Sayausí residents complain about slow landslide recovery; Churches suffer robberies; Civil Registry has two-month backlog; Top ceramicists exhibit at CIDAP

Jueves, 28/4/2022

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –

Quimbita expondrá en Puerto Rico (Quimbita to exhibit in Puerto Rico) – Ecuadorian painter, Olmedo Quimbita, will be bringing 25 works from his gallery to the Museo de las Américas in San Juan de Puerto Rico starting el 18/5 for a 3 month show. If you want to see his work, he has a gallery on Calle Larga, diagonal to the Museo Pumapungo.

Excelencia artesanal en 26 obras (Excellence in craftsmanship in 26 works) – CIDAP is showing 26 works that were part of the Medalla CIDAP al Diseño y Innovación Artesanal 2022 until 15/5. Also in the show is the work of Carolina Franco from Pichincha who won the award for her work, “Pichitos – Colección Inutilitaria,” and 3 honorable mentions. There are 9 collections from Latin American ceramicists and designers as well. Hours are from lunes a viernes a las 8:00-17:00 at CIDAP (Paseo 3 de Noviembe next to the escalinata Francisco Sojos. <Am I the last one to find out that those stairs had a name besides Las Escalinatas?>

Titular –

Cuenca churches are taking steps to stop burglaries. The Nuestra Señora de Fátima church on Av. Loja was victimized recently when thieves stole the alms collection. (El Mercurio)

Pasaportes, sin turnos hasta julio (Passports, no appointments until July) – The Registro Civil in Cuenca does not have appointments to get or renew passports until 17/7. Even after that date, the calendar with new appointments hasn’t been set up. Other cities are equally backed up. Azogues is booked until 26/6, Macas until 13/7, and Machala until 23/6. Loja, Guayaquil, Riobamba, and Latacunga do not have appointments until 18/7, with Ibarra full until 24/6. If you need or are renewing a cédula at the main Registro Civil office next to parque Luis Cordero, do it after 28/5. At the La Libertad office, you will need to wait until after 17/6 with a wait until 23/6 at the El Batán office.

The Registro Civil declared an emergency el 22/4 in order to speed up contracting for supplies necessary to attend to the demands for the different documents it issues. The primary materials the government needs are scarce world wide. <Do those materials come from Russia or Ukraine? Or are they just stuck in a port somewhere?> Francisco Cordero, an attorney who is at the Registro Civil almost every day attributed the crowds to 3 reasons: the reduction in the capacity for the agency to issue appointments; the closeness of the midterm elections in 2/2023; and most importantly, a new increase in migration.

Informe –

Sayausí aguarda por vía, viviendas y el alcantarillado (Sayausí awaits roads, housing and sewage systems) – Martín Lucero, president of the parish, said that Sayausí wants to see definite projects and know when they will be done. They are waiting for the recuperation 4 km. of road in the El Lirio-Marianza-Zorrocucho section and construction and rehabilitation of houses. Also worrying is the collapse of the sewer with the risk of wastewater contaminating the Río Tomebamba. <Yup, the same Tomebamba that runs through Gringolandia making Sayausí’s problem, Gringolandia’s problem.> Lucero also questioned why the machinery was removed. The Ministerio de Transporte y Obras Públicas (MTOP) is finishing the terms of the contract and getting the budget to repair the affected road. The machinery was removed because it had accomplished the initial goal of getting the road open.

Matías Abad, governor of Azuay, said that reconstruction work will start 20/5. As for building 7 houses, the city has some possible lots for the Government of Azuay and the Ministerio de Vivienda (MIDUVI) to consider. However, they are in other sectors of the city since the city doesn’t have any lots in Sayausí. <I wonder how the people who were displaced are going to react to that? I think their roots reach deep and relocation would add trauma on top of trauma.> The shelter at the escuela Fray Gaspar de Carvajal now only has 2 families of the 12 that were affected. The rest of the families left voluntarily to return to their homes, live with other family members, or rent space close by to try to o back to normal activities.

MIES acredita bonos de contingencia (MIES gives emergency credits) – The Ministerio de Inclusión Económica y Social has delivered emergency grants of $257 to 7 affected families in Sayausí. <How far can that go? I imagine it might cover the next trip to the liquor store for some of you.> 5 families also received a bono (grant/credit) of $240 for food, with the possible amplification of coverage depending on pertinent analysis. MIES is also providing psychosocial, pedagogic, medical and other services. In addition MIES is helping families affected by the flooding of the río Chantaco in Santa Isabel and the río Burgay in Azogues y Biblián.

Cuenca –

Las Iglesias son “vulnerables” a la delincuencia (Churches are “vulnerable” to crime) – Not even the image of the Virgen de Fátima moved the burglar who entered the church on av. Loja early martes, 26/4 and stole the money collected for alms. The “Barrio Seguro equipado con alarma comunitaria” (“Safe Neighborhood equipped with community alarm”) sign outside nor the cameras inside didn’t stop the robber. Joffre Astudillo, communications secretary for the Arquidiócis de Cuenca said that churches have become the target of robberies since some associate the church with large quantities of money. Astudillo said that the Nuestra Señora de Fátima church has taken corrective action to avoid new thefts. These actions have been extended to other churches, especially those that are always open. Some of them have patrimonial objects such as paintings, crowns and art works.

And that´s all for today so Hasta ? –

Jeanne
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Editor’s note: Jeanne’s Periodico is a translated digest of news from the Cuenca daily newspaper El Mercurio. If details, such as event dates and times, do not appear in the translation, they did not appear in the newspaper (please don’t ask her for them). The text between the carrots, or guillemets (< … >), is Jeanne’s personal opinion and not part of the news translation.