Hoteliers hoping for busy holiday weekend; Roger Waters to play Quito; Cultural agenda; Landslide report; Cuenca to New York flights begin in June

May 27, 2023 | 4 comments

Viernes, 26/5/2023

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –

De El Mercurio del jueves, 25/5 (1 agenda):
Agenda Cultural
27/5 a las 15:00 – Museos – Guided visits at the Museo Remigio Crespo (Calle Larga y Borrero).
28/5 desde 11:00 a 15:00 – Observatorio (Planetario) – Astronomical projections. <See stars without the pain of getting punched in the face.>
29/5 a las 8:30 – Exposición “Des-cubriendo” (Uncovering) – Casa de la Lira. <Could be portraits of whistle blowers or nudes or just about any politician. Take your chances.>

Titular –

Roger Waters will perform in Quito in December.

A Germán Cáceres le imponen 34 años de prisión por femidicio (sic) (Germán Cáceres gets 34 years in prison for femicide) – See today’s article (viernes) in CHL for story.

Actualidad –

Cuenca espera ocupación hotelera de 70% en feriado (Cuenca expects 70% hotel occupancy for the holiday) – Cuenca is one of the cities Ecuadorians prefer to visit for the Batalla de Pichincha holiday which started today and ends el domingo, 28/5. Juan Pablo Vanegas, president of the Cámara de Turismo del Azuay said that projections are for hotel occupancy exceeding 70%, but the tourism sector is worried about road problems, the country’s political problems, and security.

He said people are making reservations for the 10,000 beds at 220 hotels at the last minute based on if the roads are open or not. Vanegas met with Dora Ordóñez, Zone 6 sub-secretary of MTOP, to agree on a contingency plan for the holiday to guarantee clear roads. <Better if he could have booked a meeting with Pachamama (Mother Earth) and gotten a commitment from her to hold off on the landslides until after the weekend.> The plan includes machinery and clearing of the eventual rock falls at critical points on the roads to Cuenca. In spite of being a national holiday, there will be no reduction in the IVA from 12% to 8%.

Roger Waters llega a Quito en diciembre para su despedida (Roger Waters arrives in Quito in December for his farewell concert) – The ex-bassist and singer for Pink Floyd confirmed that he will include Quito as part of his ‘This is not a drill’ tour. The concert will be el 9/12 at the estadio Olímpico Atahualpa. Prices for tickets are not known yet, but they will go on sale soon. In Perú, the highest price ticket is $204.97, and in Argentina it is $233. <Can you imagine if tickets were priced in Argentine pesos? What would 55,000 pesos today be worth by diciembre?> The last time an act of the same calibre came to Ecuador was Metallica in 2016, and Paul McCartney in 2014.

Empresarial –

De El Mercurio del jueves, 25/5 (1 article):

Una feria de emprendedores (An entrepreneurs’ fair) – Feria Conectados is organizing the ‘Gran Bazar Vintage’ between el 26-28/5 as part of the holiday. It will be in the parking lot next to the Cámara de Comercio across from the Parque de La Madre. Hours are from 10-20:00 el viernes y sábado, and from 10-18:00 el domingo. The 4th edition of this fair will focus on circular or sustainable fashion <the opposite of fast fashion – kind of like the slow food movement is to fast food.> There will also be new clothing, accessories, shoes, make-up, books, gourmet products and a beekeeping area. <Rule #1 for the beekeeping space – no arguments leading to shoving matches.> This edition of the Feria Conectados is to promote entrepreneurs who don’t have a commercial location. Other activities will include alternative music, visits from influencers and a presentation by cosplaying youth.

Cuenca –

Arcsa alerta por producto médico que está falsificado (Arcsa warns about counterfeit medical product) – The Agencia Nacional de Regulación, Control y Vigilancia Sanitaria (Arcsa) announced that Boehhringer Ingelheim del Ecuador Cía.Ltda. sent an alert that Actilyse 50 mg., Registro Sanitario: 29776-05-11 and Lote: 203713 with an expiration date of 03/2025 is of unlawful origin. The counterfeit medicine with lot number 203713 is being sold in Ecuador.

Informe –

De El Mercurio del jueves, 25/5 (1 article):
Peligro por un socavón en vía Girón-Pasaje (Danger due to sinkhole on Girón-Pasaje road) – The connection between Azuay and El Oro on the vía Cuenca-Girón-Pasaje is at risk again because of a sinkhole the opened up ayer in the Gramalote sector (km. 117). One of the lanes collapsed due to the rains and preliminary information said that a sewer under the road got stopped up with a large quantity of sediment. MTOP placed emergency fill at the base of the structure to protect and widen the remaining lane which will be used until technicians can determine what needs to be done to restore both lanes. Dora Ordóñez, Zone 6 undersecretary for MTOP anticipated that the damage is complex, so that the repairs will could require closure of the road to traffic.

Further areas of damage on this road are from Girón canton through Santa Isabel, with potholes, cracks, and deep subsidence from Sarayunga and Gramalote to the border with El Oro. The constant fall of material makes drivers fear they won’t reach their destinations. There are also problems in stretches such as Santa Ana, Léntag, the Parque Extremo in Yunguila, La Unión, and El Ramal where there has been inadequate maintenance. Complaints from sectors surrounding the highway have been constant. <So when your relatives in the US complain about their roads, show them pictures of the ones we’re stuck with. At some point you just drive over the cracks and pray your car isn’t the one that will collapse the whole road into the valley below. Drive as if you’re about to meet your Maker.>

El acceso por Molleturo también está en riesgo (Access through Molleturo is also at risk) – Cuenca-Molleturo-El Empalme is another route to the coast with rain-caused problems. Acording to the ECU 911, there were 12 points with problems due to slides, rock falls and more. In spite of the difficulties, the road was kept open for traffic. It is recommended that you drive carefully. Dora Ordóñez, Zone 6 undersecretary for MTOP, said that the emergency declaration in marzo allowed intervention at critical points such as km. 49 where a bypass was constructed. She said the stabilization of this sector should be completed by el 2/8.

Nacional –

Presidente se recupera de operación en EE.UU. (President recovers from surgery in the U.S.) – President Lasso is recovering successfully from prostate surgery at Houston Methodist Hospital. He left the country last miércoles, and will return to Ecuador el domingo, 28/5. During his term so far, he has had 4 operations, 3 in US medical centers. <For a not-all-that-old man, he sure seems to have a lot of medical problems.>

Cuenca to New York flights scheduled – Beginning in June, local travelers will be able to fly from Cuenca to New York in less than seven hours. The flights, operated by Avianca, will include an hour stop-over in Quito but will be considered international, similar to the Latam flights from Quito to Miami. In announcing the flights, Cuenca Mayor Cristian Zamora said that after Quito and Guayaquil, Cuenca is the city with the most demand for air connections to the United States.

And that’s all for today so hasta ? –

Jeanne

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