Stronger rental regs proposed for Centro; Bus-tranvía integration stalls again; Inti Raymi ceremonies are planned; Performance fuses blues, jazz and samba

Bored? –
(De El Mercurio del domingo, 7/6) Broster, chaulafán y ceviche de cuy en festival gastronómico (Broasted cuy, cuy in chaulafán and cuy ceviche at food festival) – There will be a Festival del Cuy el 21/6 in the central park of Jatumpamba in the San Miguel de Porotos Parish in Azogues. The festival is being organized by the Organización de Comercialización de Cuyes de Jatumpamba whose members are producers and sellers who supply the restaurants in the area. The broasted cuy is prepared in portions which are seasoned with egg yolks, garlic and other ingredients before frying. As for the ceviche, Gloria Piedad Pérez, a member of the organization, said that it was well accepted at tastings. <Does that mean nobody threw up?> Other activities will include folk dance performances and contests for the best dressed, heaviest, and fastest cuyes along with agricultural contests.

Inti Raymi, or the Festival of the Sun, will be celebrated throughout Azuay and Cañar Provinces, including at the ruins of the Ingapirca temple, north of Cuenca.

(De El Mercurio del lunes, 8/6) Filarmónica fusiona blues, jazz y samba (Philharmonic fuses blues, jazz and samba) – The Orquesta Filarmónica de Cuenca <Did the Orquesta Sinfónica de Cuenca get renamed?> will perform a concert el 11/6 a las 20:00 in the Teatro de la Casa de la Cultura in which Andean sounds, Ecuadorian traditions, and Latin American rhythms will converge. The Jazz de Barro group will join the orchestra with conductor Michael Meissner. The program will include previously unpublished compositions combining elements of blues, funk, samba, festejo and ancestral music in a symphonic format.

(De El Mercurio del martes, 9/6) Bingo solidario de Obra Social Jorge Carrión S.J. (Charity Bingo by the Jorge Carrión S.J. Social Work Foundation) – There will be charity bingo el 13/6 from 18:30 – 22:30 in the Coliseo de la Unidad Educativa Particular Borja <Borja High School> to raise funds for a social dining room that has a daily attendance of 100 people in vulnerable situations in the Baños parish. The cards cost $5 and are for sale at the offices of the obra social. The services give free lunches lunes a viernes to children, teens, adults, seniors and people with disabilities. The organization is also asking for donations of prizes or products. Call 099 272 2737 for more information.

(De El Mercurio del martes, 9/6) Contaminación del río Tomebamba en expo (Pollution of río Tomebamba at exhibit) – The exhibit “Cartografías de lo que el agua no se llevó” (Maps of What the Water Didn’t Wash Away) was opened in the Vitrina Galería de Arte in the Casa de la Cultura Núcleo del Azuay (Pres. Córdova 7-23). The photo exhibit deals with pollution of the río Tomebamba through visual research that combines analog photography and alternative techniques such as cyanotype applied to residues collected from the river. The show seeks to raise public awareness about the state of this ecosystem and promote reflection about the care of water resources. The exhibit was selected in the competition Inspira 2026 and will run until el 3/7. Free.

(De El Mercurio del martes, 9/6) Inti Raymi en el Azuay y Cañar (I don’t want to severely underestimate or insult your intelligence by translating that headline) – The celebrations for Inti Raymi or the Fiesta del Sol or the Festival of the Sun are being prepared in Azuay and Cañar. In Azuay, on el viernes, 19/6 there will be 2 ceremonies in the Parque Arqueológico Pumapungo. The first, at 9:30 is for children, and the second at 11:30 is open to the general public. The Tinkuy Terapia collective is arranging a walk to the laguna Luspa in the Parque Nacional Cajas on el domingo, 21/6. The day will start at 7:00 from the hostería Guagrahuma and include ancestral rituals, music, energy cleansing, and other expressions tied to the Andean cosmovision.

