Tame flights announced, IESS protest, Tax haven deposits, Vietnam week, Symphony, Dance festival

Martes, 18/7/2016

Hola, Todos –

Pagina cultural –

Today’s agenda events –

Taller – Writers María Rosa Crespo and Oswaldo Encalada Vásquez are holding a workshop of semiotics and cultural studies this week in the museo Remigio Crespo Toral. The workshop will be in the afternoons. Cost: $30.00.

Upcoming and ongoing agenda events –

Festival de danza – the 2nd Wainaiyumi Dance Festival will be el jueves a las 19:00 in the teatro Pumapungo. Cost: $10.00.

Radionovela – A radio show “Dolores Cacuango, la Pachamama habló por su voz” (Dolores Cacuango, Pachamama (Mother Earth) spoke through her voice) will be launched tomorrow at 10:00 in the Dirección Municipal de Cultura (Municipal Culture Department). <I think a radionovela is a series or soap opera. Does anyone else remember Ma Perkins?>

Semana Internacional de Vietnam (Vietnam International Week) – The opening ceremony for this event will be Wednesday a las 9:30 in the calle Santa Ana. There will be a cultural exhibit to promote interculturality between foreign residents and Cuencanos.

Articles about –

Summer vacation activities – Public and private entities are offering summer classes and activities. Classes in the city’s centros culturales run from 17-28/7 for children from 6-12. A second series of classes runs from 31/7 to 4/8 from 9-12:00 in selected barrios such as Narancay Alto, El Progreso, Lazareto, El Paraíso, Miraflores, El Vecino y Plaza del Arte. These summer camps are free, but spaces are limited.

Revista – The Tres de Noviembre magazine has just released issue number 173 which started as a bulletin from the City of Cuenca 93 years ago. Articles are about the influence of popular music from the 60’s & 70’s on Cuenca; the importance of having a horse in Cuenca decimonónica (Nineteenth century – your word for the day.) <I think that’s got to be the most useless word for the day that I’ve ever selected.>; and calle Santa Ana and the equinoxes. You can get your free copy in the Dirección Municipal de Cultura (Gran Colombia y Benigno Malo) or in the Biblioteca Municipal (Municipal Library) (Benigno Malo y Sucre).

Queen Sinfónico (Symphonic Queen) – In celebration of the 150th anniversary of the U. of Cuenca, there will be a performance Wednesday after 20:00) <I’m wondering if this “after” 20:00 means that it’s like a party. Whatever the stated starting time, Cuencanos will start drifting in about an hour to hour and half “después.” If you’re an A-type gringo, quit stressing about this behavior and just plan for it.> Get your tickets at La Victoria stores in El Centro and at the stadium and at the theater box office. <But these performances do start on time, so don’t drift in at 9:00.>

Otras cosas –

Titular – Crucial día para Glas (Crucial day for Glas) – Opponents are hoping that the request for a political trial (impeachment) against VP Jorge Glas will clear the Legislative Administration Committee and go to the Constitutional Court. They want Glas to respond about his role as coordinator of strategic sectors where there was corruption. <It’s not like one of the managers in those sectors reporting to the VP is going to tell him, “Hey, Jorge, I’ve been taking bribes.”>

IESS – Unions and the retired are protesting the proposal that the government assumes paying the employer’s 11.15% contribution to IESS. The proposal was to reduce production costs of companies in order to stimulate the economy. Opponents point out that the government already owes the IESS system $15.112 billion and it would be impossible to fulfill a new obligation. During Correa’s term, a law was passed eliminating state support of retirement payments by 40% which translates to $1.2 billion per year. <How do you think a rate increase for IESS medical services stacks up against not getting 40% of the government support for pensions in terms of “fair.”>

Public notice – Owners of properties fronting on a long list of streets who received the benefits of public works improvements will be notified of the value of the improvements. If you’re eligible for “rebajas especiales” (special rebates – words for the day more useful than decimonónica) go to the Dirección Financiera Municipal (Sucre between Benigno Malo y Cordero – 1st floor of City Hall). <And no, I have no idea how they will notify property owners. So don’t throw away or delete mail because it’s in a language you can’t read.>

Andean crops – 7 undervalued crops grown in the Andes might wind up on Spanish tables through a program called Latincrop with Bolivia, Ecuador, Perú, Spain and Denmark. The crops are cañahua <quinua on steroids>, tarwi <chocho>, arracacha <zanahorias blancas and related to carrot, parsnip and parsley>, yacón <another root veg>, isaño <Isaño is also mashua. The plant can decrease libido so the Inca fed it to their armies before campaigns as a way to avoid pillage and rape of conquered villages.>, amaranto <amaranth> y quinua. <I bet the marketing will include lots of superfood claims. Eat this and you too can live as long as they do in Vilcabamba in the Valley of Longevity.>

Deposits in tax havens – The National Assembly is debating a proposal for the Director of the SRI to release information about public officials with assets in tax havens including names, amounts and transactions. The new law prohibiting public officials from holding assets in tax havens is on the President’s desk for signature. Officials with such assets have to repatriate them by 3/2018 or leave office.

Plaza San Francisco – The last day for the contractor for the project to respond to its disqualification on bidding for the project was Tuesday.

Your civics article for today – The Municipality has started holding “Asambleas Ciudadanas” (Citizen Assemblies). These meetings are for citizens to talk about planning, local development, and budgeting for 2018, and to monitor government plans and projects. The Yanuncay Parish met today at 18:30. Totoracocha will meet mañana in the Casa Comunal Benito Andueza, San Sebastián will meet on jueves in the Sagrados Corazones School, and El Vecino will meet el viernes in the Casa Parroquial.

Air service – TAME EP will reactivate air service between Guayaquil and Cuenca with one daily flight from lunes a jueves. It will leave Guayaquil at 17:40 and arrive in Cuenca at 18:30. The return flight will leave Cuenca at 19:00 and arrive in Guayaquil at 19:50. Flights should <that word in itself is an editorial comment – remember we’re talking about TAME here, not Qatar Airlines.> start at the end of julio or beginning of agosto.

Buses – A bus on the Amaluza-Loja route burned on the vía Loja-Catamayo in the Las Lagunas sector. No one was hurt. The increase in accidents has authorities worried. The manager of EMOV said they increased their operations by almost 4 times since 4/2016 when bus inspections went from 2 a year to only once a year. The “alcoholimetros” (breathalyzers) installed in the Terminal Terrestre don’t work and passengers are asking they be repaired. <If you can smell alcohol on the driver, I’d get off the bus and go take another line.>

Nabón – The canton has plans to create a tourist project at Curiquingue Lake which was formed over 8 years ago when some ravines and creeks were blocked by a major landslide. It also took out at least 500 m. of road connecting Nabón and Girón. Plans include construction of a market to commercialize the local gastronomy, building a shelter and a pier for enjoying the view and fishing, and rebuilding the road.

Pagina intercultural – The articles are about crops that have disappeared from the table including various potatoes such as chiyu, quivil, burundilla, leona and cubaleña; a black wheat; and mashua, which, a retired hacienda worker said, has curative powers to the prostate. <You think all those Incan soldiers had healthy prostates?>

Amenidades –

Salsa – The biggest salsa festival in the country will be in Quito from 17-19/8 in the Teatro Nacional de la Casa de la Cultura.

Internacional –

Chile – A strong snow storm on sábado left over 300,000 homes sin luz (without light/electricity) and there are still 71,000 homes where power has not been restored. The snow was caused by a wave of cold polar air.

And that´s all for today so Hasta Mañana –

Jeanne