Posts:
Loja Mayor José Castillo has enraged animal rights advocates by suggesting a draconian solution to the city’s high population of street dogs. “First, we collect them. Then we find a rational way to make them disappear,” he said last week on the city’s public...
“I’m Asian, and I didn’t want to end up in a camp — they’ve done it before,” after a second glass of wine, a Cuenca expat is quietly telling me why she left California. “I worked in the industry. We left Seattle as soon as we saw the video and understood what happened...
The French Development Agency (AFD) has announced it will offer Ecuador a $100 million credit line for earthquake recovery in Manabi Province. According to AFD spokesman Marco Varea, the money will be used for infrastructure reconstruction, rebuilding of government...
It may not seem like it to a younger extrovert but for this older introvert there is a very special flow to life in Cuenca. I am coming out from two or three month long doldrums, due mostly to some health issues, and feeling alive and on top of the world once again....
Hola, Todos - I know I'm supposed to be on vacation, but these items seemed like something you should know. Those of you who live in El Centro owe me big time for this. Aeropuerto - The airport will need to close for at least a month. The repairs and improvements...
By Jim Wyss Residents of the sweltering port town of Esmeraldas like to boast that at least twice a day they have the best soccer pitch in the country: the beach at low-tide. On a recent weekday, as dozens of young men sprinted back and forth along the hard-packed...
The organization representing San Francisco Plaza vendors has decided to drop its objections to the latest renovation plan. “We have talked to city officials and have decided to become proactive partners in the project,” said Juan Gonzalez, president of the traders'...
By Deke Castleman On my very first night in Ecuador in 2010, in Quito at the Casa Sol, a sign in the bathroom initiated me into toilet tissue Ecuador-style. The sign put us on notice that local plumbing has a hard time with paper, so instead of flushing the TP, Casa...
Hola, Todos - I feel lucky that I'm here writing this since I had to fish the newspaper out of the "cerca electrica" (electric fence) this morning where it was all tangled up. I think I turned the thing off, and I fished with a wood pole and not a metal one. Pagina...
Ecuador’s anemic economy could be poised for recovery. For more than two years, low oil prices and a strong U.S. dollar have been blamed for rising unemployment, falling sales and declining tax revenues. Slowly but steadily in recent weeks those factors appear to be...
In Celebration of the Story I was pleased to read that the Cuenca Department of Culture has a reading program in 22 libraries in the city's 21 parishes, as reported yesterday in Jeanne's Periodico. I hope this means that books will be in the hands and hearts of young...
Hola, Todos - Pagina cultural - Upcoming events - Revista (magazine) - The literary magazine "El gaucamayo y la serpiente" has returned to circulation. The current issue, number 40, has a monograph about the poetry of Efraín Jara, the magazine's founder. (I'm sure...
By Ruchir Sharma In April last year I caught up with Chile’s richest man, Sebastian Piñera, in the surprisingly modest Santiago office to which he returned after leaving the presidential mansion. A billionaire who made his money in the credit card business, Piñera...
By Edd and Cynthia Staton Many expats and tourists are surprised to learn that minutes outside the city of Cuenca in the hillside community of Baños, a first-class spa facility called Piedra de Agua offers visitors a day of relaxation and pampering. You know this is...
Hola, Todos - Articles about - Reading - The Municipal Department of Culture has a reading program in 22 libraries in the 21 parishes in Cuenca. Painting contest - 50 schools signed up for this painting contest along the Barranco which was held this morning. The...
According to a survey conducted by the city of Cuenca, 195 historic district businesses have closed their doors since 2015. The number represents about 15% of all businesses in the district. Those conducting the survey blame the closures on poor economic conditions...
In 2015, U.S. expat Cara Venn, who had spent five years in India before moving to Cuenca, organized the first Cuenca Art Walk. The event was a free self-guided tour of selected El Centro galleries and businesses where art lovers were able to view the work of artists....
Ecuador and Brazil played to a scoreless tie Saturday night in a game Ecuador believes it should have won. In the 66th minute of the opening round of Copa America play in Los Angeles, Ecuadorian striker Miller Bolaños sent a cross very close to the endline that Brazil...
My first apartment in Cuenca was across the street from the old Patrimonial Cementerio, four blocks east of El Centro. Everyone made the same joke: “At least you have quiet neighbors!” However, I found out that the cemetery was one of the busiest places in town. The...
Ecuador’s national football team faces perennial world power Brazil tonight in the opening round of Copa America play in Los Angeles. The game kicks off at 9 p.m. Ecuador time in the Rose Bowl where a crowd of 50,000 is expected. Odds-makers have made Ecuador the...
