Rural transport plan needed, Ecuador beats Bolivia in Cuenca, Animal shelter waits for a home, Giant tortoises doing well, Grafitti exhibit

Miércoles, 11/9/2019

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –
De la pagina cultural –

Concierto and tribute – “La Voz de la Tierra: Tributo a Mercedes Sosa” will be el 19 & 20/9 a las 20:00 in the treatro of the Casa de la Cultura on Luis Cordero and will feature the chorus of the Conservatorio José María Rodríguez, the Ayllu Llakta chorus and Henry Álvarez. The funds raised will allow the chorus to participate in the Choral Olympics in junio of next year. Cost: $15 & $10.

Teatro – Spanish actress Pilar Tordera, who lives in Cuenca, will present “La Inmortal” on the 17, 18, & 19/9 a las 20:00 in the Sala Alfonso Carrasco. She will play Sara, and the work is based on the life and work of Sarah Bernhardt.

Cuenca’s Escenarios del Mundo theater festival kicks off September 25.

Graffiti exhibit – “La Conecta Muestra de Graffiti y Street Art” will be Thursday a las 19:00 in the Alianza Francesa de Cuenca.

Book launch – “Lecciones de abismo” by Cristóbal Zapata will be launched Thursday a las 19:00 in the Saladentro gallery (Paseo 3 de Noviembre 4-78 y bajada de Todos Santos).

Teatro – The XIII edition of the Escenarios del Mundo festival will start el 25/9 and run until 7/10. The inauguration will be a big parade with juglaría (juggling) and algarabía (clutter, gibberish, gabble, bedlam or Arabic – your word for the day – you can pick the definition you like best.) and a cast of more than 100 artists.

Del cuerpo del periodico –

Reopening – The tienda ‘Primero el Postre’ will reopen el jueves, 12/9 a las 19:30. The pastry shop sells cookies, desserts, cakes and more. At the same time, the sala ‘Madame’ will open. From el próximo viernes, hours will be from 9-16:00. The opening exhibit is of work by Jaime Lara, featuring his Andean ceramic murals. The menu is divided into eggs, sandwiches, specials, sweets and beverages.

Otras cosas –

Titular – Plantean vía alterna en Ingamullo (Alternate roadway proposed in Ingamullo) – While the Ministerio de Obras Públicas is trying to clear 15,000 cubic meter slide from the vía Gualaceo-Plan de Milagro at the Ingamullo sector, representatives from cities in Azuay and Morona Santiago signed an agreement with MTOP to broaden a study to build a new alternative route through a protected zone.

Mobility in rural areas – A plan for mobility in rural areas does not exist in Cuenca. <You do know that the canton of Cuenca includes rural parishes and not just the built-up, urban area of the city, right?> Some 120,000 people come into the city <urban area> daily, and a large percentage have to transfer 3 times by bus, paying each time, to get to work where they earn 60% less than people living in the city. Their commutes can involve hiring a mixto to get to the parish center, catching a bus to the Feria Libre, and getting on another bus to their final destinations.

A 2017 study of the U. of Cuenca community determined that 32% use a private vehicle, 11-13% use la movilidad activa (bicycle) <or walking?>, and 45% use public transport. These proportions change with income levels so that 73% of the professors and administrators use private vehicles while 60-70% of the students dependent on their parents use public transport with 15% on bikes. <So are you statistics junkies happy now?>

Ecuador wins – Ecuador beat Bolivia 3-0 in Tuesday night’s game at the Estadio. <If it were only in the sports section and not on the front page, I wouldn’t even be telling you this much – which is as much as I understand about fútbol.>

Sign language – Going to a hospital, especially if it’s an emergency is the hardest thing for a person with a hearing impairment. Going to a bank or shopping is also difficult. <Ask any monolingual gringo about the difficulty and stress of being unable to communicate.> Learning Ecuadorian Sign Language is important for social advancement. <Ask gringos who’ve learned Spanish if their lives have gotten easier and better.> There is a shortage of teachers of sign language although there have been advances since Pres. Moreno was VP and headed programs for people with disabilities. The FALSEC foundation gives 40-hour courses in Ecuadorian Sign Language. They start el 12/10 and will be los sábados in the morning. For information, contact Paúl Chumo at 098 311 3847 or aprendizaje.lsec@outlook.es. <Seems like you wouldn’t have to already know Spanish in order to learn Ecuadorian Sign Language.>

Animal shelter – The Ordenanza para el Control y Manejo de la Fauna urbana y la Protección de Animales Domésticos de Compañía de Cuenca (Ordinance for the Control and Management of the Urban Fauna and the Protection of Domestic Companion Animals of Cuenca) was passed in 2016 and a shelter has still not been built as was called for in the ordinance. A 2018 U. of Cuenca study said there were about 19,000 dogs and 2,000 stray cats roaming the streets with an additional 1,000 that will be added this year. Initial plans in 2017 called for a shelter with a capacity for 1,000 animals to be run by the ARCA and Familia Amor Animal (FAAN) foundations, both made up of volunteers. A 12.8 hectare site with a value of $200,000 has been identified in Cumbe near the La Posada sector which meets the basic conditions.

Giant tortoises – A species of tortoise from Española island was introduced onto Santa Fe island as part of tortoise restoration initiative started in 2015. Juveniles were relocated and 99.9% have survived.

And that’s all for today so Hasta ? –

Jeanne