planning to attend events during the five-day holiday, particularly to tourists and foreign residents. "Carnaval is the most lucrative time of year for thieves, particularly for...
By Mark Mahoney I recently had the opportunity to travel with a group of musicians (who played at a number of venues in Havana) and other interested folks with a focus on attending the yearly International Jazz Festival in Cuba. This was a unique opportunity to...
Carnaval in Cuenca gets underway tonight with the Compadres and Comadres celebration in San Francisco Plaza. The action begins at 6 with food, dance and music honoring the city's ancient and modern traditions. Later, the plaza and nearby Parque Calderon will erupt in...
A naked 28-year-old man paraded down Calle Hermano Miguel Wednesday morning, waving and throwing kisses to residents and passersby before municipal police arrived to take him into custody. According to social media reports, the man performed for more than an hour near...
Miércoles, 19/2/2020 Hola, Todos - Actividades - De la pagina cultural - "El Lago de los Cisnes" - The Royal Russian Ballet will perform "Swan Lake" performed Wednesday in the Teatro Carlos Cueva Tamariz. Muestra - Visual Arts students from the U. of Cuenca have...
Tungurahua volcano – known locally as “The Black Giant” – is displaying the hallmarks of flank instability, which could result in a colossal landslide. Located in the province of the same name, the volcanco has been in an eruptive stage since 1999. New research, led...
The black market in shrunken heads, some of them belonging to foreign tourists, is the back story for the movie Tzantza which opens Friday in theaters in Ecuador, Colombia and Peru. The movie's producers are being tight-lipped about its content prior to screening,...
A three-judge panel will rule Friday whether a Catholic priest defrauded a 76-year-old woman of her home in the rural Sinincay community, north of Cuenca. In addition to the priest, three others are accused in the case, including a former notary. According to her...
Martes, 18/2/2020 Hola, Todos - Actividades - De la pagina cultural - Exhibits at CCE - Works in hierro pavonado (blued iron) by Carlos Pauta are in a show and sale in the Galería de Oficios of the Casa de la Cultura next to the theater. On the basement level is the...
Editor’s note: This is the third of a six-part series by Don Moore, a former Peace Corps volunteer in Honduras who developed a fascination with northern Peru — and wrote a book about it. Don spent most of January in Cuenca. To see part one, click here. For part two,...
