Rio Paute and Mazar reservoir at record high levels; Bizet’s ‘Carmen’ plays at U. of Cuenca; City markets get upgrades; Private parking regulation considered

Bored?
“Carmen”, clásico de Bizet, con una versión atemporal – The Compañía de Danza and the Orquesta Sinfónica de la Universidad de Cuenca will perform a reinterpretation of Bizet’s classic “Carmen” from a contemporary point of view el viernes and el sábado, 18/10 a las 20:00 in the Teatro Carlos Cueva Tamariz. Between dancers and musicians, there will be more than 60 people performing in this production which fuses contemporary dance, theater and symphonic music. The music will not be changed, but the choreography, aesthetics, and scenic atmosphere will have the stamp of the university companies. Cost: Free, but seating is limited.

Two months into the dry season, the Rio Paute and the hydroelectric reservoir at Mazar are at record high levels.

Calendario 2026 con ilustraciones de Lara – On Thursday, artist Jaime Lara presented his 2026 calendar with pen illustrations. This year, the theme of his drawings is about families and the series is titled ‘Ternura’ (Tenderness). Normally his drawings are of characteristic elements in Cuenca such as its churches, bridges and plazas. A new feature of this year’s calendar is a pop-up on the first page. The calendars are for sale at IdiomArte (Mariscal La Mar & Coronel Tálbot). Cost: $40.00.

Cine, arte y cultura – The Planetario Municipal de Cuenca will be the venue for the XII Ciclo Internacional de Cine about Artesanías y Cultura Popular from el 22 to el 25/10. The film cycle will start on el 22/10 with 4 Ecuadorian short films. 2 longer films will be shown at the official opening of the series on el 23/10 a las 18:00.

Farra y show internacional en Azogues – To commemorate its 205 years of independence, Azogues presented its cultural agenda, “Noviembre, en Azogues mismo es.” One of the most anticipated events is the 2nd edition of the Farra Concierto Halloween “I love 80’s & 90’s” which will be el viernes, 31/10 in the Estadio Federativo in the Ferroviario sector. Tickets are available on the Meet2go platform and cost $20.00. You can also get tickets both in Azogues and Cuenca. On el sábado, 1/11, the music festival “Azogues Live Fest” will be held in the Estadio Municipal Jorge Andrade Cantos. The program will include the Puerto Rican salsero Gilberto Santa Rosa, with Mexican groups Elefante and Río Roma, and the Ecuadorian band Machaka. Ticket prices range from $20 to $65 and are available online at Ticketshow. You can also get them in Azogues and Cuenca at the Municipio, shopping centers, supermarkets and stores.

Curious?
Plantean regular las tarifas de parqueaderos privados – <This is for everyone who’s noticed that parking lot rates have gone up a lot recently.> Councilman Manuel Alvarado is considering the necessity of establishing regulations that govern parking rates in private parking lots in Cuenca, especially in the historic center. He feels the fees should align with the fees the city applies to public parking spaces such as at the lot under the Parque de la Madre. Alvarado also feels that service quality should be considered so that parking lots will have adequate bathrooms. As for facturas, he said that is a legal obligation that is regulated by the SRI, and citizens have a right to request a factura. <Just remember, asking isn’t necessarily getting.>

El Consulado de EE.UU. emite alerta de seguridad – The US Embassy in Ecuador issued an alert following the car bomb attack on el martes, 14/10 in Guayaquil. The announcement confirmed the car bomb near the Mall del Sol across from the Hotel Sheraton. It said that if you are a US citizen in Guayaquil and need help, you should call (593) (4) 371-7000 or contact ACSGuayaquil@state.gov. <Does El Mercurio really think that US citizens here are going to find out about this alert through the local Spanish-language newspaper? I imagine if you’re on file as a US citizen in Guayaquil you would have gotten an email from them already.>

Vino sin alcohol para las mascotas venden – <Nothing to do with Cuenca or Ecuador, but it’s an article about something odd and interesting.> After a long day of patrolling their neighborhoods or protecting their houses, pets in New Zealand have a new way to relax – wine without alcohol. The vintages sold by Muttley’s Estate include Pawt, Champawgne, Purrno Noir, and Sauvignon Bark. The wines don’t contain either alcohol or grapes <which can be poisonous for a dog>. The owner, John Roberts, said he started making wine for pets after seeing similar products such as beer for dogs outside of the country. He said he grew up with dogs and cats and remembered they were frightened during fireworks. <So what’s in the wine that could calm an anxious dog? CBD products? Xanax?>

4 mercados mejoran en su estructura y servicios – The Feria Libre and the 27 de Febrero, 10 de Agosto, and 9 de Octubre mercados are getting improvements costing over $500,000. At the Feria Libre, roofs and gutters on 6 buildings that house more than 700 vendors will be replaced. A generator will also be installed responding to the problems with power during last year’s drought. A generator and transformer will be installed at the mercado 27 de febrero to avoid electrical outages. A piece of land will also be prepared for the future construction of a Centro de Educación Inicial Municipal (CEIM). The mercado 10 de Agosto is ready to open the hand washing sinks in the common areas and the access to the cold rooms. The mercado 9 de Octubre will get new lighting, wall paint, exhaust fans cleaning, and the opening of the renovated section for selling traditional bucket ceviches. <Could you eat a whole bucket of ceviche?> The City expects that most of the work will be finished by noviembre or diciembre. Just the child care center at the mercado 27 de Febrero will take longer and is expected to be finished next year.

Record histórico del río Paute – The río Paute reached an average flow rate of 182.45 cubic meters per second – the highest since 1983 when measurements started being taken. This river feeds the Complejo Hidroeléctrico Paute Integral which is made up of the Mazar, Paute-Molino and Sopladora centers. These generate around 38% of the electricity consumed in Ecuador. The increase in the Paute is also reflected in the reservoirs. The flow rate at Mazar is at an average of 139.91 cubic meters/sec., at Amaluza it is at an historic high with 174.87 cubic. m/sec, and at Sopladora it is at 114.34 cu. m/sec. The water levels in the reservoirs are also near their maximum levels. At Mazar the water level is at 2,152.32 meters above sea level (msnm) and almost at the maximum capacity of 2,153 msnm. At Amaluza the figures are an actual level of 1,990.03 close to the permitted level of 1,991 msnm. Sopladora’s level is at 790.81 msnm v.s. 792.86 msnm. According to the Instituto Nacional de Meteorología e Hidrología (Inamhi), the weakening of El Niño and transition towards more neutral conditions have favored rainfall in the southern mountains of the country. The rains have also benefited agriculture reducing costs of production for both growers and ranchers. <I hope that during this respite the government brings thermal plants on line and finds other sources for electricity that can mitigate the effects of another drought. And I don’t doubt for a nanosecond that there will be another drought.>