Venezuelans are major contributors to Ecuador’s economy; Int’l film festival kicks off; Top Mexican restaurants; Name that condor; Comics at Mall del Río

Bored?
Cámara Lúcida trae 56 películas de 36 países – From el 24/9 to el 3/10, Cuenca will be the epicenter for the 9th Festival Internacional de Cine Cámara Lúcida. There will be 56 films from 36 countries, distributed in 7 sections. All functions are free and the 2 venues are the Teatro Sucre or the Sala “Alfonso Carrasco.” The opening will be el 24/9 a las 19:30 with Rotacismo from Ecuadorian director Ricardo Ruales who will be present to talk to the attendees. The festival will close with Mama by Ana Benítez who will also be present to talk about her film. Some of the other films include Alicia bajo la higuera (Chile), Carmela y los caminantes (Ecuador), La memoria de las mariposas (Perú), and At the door of the house who came knocking (Serbia). There will also be workshops for students and filmmakers. The complete program is available at www.festivalcamaralucida.com and on Instagram as @camaralucida_festival.

Cambio en concierto – The “Total Syntek 35 aniversario” tour with Mexican singer Aleks Syntek has been rescheduled for the week of the 19-22/11. It was changed due to the political and social situation in the country and the announcement of a national strike and the state of emergency declared in Azuay and Pichincha provinces. Organizers said that already purchased tickets will be honored.

The University of Cuenca will hold auditions open to the university community and the public for its Coro Polifónico.

Pases para ComicCon – Cuenca will host the Comic Con Ecuador this 27 & 28/9 in the Mall del Río Convention Center. Featured invitees include David Yost who played the Blue Power Ranger and Hirosho Tokoro who played Jiban. The Mercurio will raffle off tickets to the event. All you have to do is fill out a form which is at www.elmercurio.com.ec. <Then you have to start getting your costume together.>

Todo listo para el Festival de Charangos de América – The IV Festival de Charangos de América will be held on los 24 & 25/9 a las 19:00 in the Teatro Pumapungo. The festival will bring together well known artists and groups in the region. There will be a theater show and free workshops held in the Museo Remigio Crespo Toral el 23/9 a las 18:00. <Sorry, that’s 15 minutes from now as I’m writing so I guess you missed the workshop unless you found the information somewhere else.>

Festival de títeres (puppets) – The Festival Internacional TitiriCuenca 2025 will start este viernes with a festive comparsa march through the streets. From el 28/9 to el 5/10 the festival will have events at the Teatro Pumapungo, parks, rural parishes and other venues with artists from Colombia, Spain, Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Ecuador. The theme is “Un canto de títeres para la vida>” (A song of puppets for life) with the schedule at www.titiricuenca.com.

Audiciones para coro (chorus) – The Department of Culture of the U. of Cuenca will hold auditions open to the university community and the public for its Coro Polifónico. The auditions will be el sábado, 4/10 starting at 9:30 in Aula B-004 at the Facultad de Artes on the Yanuncay campus. The requirements are to be in tune, bring a prepared song, have time for rehearsals, and manage basic musical concepts. <Just because you think you sound good in the shower doesn’t qualify you for the chorus.> For more information call 099 808 4274 or go to coropolifonico@ucuenca.edu.ec-.

Hungry?
Con menú renovado – Tropi Burger started in 1984 and has a strong presence in strategic cities in the country. This year, the chain has relaunched its whole menu, incorporating the SMASH technology for all of its burgers. <That would be ironic, if my first smashburger is going to be at a fast food chain at a mall. Are they worth it or are they just thinner, dry, overcooked patties?>

De México con sabor – Mexican food is one of the delicious foods in the world with restaurants in Cuenca that have captured the essence of this cuisine. El Santo Enmasarado opened 12 years ago at Calle Larga y Padre Aguirre 9-82. Its founder, Sandra Lucero fell in love with the food on visits to her brother in Guadalajara. The name is a tribute to the legendary wrestler, a cultural icon who has transcended the ring to become a symbol of justice and tradition. Ingredients are locally sourced to guarantee quality and sustainability except for key supplies such as dried chiles and spices imported from Mexico to preserve the authenticity of the flavors. Popular dishes include tortas, tacos al pastor, quesadillas, and the house guacamole. Christian Lucero opened a new branch at Luis Cordero y Pres. Córdova 4 years ago with his mother and two years after that, he opened El Santo Express.

Chula Birria was started during the pandemic by sisters Karina y Jessenia Guzmán. It is located at Francisco Moscoso 5-31 y Jacinto Flores (next to the botanical garden) and serves Oaxacan style food. Its most outstanding dish is birria, prepared from an ancestral recipe with shredded beef cooked for hours with secret ingredients and served in different dishes such as quesabirria, burritos and chile rellenos. Second in popularity is the pozole ‘La cochinita’ with beef marinated in orange and cooked in banana leaves. The restaurant also serves the famous ‘Horchata mexicana’ based on nutmeg, vanilla, and rice soaked for 24 hours.

Curious?
3 opciones de nombres para pichona de cóndor – The Bioparque Amaru started a campaign to decide on a name for a condor chick who hatched last 11/7. It was born after 64 days after being incubated naturally by its mother and weighed 187 grams. <And it looks like a chia pet, but with a bald head.> There are 3 options for names with voting until next lunes, 29/9. Go to https://www.zoobioparqueamaru.com/pichona-condor/ to vote. The names are Amancay which means “Azucena,” the quechua word for a flower associated with the beauty and tradition of the Chola Cuencana. The second name is Shaya which means standing tall. It highlights strength and the ability to rise above adversity. <Which condors are going to need in order to avoid becoming extinct.> The final name is Kimsa in honor of the páramo de Kimsacocha and the protection of water.

Venezolanos aportan 900 millones – According to a study from the Organización Internacional para las Migraciones (OIM), Venezuelans contribute $900 million to the Ecuadorian economy each year through the consumption of goods and services. The findings highlight the significant impact of migrants on the economic growth and development of Latin América and the Caribbean. The evidence is clear that when immigrants have access to rights and opportunities, they contribute substantially to the societies that welcome them. Currently about 441,000 Venezuelans live in Ecuador with 6 million residing in Latin América and the Caribbean.

The study also estimated that Venezuelan households pay close to $47 million in taxes each year. In Ecuador, more than 70% of the Venezuelans are working age (18-39 years) with educational levels similar to the Ecuadorian population, and 66% are in the informal labor market in spite of having professional degrees. <So Ecuador gets the law abiding, hard working Venezuelans while the US gets all the gang members and drug dealers? How does that work? Do the drug dealers just go where the demand for drugs is the highest or is one country just unable to tell a hard working person from a drug dealer?>

Desempleo creció a 3.6% de acuerdo con encuesta – According to the Encuesta Nacional de Empleo, Desempleo y Subempleo (Enemdu – National Survey on Employment, Unemployment, and Underemployment), conducted by the Estadística y Censos (INEC), full employment in Ecuador fell to 35.1% in agosto from 38.6% in julio, with an increase in unemployment from 3.3% to 3.6% in the same period. This period coincided with the layoffs of 5,000 public sector employees.
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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.