Quick! Don’t think about it, just answer. What is the very first item you should read on the Nutrition Facts label? If you said calories, you’re wrong. Fat grams? Nope. Carbohydrates? Wrong again. The most important piece of information on the Nutrition Facts label is the serving size. Know that, and you know everything you need to know. And there is a big difference between what’s listed on the package as “serving size” and a portion of food that’s typically consumed. More to follow. In the meantime, the headline “Eating pasta won’t make you fat, study reveals” made me laugh […]

Read More…

In some New York neighborhoods, wearing yellow and black with a golden crown symbol can get you killed. But in Quito, Ecuador, clothing representing the Latin Kings is no cause for concern, nor does it peg you as a criminal. The Latin Kings are one of several gangs that will celebrate their 11th anniversary as a “legalized” organization in Ecuador, an unprecedented process that has helped to reduce homicide rates by more than 70% in the country. Now, as BBC Mundo reports, the golden crown on a black background is synonymous with quality food instead of violence. In Ecuador, the […]

Read More…

We had eaten ramen at this place in the past (It was great, in huge bowls at a very reasonable price), and decided to try out their sushi with a couple of our friends. What a wonderful treat it was! Osaka Ramen is located across the street from the San Sebastian church at Coronel Talbot 8-26 between Sucre and Simon Bolivar. It is a small restaurant with four small tables and a counter on the main floor and more seating upstairs. The decor is very clean and welcoming, as is the wait staff. The chef, Ray Huntley, is originally from […]

Read More…

On November 7, Mayor Marcelo Cabrero inaugurated the Patrimonial House Palacios Abad Therapeutic Center to provide care for people with disabilities.  The property, located on located on Av. 3 de Noviembre near Plaza del Otorongo,  was recently renovated. According to Cabrera, the new center is one of two patrimonial houses restored this year, amounting to a public investment of about $600,000. “We carried out an integral recovery plan for 14 heritage houses, with the objective of putting them to use for the citizens,” said the mayor. “This is the first Rehabilitation Therapy Center for People with Disabilities in Cuenca and […]

Read More…

The editors of CuencaHighLife and Cuenca Dispatch cordially invite you tto join our first photography contest and exhibit, Christmas in Cuenca. Please submit up to four of your personal photos expressing the holiday season — black and white or color — to robert@cuencahighlife.com before December 15. The editorial and photographic staff will choose honorable mentions that will be printed in a large format and displayed at the Vegetable Bar from Winter Solstice through New Year’s Day, as well as be included in a special color page in Cuenca Dispatch on December 23 and an article in CuencaHighLife during Christmas week. […]

Read More…

The Cuenca Symphony Orchestra, the National Ballet of Ecuador, the Polyphonic Choir of the University of Azuay and the Youth Choir of the José María Rodríguez Superior Conservatory joined forces recently to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Cuenca’s most famous poet and essayist César Dávila Andrade (1918 – 1967). The combined musical talents used Dávila’s famous poem, “Boletín y Elegía de las Mitas,” written in 1956, as the basis for their peformance at the Carlos Cueva Tamariz Theater. Dávila was known as a native son and champion of the Ecuadorian indigenous people. The choir of the conservatory […]

Read More…

A flurry of news stories on Tuesday suggest Ecuador may play a role in the investigation by U.S. special counsel Robert Mueller into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Three news sources, including financial tv network CNBC, claim that Mueller is investigating a 2017 meeting in Quito involving former Donald Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, President Lenin Moreno and Chinese businessmen. Moreno’s press secretary said the meeting concerned a proposal to privatize Ecuador’s national electricity company and that Manafort was representing the businessmen. According to the official, Moreno rejected the proposal and there were no follow-up meetings on the […]

Read More…

It covers 280 square meters (3014 square feet) and has 1,400 pieces, 600 of them in motion. According to its owner, the Catholic Archdiocese of Loja, it is the largest Christ-child nativity scene in Latin America and possibly in the world. The sprawling Christmas installation opened to the public in Cuenca’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception last week, occupying the church’s south nave. The work is on loan to Cuenca through the Christmas season. Beyond the elements of traditional nativity scenes, this one includes images and events leading to and following Christ’s birth, including the marriage of Joseph and Mary, […]

Read More…

The recent article in CuencaHighLife on the plight of taxi drivers caught in the internet-based gig economy is being read with great interest, encouraging even the most casual observer to ask if this “gig” business model is sustainable and has advantages traditional employment does not. The seeming inevitability of web-based gigs overrunning the countryside, even into the pristine Andes, is clear. Local forces are at work reshaping the landscape. Global forces are emerging that are no longer dependent on a nation or adhering to the will of its people. Societies bound by traditional civil norms and customs are increasingly under […]

Read More…

“Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.” – Dalai Lama   I drank my coffee black today.  In fact I’ve been drinking it black since Thanksgiving.  After over 40 years of drinking it with cream, I’m drinking it black (well, there was a short period in my life when I suffered with powdered creamer that my company insisted on buying instead of cream or milk, so that is almost like black). I stopped using sugar about 25 years ago, but the creamer was always required.  Not today.  Not for the last 10 days anyway.  You see, […]

Read More…