Savor the traditional food of Barabón; New airline flies to Peru; Guayaquil cocaine busts include two police officers; Van Gogh at the Mall del Rio

Domingo, 25/2/2024

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –

Los secretos de Van Gogh en un recorrido inmersivo (The secrets of Van Gogh in an immersive tour) – If you’ve ever imagined being inside a work of art, <and you’re a sick puppy if your work of art is “The Scream” or hell in “The Garden of Earthly Delights.”>, you can experience the work of Van Gogh at the Centro de Conveniones Mall del Río. The immersive exhibit takes about an hour to tour with some 150 works in 7 galleries where paintings such as Sunflowers or Starry Night are recreated. The exhibit runs until el 3/3 with hours from 11-20:00, lunes a viernes, and from 10-20:00 on weekends. Cost: $6 for adults and $ 4 for children and seniors.

The Van Gogh immersion exhibit at Mall del Rio continues until March 3. (El Mercurio)

Colección de sombreros (Hat collection) – The Museo del Sombrero de la Paja Toquilla (calle Larga 10-41 y Padre Aguirre) is presenting a new collection called “Toquilla & Denim” with hours from 9:30-18:30 lunes a viernes, and from 9:30-17:30 on weekends. Free admission. <What you spend after you see the hats depends on your wallet and will power.>

Convocatoria para artistas que residan en Cuenca (Call for artists residing in Cuenca) – The Dirección de Cultura del Municipio issued a call for ‘Mujeres que dejan huella.’ The objective of this competition is to make visible and to recognize artistic work of women dedicated to the plastic, literary, visual and theater arts. An artist will be selected to show and promote her physical work in one of the spaces of the cantonal GAD. If you are interested you must live in Cuenca, be an adult, have a portfolio that shows your work, and have physical examples of your work to show. <How do you meet those requirements if you’re a dancer and choreographer? Live performances? Videos?> You need to meet these requirements by el 1/3, send your resume, portfolio, and if you have one, a link to your social networks or web page. Send this to xbernal@cuenca.gob.ec. Publication of the results will be el 8/3 on the Dirección de Cultura social networks.

Plataforma para conocer la biodiversidad de Ecuador (Platform to learn about Ecuador’s biodiversity) – El Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad del Ecuador has completed its 1st 10 years of work. As part of this anniversary there is a web platform on which you can find publications, research, and the services the institution offers. The public can review botanical catalogues of invertebrates, mammals, birds, fish, and others. The iNaturalist app is also on the page and is a social network where you can register discoveries of nature in Ecuador. Access is free to those who want to learn more about nature in Ecuador which is one of the 17 most megadiverse countries in the world since it has an area of less than than .6% of the planet’s surface but the highest density of species per unit of area. <Who knows, you might discover an even bigger brother to the anaconda reported in Saturday’s CHL. Just make sure your discovery isn’t from the inside of that snake.>

Titular –

La mejor comida tradicional está en Barabón (The best traditional food is in Barabón) – From the La Inmaculada de Barabón Church, there are 13 restaurants in a 4.4 km. stretch which serve traditional food. This area is full of natural beauty with the Río Yanuncay on one side of the road, and is known as the Biocorridor Yanuncay. <But if it’s the same as the last time I was there, there is no cell phone signal.>

One of the restaurants is Campana Huaico whose specialty is caldo de mocho y el cuy. The Merchán Vázquez family has been sharing their special flavors for 14 years. Also on the menu are smoked ribs, chicken, chicken soup, caldo de pata, and asados. The son of the owners is in charge of cocktails and desserts including maracuyá mousse, tiramisú, cheesecake and cake. He mixes the “Huaca,” a drink with aguardiente, forest fruits, and edible gold.

Las Delicias de Mama Michi was started by Mercedes Saguay around 30 years ago at the urging of a priest who pushed the community to promote tourism. Doña Mercedes started selling food from a small space next to the main road which is now a 2nd order road. <When I first started helping at a little school in Sustag, it was a 12 km. teeth rattling series of potholes and ruts. Some of you old timers probably remember that road from going to celebrations and mingas at the school.> At 80, she no longer cooks, and has turned over those duties to her son. The menu includes asados, and mocho, gallina, and patas soups along with traditional beverages.

The newest of the restaurants is Taitico which opened last month, and the first you see when you visit the zone. Jhonathan Guamán is in charge of Taitico which is part of the family legacy of El Escondite, a traditional Cuenca restaurant which specializes in roast cuy. The new restaurant has 3 modern environments surrounded by the abundant vegetation in the area. There are closed and open dining spaces, perfect for enjoying a night next to the banks of the Yanuncay. <Bon apetit, y’all.>

Sucesos –
<These are the drug seizure articles from the weekend.>
La Policía Nacional incuata más de dos toneladas de cocaína (National Police seize more than two tons of cocaine) – The Policía Nacional carried out the “Fénix 76” operation el pasado viernes with raids on 2 houses in Pascuales y Daule in Guayas Province. 2,055 packet of a whitish substance was found and the preliminary test identified it as 2 tons 400 kilos of cocaine headed for the international market. Also found were a rifle, 2 vehicles and cash.

De El Mercurio del sábado, 25/2 (1 article):
Dictan prisión para 2 policías por tráfico de cocaína a gran escala (2 police officers sentenced to prison for large-scale cocaine trafficking) – 3 people including 2 active police officers were busted with more than 1.23 toneladas (metric tons) of cocaine, firearms, and ammunition hidden in a house in Uguachi canton, Province of Guayas. The Unidad de Inteligencia of the National Police carried out the operation el miércoles, 21/2.

Nacional –

Nueva aerolínea de bajo costo (New low-cost airline) – The Ministerio de Transporte y Obras Públicas announced that low-cost airline Jet Smart will start operating on el 6/3 with direct flights to Perú. The Quito-Lima route will fly on miércoles, viernes y domingo. On el 2/4, the Guayaquil-Lima route will start with flights on martes, jueves y sábado. The airline expects to carry over 90,000 passengers in its first year of operation.

And that’s all for today so hasta ? –

Jeanne