Quito neighbors attack drug house; Warning issued for high UV levels; Heritage houses host cultural events; Two French films screen; Corn festival

Miércoles, 21/6/2023

Hola, Todos –

Titular –

Inti Raymi, fiesta del sol y del maíz (Inti Raymi, festival of the sun and corn) – Inti Raymi or the Festival of the Sun is on el 21/6 and relates directly to the harvesting of typical products in the Andes. Cojitambo is a rural parish of Azogues where women keep this agricultural activity alive in spite of the lack of labor in the countryside due to high levels of migration. In the 21 communities of Cojitambo, at least 20 varieties of corn are grown.

Because so many men have migrated from rural areas, the tradtion of the corn harvest is maintained mostly by women. (El Mercurio)

Friday a las 9:00, The Ministerio de Agricultura y Ganadería will hold the first meeting “Campo-Ciudad Azuay 2023” in the esplanade of the ex CREA. El sábado a las 9:00, the Sígsig canton will celebrate Inti Raymi in the archeological ruins of Chobshi with rituals,artistic shows and other activities. El domingo a las 9:00, the Parish Junta of Nulti will celebrate in the Jalshi lookout point with ancestral ceremonies and folkloric groups. <A lazy alternative would be to get some corn at the mercado and celebrate with butter at home.>

Cuenca –

Cuatro casas patrimoniales acogen a la cultura cuencana (4 heritage houses welcome Cuencanan culture) – The U. of Cuenca is opening 4 spaces to promote different expressions of culture in the city and canton. This ‘Epicentro Cultural’ will be in 4 houses on Paseo 3 de Noviembre: Casa de los Arcos, Casa Vélez, Casa Rivera, y Casa Pintado. For the opening el 22/6, there will be activities in all 4 houses. The bottom levels will have commercial and crafts areas and restaurants. There will also be workshops to teach photography, gastronomy, painting, and dance. Part of the project is to provide artists with a venue to show their work and a free co-working site. A pilot project that has already started has workshops for children and seniors.
The schedule of inaugural activities follows:
Casa de los arcos –
18:00 – Grand opening
18:30 – Guitar ensamble
18:45 – Open house of the Universidad para el Adulto Mayor
19:00 – Ecuador Poster Bienal
19:15 – Ensamble Jazz
19:35 – Cinencuentros El Vado
Permanent photography exhibit
Casa Vélez –
19:45 – Live demonstration by the craftspeople cooperative
20:10 – Poetry reading
Casa Rivera –
20:25 – Caligraphy, art y patrimony
20:40 – Opening of the Cultural Coworking
21:00 – Open house for Scenic Arts
Casa Pintado –
21:15 – ‘Mundo flotante’ childrens’ exhibit
21:35 – Folk concert

Playlist para escuchar a la Fiesta de la Música (Playlist to listen to the Fiesta de la Música) – A playlist has been created so the public can listen to the musicians who will perform in the Fiesta. Go to https://spoti.fy/3qHHZwm. <I don’t know if the period (.) belongs between the i and f in spotify.> The free music will start el 22/6 a las 20:00 in the Parque Calderón. On el 23/6 the concerts will continue in Aya Uma, La Belga, Bumba, Wunderbar, Gastro Arte, Selina, Viejas Diablos, y MakeMake. On el 24/6 the concerts will be in public spaces: la Plazoleta de la Merced, Puente Roto, Plaza del Otorongo, y el Portal Artesanal. Each of the public spaces will feature a different genre of music.

Peliculas francesas (French films) – The Daniel Córdova Toral city library will show 2 French films directed by Céline Sciamma. ‘Tomboy’ will be el 22/6 a las 19:00, and ‘Petite mama’ will be el 29/6. Free and only viewers over 13 allowed.

Alerta y precaución por alta radiación solar en Cuenca (Alert and caution for high solar radiation in Cuenca) – Forecasts by the Instituto Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología (Inamhe) point out that, although delayed, the season for high temperatures has started in the interandean region. This will last until septiembre even though there will still be sporadic rains although the dry season started el 15/6. It is also characteristic for nights and madrugadas (early morning hours) to be very cold. This is due to not having a cloud cover that to hold the heat from the day. The Sociedad de Dermatología recommends protecting yourself from the sun with sunscreen, hats, and umbrellas, and limiting the amount of time you’re exposed to the sun. <Those of you for whom if it wasn’t for bad luck you wouldn’t have any luck at all, will probably slather yourself with sunscreen, leave the house, get rained on so the sunscreen washes off, and then get burned when the sun comes back out.>

Nacional –

De El Mercurio del martes, 20/6 (1 article):
Noche de terror hubo en barrio Comité del Pueblo (Night of terror in the Comité del Pueblo neighborhood) – A drug gang in a populous barrio in the north of Quito had been intimidating the residents for some time. The gang was led by a woman known as ‘Las Pastora’ who was arrested 13 times between 2002 and 2021 but was always able to get out of jail. Because she holed up in her house, it was impossible to enter without an arrest warrant or a crime in progress. So far this year, there had been 5 killings in the alley and 3 complaints about placing explosives. Finally, neighbors who were tired of ´La Pastora’ and her gang decided to take matters into their own hands and burned down the drug house. During the Sunday night confrontation, one person was killed, another injured and a 3d arrested. All 3 had criminal records and were suspected members of the gang. <I hope things in Cuenca don’t get this bad.>

And that’s all for today so Hasta ? –

Jeanne