Tranvía: six years and still waiting; Christmas lights ceremonies; Nuns arrive to serve leper colony; Crafts and ag fair in San Fernando

Viernes, 6/12/2019

Hola, Todos –

Actividades –
De la pagina cultural –

Nuns’ Life Conference – A conference will continue tomorrow about the life of cloistered nuns in past times. It will be in the Museo de las Conceptas (Hermano Miguel 6-33 y Juan Jaramillo). Tomorrow’s presentation will be by Alexandra Kennedy who will speak on “Monjas mecenas, coleccionistas y artistas” (Patron nuns, collectors and artists). Cost: $5.00.

Del cuerpo del periodico –

Faroles – Over 7,000 lights will be lit Saturday <sábado? >for the “Festival de las Luces” (Festival of Lights) in honor of la Morenica del Rosario, patroness of Cuenca. The lighting will start at 18:00 at several locations: plaza de Santo Domingo, the convent’s enclosed park, the central patios of the San Luis Beltrrán school and the old Escuela Central.

Tram cars sit idle in the train yard.

Paute – The 1.5 million lights that will transform the center of the city will be lit mañana at sundown in the middle of a show with Fausto Miño and the Orquesta Sonora Dinamita.

San Fernando – It’s program will be on sábado with sports in the morning and afternoon, mass at 18:00, lighting at 19:00, dance presentation at 19:45 and a festival cantonal with carols and a dance at 20:00.

Chumblin – This parish of San Fernando will have an agricultural, crafts and food fair Saturday en la mañana (tomorrow morning) with a dance that night. On domingo there will be a civic and cultural parade a las 9:30.

Otras cosas –

Titular – Tranvía, 6 años de espera (Tram, 6 years of waiting) – <Think the wait is almost over or are we only halfway through?> Six years, and there still isn’t a definite date to start operations. The only thing the Municipality anticipates is that it will operate commercially for at least 6 months in 2020. <6 consecutive months leading to permanent operations or a few weeks here and there leading to more excuses?> The 6 months of operation is expected to earn $2.5 million from fares and rent of advertising space in the cars.

There are things to finish before it can run – setting a fare which will be subsidized with the hope it will not be needed in 4 or 5 years; contracting with the business which will maintain the system; and integrating it with other transport systems. Ex-mayor Paúl Granda said it would be the spine of a modern and efficient transport system. <The Europeans make it look too easy.> The goal is to generate $2,862,000 in 2020 and move 7.5 million passengers.

<This is for you numbers junkies.> There are 27 stations along the 20.4 km. route which should take 35 min. to run. Cuenca owes $50 milllion to France with the payments not planned yet. <Repayment starts when the Tranvía shows a profit?> There are currently 115 employees which will increase to 157 in el próximo año, including conductors, controllers, and maintenance personnel. <Does this include administration which tends to be a disturbing proportion of employees here?>

Reaction to UN report – Ecuador’s reaction to the UN commission that investigated the “paro” last month was that it concentrated too much on the actions of the police and army without taking into account the violence of the protesters.

Christmas items – Craftspeople are offering Christmas items a low costs in various plazoletas including María Auxiliadora. Most of the articles are locally and nationally made. Some craftspeople make the items all year to sell at Christmas. The feria stays open until 22:00 and will operate until 25/12. Other locations include the Calle del Artista across the street from the flower market and the side of the mercado Nueve de Octubre.

Leper colony – 4 French nuns from the order of the Hermanas Dominicas de la Inmaculada Concepción arrived in Cuenca on 14/7/1889 to serve at a leper colony with 50 patients. The colony was in Lazareto which in the 19th Century, was considered far from Cuenca. A Cuencano chemist propelled the construction of the colony which is still administered by the Dominicas, with 3 resident nuns. The colony has not been in operation for a decade.

Club de Leones Americano de Cuenca – The Lions Club of America in Cuenca signed an agreement with the city regarding health in two areas. The first is “Punto Amarillo” which brings protocols for emergency attention, and the second is vision. The “Yellow Dot” program was first introduced by people from the US living in Cuenca. It will be funded by the city and it’s aimed at seniors and the disabled with the project starting in the Santa Ana and Nulti parishes and private businesses. Mark Davis, president of the club, and volunteer Bill Dick were quoted and pictured in the article.

Descuentos y compras –

Computron – 0% IVA and duties in the whole store – Solano y Remigio Crespo Toral, Mall del Río #2 SB, Batán Shopping, #3.

ETAFASHION – 30% off selected merchandise, 20% off with store credit – 6-8/12.

And that’s all for today so la Hasta la próxima semana –

Jeanne