Possible quake relief fraud, Baby abandoned in Cuenca, Hail storm in the north, Tram construction power cut in Centro, Looting in Venezuela

Domingo, 14/1/2018

Hola, Todos –

Pagina cultural –

Agenda non-event – El Salón del Pueblo is a space at Sucre y Benigno Malo that belongs to the Casa de Cultura and is dedicated to cultural activities such as art, painting, sculpture, etc.

Articles about –

Charly Marionetas – This Argentinean artist is in Cuenca with his marionettes in the calle del Artista (Sucre y Benigno Malo – the wide sidewalk next to the New Cathedral). He tells stories with his puppets such as Fabricio, the monkey; Santiago, the cat; and El Tanguero (tango fanatic). <Pay attention to the cat – that puppet is made from a dead cat the artist found on the street. That’s taking recycling way out there.>

Otras cosas –

Titular – Intensifican campaña por la consulta (Referendum campaign intensifies) – See Sunday’s CHL for the story.

Manabí and Esmeraldas – The technical secretary for the Reconstruction and Reactivation of Production Committee left amid reports of bad management of the reconstruction funds. A previous official left after the prosecutor filed criminal charges stemming from his post as the IESS director for Guayas. The Citizens’ Participation Council oversight branch reported that the Finance Ministry made 2 – $10 million transfers into the National Risk Management Secretariat of which $1,126,000 and $1,105,730 was spent. It also found price increases to rent “batarías sanitarias móviles” (mobile sanitary bataries – porta-potties in plain English.) went from $147,730 for 200 stalls to $233,7333 for 203. <Dirty money?>

Abandoned baby – María, apparently from Loja, befriended Diego on Facebook, and arrived in Cuenca on 6/1 with an 8 day old baby which she gave to him to watch. He waited a week and went to a health subcenter for help. The baby was taken to a shelter where its health is being monitored. If the mother isn’t found or if the baby was abandoned because of socio-economic reasons or rape, it will be eligible for adoption.

Anniversary of ETAPA – There will be a celebration of ETAPS’s 50 years este viernes a las 9:30 with a parade from San Blas to parque Calderón. At 10:30, the book “De la Bacinilla a la Alcantarilla” (From the Pot to the Sewer) will be launched. <Sounds like a history of domestic waste management.>

Hail – There were strong rains with hail in the north part of the city. In Ochoa Leon, kids in the neighborhood went out to play in the “snow.” Chiquintad also reported hail and intense cold. The Twitter account @ECU911Austro has posted photos that were sent in by drivers who stopped.

Sunday supplement –

Transformer car – The Earth-1 is a compact, foldable car, and for ease of parking it will transform into a vertical robot. <Which can walk itself into a parking space?> It is made by the Japanese company Four Link Systems. <I Googled it – it’ll cost $70K. It looks like a toy.>

Saturday’s news –

Power cut-off – There will be a suspension in electrical service for Tranvía work el próximo lunes (as in mañana) on Gran Colombia entre calle Miguel Morocho y Octavio Cordero. It will include calle Convención del 45 from Gran Colombia to Mariscal La Mar. <At least they’re working.>

Actualidades – As usual, if you’re interested in any of the articles summarized below, go to www.elmercurio.com.ec to read more.

Familia Flores-Padilla – For the first time, a family group won the Mascara Dorada prize in the Concurso de Mascaradas. Their theme this year was witches, elves and devils.

Gabriela Parra – This photographer was interviewed.

New national park – Peru has created a new national park in the Amazon, the Parque Nacional Yaguas where the greatest diversity of fresh water fish can be found. It is in the Provinces of Putumayo and Mariscal Ramón in the Loreto region.

Sucumbíos – The main economic activity of this northern province is oil production and natural attractions. <Until the former kills the latter.>

Internacional –

Venezuela – The Guardia Nacional Bolivariana (GNB) supressed looting at a government “centro de acopio” (collection center – your word for the day) in Calabozo in the interior state of Guárico. Protests have been spontaneously errupting throughout the country in the past weeks, many accompanied by looting. António Guterres, the UN Secretary General, said the UN is willing to mobilize international support to help Colombia with the hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans crossing the border for food, medicine, or a better future. Colombia reiterated its willingness to offer humanitarian aid to Venezuela, which has been rejected by Pres. Maduro. <That’s a roundabout way to give humanitarian aid. Available in the country next door.>

And that´s all for today so Hasta Mañana –

Jeanne