Sábado, 25/2/2017: International food fair, Ancestral fair, Carnaval events, Photo exhibit

Hola, Todos –

More confusion for those of us who can’t remember what day it is without consulting our phones.  I am translating the Saturday paper because the Sunday paper didn’t get delivered.

Pagina cultural –

Libros recomendados de la semana (book recommendations for the week – Sat. has book recommendations instead of agenda items) – “A través de mis pequeños ojos” by Emilio Ortiz, “El balcón en invierno” by Luis Landero and “Heartbreak Hotel” by Jonathan Kellerman.  (I’m not translating the titles since those of you who need the translation are not going to read a book in Spanish.  Those of you who are literate, don’t need me.)

Articles about –

Efraín Jara – Sr. Jara is a 91 year old Ecuadorian poet whose family is compiling his writings, and hoping to publish his complete works. It is starting with recently found letters written in the Galápagos between 1954 and 1961, which will be one volume. (Good family – doing this while he’s still around to appreciate it.)  A website, www.efrainjara.com, is also being created.

Feria Tacalshapa de Saberes Ancestrales (Tacalshapa Fair of Ancestral Knowledge) – The fair was last Thu. in the Museo de Sitio Manuel Agustín Landívar of the CCE.  This will be a monthly fair.  (CCE is is good about notifying the paper, so just wait for the announcement.)  Vendors came with organic agricultural products including produce and smaller animals. (Probably too hard to haul a cow from San Bartolomé to Cuenca.)  They also sold products like leche de tigre (tiger’s milk, which does not come from a tiger), mora jam, and corn and choclo tortillas.  There were traditional healers providing cleansing treatments and products.

Photo exhibit – An exhibit by 30 Argentinean photographers is showing at The Museo de la Ciudad (ExEscuela Central), 2nd floor.  Jhon Vargas, the organizer, is working on organizing a photo exhibit of 60 Ecuadorian artists to be mounted in Buenos Aires in diciembre.

Entrevista (interview) – Luis Carlos Mussó, author of “La orilla memoriosa” (The memorial shore) was interviewed.  His book is a collection of 42 interviews of literary people over the course of 20 years.

Bienal – A survey was conducted during the Bienal to determine attendance and reaction to the event.  The count part of the survey revealed 131,500 visits by 53% women and 47% men. 19% of the visitors were foreigners, the average age was 31, and 17% reached the bachillerato level (high school grad).  80% liked what they saw and of those, 90% would recommend the exhibit to friends.  96% believed the Bienal is a very important contribution to the city and its culture.

Otras cosas –

Titular – Comienza feriado carnavalero (Carnival holiday starts) –
You can drink until 3:00.  (I thought I’d put the crucial info. for gringos in first.)  You can get mote pata (traditional Carnaval soup) at different markets for $2-2.50.  The Terminal Terrestre is busy with its normal 15,000 passengers doubling for the holidays.

“Solitario George” (Lonesome George) – The last example of his species, chelonoidis abingoni, was returned to the Galápagos. The stuffed tortoise will be in the “Símbolo de Esperanza” (Symbol of Hope) Hall.  George died of natural causes on 24/6/2014 and was shipped to the US for embalming and taxidermy.

Festival de Comida Internacional – FASEC is organizing the International Food Festival which will be el próximo domingo 5/3 in the Mall del Río convention center. There will be German, Spanish, Argentinean, Ecuadorian, Swiss, Japanese, Mexican food and more.

Forecast – Rain.  An 80% chance on domingo, 70% on lunes y martes.  The flows in the rivers are at 23.3 cubic meters per second for the Tomebamba, 9.5 in the Yanuncay, 3.7 in the Tarqui and 4.4 in the Machángara.

Internacional –

US – A survey shown on NBC indicated that 54% of those surveyed were strongly or moderately in disagreement with Trump’s management of the presidency, and 43% were strongly or moderately in agreement.  80% agreed that the US is “muy divididos” (very divided).  The survey also found that 56% reject the idea of building a wall between the US and México over 41% supporting the idea and 58% feel immigrants help more than hurt the country vs 37% who believe the opposite.  50% supported the travel ban against citizens from 67 muslim countries, and 47% were against it.

US – Pres. Trump said the wall will start sooner than planned as he defended his plan to reinforce migratory control.  The estimated cost has increased from $8 billion to $21.6 billion.  (I know – he’ll make us turncoats living in Latin America pay for it out of our Social Security and pension checks.)

Deportes –

Marathon – Cuencano Byron Piedra is one of nine foreigners who are honorable invitees for the Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon.  All the others are African – from Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Morocco, and Bahrain.

Automovilismo – The Automóvil Club del Azuay held a rally and mountain climb on Sat. in Paute and expected 40 drivers.  Their next rallies will be on 15/7 and 18/11. Other rallies will be from 21-23/4 in Cuenca y Nabón, on 25/6 in Gualaceo, 19/8 in Girón-Yunguilla, and 2/12 in a location to be determined.   The next mountain climbs will be 18/3 in Tutupali, 20/5 in Déleg, 9/9 in Gachapala and 1410 in Jadán. (Participation in this presumes a good set of brakes.)  The Classic Auto National Championships will be in Cuenca on 8 & 9/4 with details forthcoming.  (Here’s where I wish I still had the Healey even though it couldn’t clear an average speed bump.)

And that´s all for yesterday (sábado) so Hasta Mañana –

Jeanne