Tram work on schedule so far, Adventure films, Custom tax, Street repaving planned, Bus cards

Martes, 16/1/2018

Hola, Todos –

Pagina cultural –

Upcoming and ongoing agenda events –

Concierto – The first U. of Cuenca Symphony performance will be Wednesday a las 20:00 in the Catedral Vieja.

Colloquium – “La Universidad de Cuenca y su relación con las provincias Azuayas” (The University of Cuenca and its relationship with the Azuayas provinces) will be el jueves a las 15:00 in the César Dávila Andrade auditorium in the Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Geared to professors, students and researchers.

Nuevos Medios – This art club’s first meeting will be from 23-25/1 en the CCE. It’s a laboratory for exploring connections between art processes and technology. <At least that’s what I think it is. Remember I’m translating Spanish and artspeak in the same sentence.>

Articles about –

Cine de Aventura – Adventure films will be shown Wednesday y jueves a last 19:00 in the teatro Pumapungo. Mañana there will be films from the Banff Mountain Film Festival about mountain biking, kayaking, skiing, base jumping, hiking and parachuting. The films on jueves will be Ecuadorian and about trekking, skiing, walking, climbing, cycling, and base jumping. The films are between 3 & 25 minutes long.

La Guarida – This cultural center will be a place for artists and cultural managers to have a space and a channel for the distribution of culture. They are making audiovisual productions for musicians to promote themselves on social networking pages.

Cañar – Archeology and Tourism are the topics of the 2nd National Congress in Cañar. Cañar is the Archeological Capital of Ecuador and it has 56 archeological sites such as Ingapirca, parts of the Qhapac Ñan, and the Baños el Inca. It also has a living culture.

Festival de Artes Escénicas – The Inclusionarte collective and the Imay Centro Cultural are calling for entries for the “Liron, Lirón” Scenic Arts Festival for Children. Groups and individuals in theater, dance, circus, and puppets, and including residents in Ecuador who are interested in participating should go to the goo.gl/LGBjW4 page. The festival will be from 7-22/4 with the theme “El Bienestar para la salud de niños y niñas” (Welfare for children’s health), and submissions should reflect this theme.

Otras cosas –

Titular – Invierno no afectará obras para el tranvía (Winter will not affect work on the tranvía) – The 1st month of work on the Tranvía has passed out of the 10 month construction term which the mayor says will not be exceeded. <We’ll see.> Between abril and mayo, the trains should be running as far as Corazón del Jesus. The company that will be selected to operate the system should start their work by 15/5 at the latest.

Customs tax – Migrants shipping packages to Ecuador under the 4×4 program will not need to pay the duties if they are registered with the consulate. Packages sent by post, “Mensajería Acelerada” <I have no idea what an accelerated messenger service is.>, or by courier fall into 6 categories from A to F, with different taxes that apply as follows:

A – Correspondence such as letters, magazines, newspapers, photos, books and content on audiovisual and electronic media that doesn’t need to be licensed, is not for commercial ends, and is not a prohibited import will be free from taxes.

B – Packages up to 4 kilos and $400 – Anyone can receive these with a maximum of 5 packages or $1,200 per recipient per year and pay a $42 tariff per package. <Your family and friends should know not to send you that $2.95 joke present since you’ll have to pay $42 to pick it up.> Migrants registered with the consulate can sent up to 12 such packages with an accumulated value of $2,400 per year free of taxes.

C – Packages up to 50 kg and $2,000 have several taxes that apply including the new “TSCA” 10¢ tax. <I think that 10¢ tax is per 10,000 grams. So taxes would be less if you sent a Home Depot packing box full of potato chips rather than a box of machine parts.>

D – Textiles, clothing and footwear up to 20kg and $2,000 have taxes that apply including the TSCA.

E – Prescription medicines – a .5% Fodinfa tax applies <whatever that is.>. Orthopedic equipment, organs and tissue imported not for profit are free of taxes.

F – Books for reading are free of tax, but coloring books, stamp books, notebooks and others do pay taxes including the TSCA.
<So is that as clear as glass or mud? If you want more details go to www.elmercurio.com.ec to get them.>

Road work – Various streets are being repaved including av. Pumapungo from Huayna Cápac to Max Uhle, the Puertas del Sol sector, streets around the Cementerio Patrimonial, and around the main park in el Valle.

Tarjetas Movilízate – You can get new bus cards at 3 Pharmasol locations – on 10 de Agosto in the mercado 27 de Febrero sector, on calle Sangurima in the mercado 9 de Octubre sector, and in Totoracocha across from Monay Shopping. The card is free to people in vulnerable sectors. <I think that would include anyone who gets a 50% discount on bus rides.>

Descuentos y compras –

RM – Up to 50% off sale on selected merchandise throughtout store – restrictions apply – www.modaRM.com.

And that´s all for today so Hasta Mañana –

Jeanne