The mercados in Cuenca are also preparing a series of activities. In Cañar, there will be activities from the 19-21/6 at the Complejo Arqueológico Ingapirca with ancestral rituals and traditional music and dance performances. The Unión Provincial de Comunas y Cooperativas Cañaris (UPCCC) will celebrate during the same dates in the Plaza de Guantug in the Cañar cantonal center. The program will include ritual ceremonies, a food fair, and spaces dedicated to intercultural medicine and various cultural activities. The Cojitambo Parish Junta is planning a new edition of the Festival del Maíz which will be in the Ruinas Arqueológicas de Cojitambo. The celebration will be from el viernes 12 to el domingo 14/6.

Curious? –
(De El Mercurio del lunes, 8/6) Proceso para integrar bus y tranvía está suspendido (The process to integrate the bus and tram systems has been suspended) – The process to implement the interoperability of the urban buses and tranvía remains suspended in the Servicio Nacional de Contratación Pública (SERCOP – National Public Procurement Service) while documents submitted by the City of Cuenca are being analyzed. The suspension originated after complaints were made by businesses which were disqualified during proposal evaluation phase. They questioned the technical arguments that excluded them from the process. The subasta inversa (reverse auction <lowest price wins>) was published el 13/2 and continued until 7/4 with 5 businesses. 2 were selected for the bidding phase and resulted in a low bid. However, the award was suspended by SERCOP which asked for more information from the city which is waiting for a response from SERCOP. The city is ready to restart the process with the same technical specifications and estimated budget if the suspension is not lifted. The estimated budget was $1.1 million and the lowest bid was $950,000, but the contract was not signed due to the suspension.

The contract was to develop the technology so riders can use the same fare card for the bus and tranvía since the payment systems are currently incompatible. As well as interoperability for the cards, the initiative will incorporate the ability to pay fares with credit or debit cards, a QR code and other digital options. It provides for integrating the public bicycle system and in the future. it would extend the platform to other services administered by the municipality such as public parking lots. <Let’s just get compatible cards before complicating the mix. This has been going on since the Tranvía went into service in 2020.>

(De El Mercurio del lunes, 8/6) Plantean regular Airbnb y arriendos (Proposal to Regulate Airbnb and Short-Term Rentals)– Urban planner Fernando Carrión warned that the increase in rentals in the Centro Historico and the expansion of lodging platforms such as Airbnb could accelerate the departure of residents and affect the conservation of the historic zone. For him, it is necessary to establish regulations to strengthen housing policies. He said that while there are fewer and fewer people living in the Centro Histórico, rents have continued to rise. This phenomena responds to urban transformations which have occured in other Latin American cities <and Europe where they fire water pistols at tourists>. These transformations have contributed to the deterioration of historic centers. He argued the city needs an integrated urban policy centered in housing to avoid the gradual replacement of permanent residents. Keeping permanent residents depends not only on conservation of housing, but the availability of employment, health services, education, and recreational spaces within the central area.

(De El Mercurio del martes, 9/6) Centrosur retira más de cinco toneladas de cable en desuso (Centrosur removed more than five tons of unused cable) – Diego Morales, executive president of the Empresa Eléctrica Regional Centrosur said that over 5 tons of unused telecommunications cable has been removed. Between 60 & 70% of the cables installed on poles administered by Centrosur was obsolete, old or unconnected infrastructure. The latest work was in sectors such as av. Unidad Nacional and Remigio Crespo, and calles Guayas and Tungurahua in coordination with telecommunications operators. Morales said the removal responded to a national guideline applied to electrical distributors. The cables being removed are treated differently depending if they are copper or fiber optic. Copper goes back into a circular economic process while fiber optic cables should be managed by authorized environmental operators. The elimination of unused cables improves the urban landscape, reduces visual pollution, and facilitates maintenance work. Centrosur is currently working in el Centro Histórico and Sucre and Totoracocha parishes. In the next few weeks, it will be in Yanuncay and later in Gualaceo, Paute, Sígsig, Santa Isabel, Morona Santiago, and Cañar. In parallel, it is preparing an ordinance to boost undergrounding of cables where possible and to establish mechanisms to avoid future accumulation of obsolete cable.
__________________

Information in this column, including dates, times and locations, is courtesy of the El Mercurio newspaper. Comments between the carrots, or guillemets (< … >), are the personal opinions of the author and not part of the news translation.