Satire rules in tonight’s Comparsas and Mascaradas parade; Cuenca’s rivers are running low; Colombian rebels warn Trump; New emergency is declared
Bored? –
(De El Mercurio del domingo, 4/1/2026) Nueva app UDA Book reúne más de 350 obras (New UDA Book app brings together more than 350 works) – <This would probably only be an antidote to boredom in Spanish.> The Universidad del
Azuay launched a free, new mobile app, UDA Book which has more than 350 books from its publishing house. The books contain literature, social sciences, art, design, architecture, and languages and will be a constantly growing library with a new book added each week.
(De El Mercurio del domingo, 4/1/2026) Roll & Coffee – This space, started by Jefrey Duy and Fernando Cruel, is dedicated to board games. It was started at Jefrey’s house where he’d meet friends to play games. Eventually he set up the 3d floor of the house as a commercial space. It is a club and not a traditional cafetería with more than 100 international board games at different levels. Players are charged a fee of $3-5 depending on the type of game selected and can change the game as many times as they want with no time restriction. Roll & Coffee works with neighboring fast food restaurants and players can ordered food delivered. Hours are from 16:00 – 23:00. For more information, call 099 146 8317. It is located on av. de Las Americas y Gigantones, next to the Parque Jacaranda.
Tuesday night’s Comparsas y Mascaradas parade on Av. Huayna Cápac satirizes political and public figures and whatever else catches the fancy of participants. (El Mercurio)
(De El Mercurio del sábado, 3/1/2026) 2 eclipses lunares en el 2026 (2 lunar eclipses in 2026) – There will be several astronomical events this year including star showers, super moons, comets, and 2 solar and 2 lunar eclipses. What can be seen from Cuenca will be the 2 lunar eclipses. The first is a total eclipse on el 3/marzo starting at 03:44 and reaching a maximum at 06:22. <You’ll need to be either a serious night owl or a very early riser for this one.> On el 27 & 27/agosto there will be a partial lunar eclipse starting at 20:33 and reaching a maximum at 23:12. The two solar eclipses will not be visible from Ecuador.
(De El Mercurio del lunes, 5/1/2026) Exposiciones en la Aceleradora Cultural (Exhibitions at the Cultural Accelerator) – The shows Galería Manos Azuayas and Tesoros Escondidos are enlarging their exhibits and will be open until el 1 de febrero in 2 spaces at the Aceleradora Cultural in the Casa de la Cultura on Luis Cordero y Pres. Córdova. The works offer visitors a journey through art, tradition and the memory of Gualaceo and El Cabo. Free.
(De El Mercurio del lunes, 5/1/2026) La sátira, crítica social y fantasía para mascaradas (Satire, social criticism, and fantasy for masquerades) – Cuenca is getting ready for the “Concurso de Comparsas y Mascaradas 2026″ on el 6/1 which will transform av. Huayna Cápac into a space for political satire, collective imagination, and social criticism. The parade route starts at the intersection of av. República and Simón Bolívar and ends in the sector with calle Pachacámac and av. Pumapungo. The parade starts at 18:00 with the marchers lining up at av. La República at 14:00. Except for disabled and elderly marchers who will go first, other groups will march in the order of their arrival at the starting point. EMOV EP announced that av. Huayna Cápac and intersections will be closed to vehicles from 17:00 to 24:00 el 6/1. Cross streets including Calle Larga and Juan Jaramillo will be closed starting at 17:00.
Curious? –
(De El Mercurio del sábado, 3/1/2026) Estado de excepción se decreta en 9 provincias (State of emergency declared in 9 provinces) – 9 provinces and 3 cantons have been put under a state of emergency with Executive Decree 277. The provinces are Guayas, Manabí, Santa Elena, Los Ríos, El Oro, Pichincha, Esmeraldas, Santo Domingo, and Sucumbios; and the cantons are La Maná in Cotopaxi, and Las Naves and Echeandía in Bolívar. The justification is that these areas show a dynamic of violence and organized crime characterized by the presence of multiple criminal structures with an intensification of high impact violent acts. <Almost sounds like a weather report. There will be a dynamic of multiple weather fronts with intensification of storms and precipitation.>
(De El Mercurio del sábado, 3/1/2026) Nuevo buque de guerra llegará al país en 62 días (New warship will arrive in the country in 62 days) – The Jambelí Mega Multipurpose Ship set sail from Asia towards Ecuador and will arrive in the Salinas area el 3/3/2026 and enter the port el 6/3. Ministerio de Defensa announced the ship has key capacities to fight organized crime on the seas. It can launch at least 3 interceptor boats, it operates with a medium helicopter and can stay at sea for 40 days without returning to port. Its size and autonomy allows it to carry fuel, water, and food, and it can offer logistical support to other units during prolonged maritime operations.
(De El Mercurio del lunes, 5/1/2026) Hay caudales bajos y alerta de lluvias (There are low water flows and a rain warning.) – The Empresa de Telecomunicaciones, Agua Potable y Alcantarillado (ETAPA EP) announced that the flows in the Tomebamba (from an average of 3.0 cubic meters per second to 1.37) and Tarqui (from 1.6 to 1.68 <?>) Rivers have decreased significantly. It said this was caused by the scarcity of intense rain during diciembre, 2025 and the first days in enero. The decrease in flows is reflected in the río Paute which feeds the Complejo Hidroeléctrico Paute Integral which provides about 38% of the electricity consumed in Ecuador.
In parallel, the Instituto Nacional de <Meteorología e Hidrológia (Inamhi) released its first weather advisory for 2026 for an increase in intensity and distribution of rain in a large part of the country from el 5-7/enero. The rain will be accompanied by wind with the most intense conditions in the northern interior and central Coast (Esmeraldas, Manabí, and Los Ríos), in the Amazonía (Morona Santiago, Zamora Chinchipe and Sucumbíos), the north of the Sierra and mountain ranges (Carchi, Pichincha, Bolívar, and the western parts of Imbabura and Cotopaxi). <Does this mean that the national policy of praying for rain to prevent droughts has worked?>
(De El Mercurio del lunes, 5/1/2026) Guerrillas colombianas lanzan advertencia a Estados Unidos (Colombian guerrillas issue warning to the United States) – Colombian guerrillas that operate on the border with Venezuela warned that they will confront the imperialistic plans of the US. Rebels from ELN and dissidents from the now defunct FARC rejected the arrest of Nicolás Maduro. The Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) said all patriots, democrats and revolutionaries will unite to face the imperial plans against Venezuela and the peoples of the South. Dissidents from FARC which left the 2016 peace agreement, warned that they will fight against US imperialism to the last drop of blood. <It’s ironic that Trump has managed to unite these groups against a common enemy. I wonder if Petro will welcome their help?>
