Viernes, 4/11/2015: Paseo de Niño parade plans, water shut-off, Panama hat expo in Calderon, El Centro pollution, Christmas carols

Hola, Todos – 

Pagina cultural –

Taller – The cultural association “Siembrarte” will have a workshop “Cantando Junto al Pueblo Ecuatoriano”  (Singing with the Ecuadorian People) with “Los 4 del Altiplano” Sat (5/12)) at 9:00 in the Sala Comunitaria Pumapungo.  (So fire up those vocal chords and check it out.)

Concurso – there was a Intermural Model Contest using recycled materials today with the theme of “Cuenca Patrimonio Cultural de la Humanidad.” (You missed it, but you’re probably anywhere from 40-60 years too old for it anyway.)

Danza – Dancers from Ecuador and Bolivia Fri (4/12) at 19:00 in the Teatro Sucre.

Articles about –

The Paseo de Niño parade on  Dec. 24.  EMOV (sort of like a traffic department) will allow the “carros alegórios” (floats – and not the kind with root beer. Your word for the day.) to line up from the redondel of the Sagrados Corazones school from 19:00 on 23/12. The vehicles can sit on 3 de Nov. next to the rio Tomebamba towards the underpass at av. De Las Americas to the Puertas del Sol. The use of trailer trucks will not be allowed because they’re hard to maneuver. There will be 1,000 decorated cars. There will be 6 water stations, the bread will be on Bolívar and Padre Aguirre, and the chicha at Bolívar and Tarqui.  (Don’t mob that chicha stand – we gringos will get a reputation for being drunks.)
The youth chorus of the “José María Rodríguez” Conservatory was invited by the Orquesta Sinfónica de Loja to sing the Carmina Burana by Carl Orff Fri (4/12) at 20:00 in the Centro Cultural Alfredo Mora. (When the kids next door got too loud with their car sound systems, I’d put on the Carmina Burana and blast it out my windows. They’d turn their stuff down, and I’d mute the Orff.  But when choruses start with this work, you know you’re in Christmas season.)

Feria Exposición de Toquilla (Exposition Fair of Toquilla – the kind of straw used to weave Panama hats) is Sat (5/12) at 9:00 in the Parque Calderón. The fair is to celebrate the 3rd anniversary of the Panama hat as an intangible world heritage. There will be 18 hat weaving associations from Gualaceo (7), Sígsig (4), Cañar (1), Cuenca (2), Azogues 3 and Biblián (2). (You can see the hats before they wind up topping yuppies and hipsters – you can tell them apart because the hipsters wear the stingy brim hats.)

“Gas pimienta” (Pepper spray) by two Argentinean actresses and singers will be performed Sat (5/12) at 20:00 in the sala “Vinicio Jáuregui” at the Avispero Collective.

Otras cosas –  

Titular – Heridos y detenidos durante las protestas (Injuries and arrests during the protests)

Public Announcement – from Etapa and the Tranvia about water service interruptions Sat, (5/12) from 7-20:00. It’s a huge list and looks like everything between las Americas and Solano from at least Tejar on the north to the Rio Tarqui on the south. Included in this area is the las Americas Supermaxi center, the coliseum, Feria Libre, Puertas del Sol, Ordóñez Laso, Plaza de Toros, Turi, U of Cuenca. (And I almost missed it because it was buried at the end of the sports articles.)

Your sliver of life article is about the tranvia – with politicians talking and spinning the $24 million overrun, and an interview with the municipal director of the Tranvia Project. He answered the question “Why isn’t anyone working in El Centro?” with because the project is waiting for money from the feds. (The article has a picture of the director and he looks like an engineer. Checked shirt, no tie, bag over his shoulder but still professional looking. The photo doesn’t show his pants, but I bet they’re jeans or khakis. They must teach them how to dress in engineering school.)

Traffic and pollution – are asphyxiating El Centro. Neighbors along La Condomine are fed up, and supporting the “Ya estamos consados. Basta de contaminación.” (We are tired.  Enough with the pollution.)  One tinsmith didn’t understand why, when there are annual vehicle inspections, do some buses belch black smoke. If you see polluting buses, report it via the social sites or call EMOV’s 157 number. You have to tell them the license plate number. (Just in case you report a bus, the license plate is a “placa”.)

The Armed Forces of Ecuador, the Jungle Brigade No. 21 “Condor” – gave out school supplies in the shuar community of “Camanchay Alto.”

Amenidades –

Movies – As usual, go to www.multicines.com.ec for show times and locations. The following movies open this weekend:
3D and 2D Un gran dinosaurio – Esp
2D El Clan – Esp
The following movies continue and are all in 2D:
Victor Frankenstein – Esp
Hunger Games Final – Esp
Spectre Bond 007 – Esp and Sub.
El Gobernador – Esp

Christmas Carols – at the Mall del Rio from 17-18:30. Fri (4/12) at 19:00 there was a show by the Cuenca Dance Mob. Free.

Internacional –

Brazil – a commission of 65 delagates from 23 parties is deciding if Pres. Dilma Rousseff will face impeachment.

Venezuela – campaigning for legislative offices has been closed. The elections will be this Sun (6/12). (The accompanying photo shows a campaign worker hauling away a bunch of campaign posters. It seems like an unintended consequence of campaign time limits is a cleaner city. You wouldn’t have 8 years of campaign posters glued to light posts if they had to be removed by a deadline. I wonder if an offending candidate automatically loses?)

Deportes –

10k run for a smile – Sun, (13/12) at 8:00. Cost: $7 which goes to the Pediatric Unit at SOLCA. Register until 8/12 at Mi Boletería at the Mall del Rio, Monay Shopping or Racar Plaza. (You should find out where the race is when you register.)

And that´s all for today so Hasta Mañana –

Jeanne