Last weekend, Lenin Moreno announced the beginning of the program “Magical Towns”, which seeks to bring more tourism to certain towns in Ecuador that could offer particular cultural and/or geographic characteristics. This new project is being developed with the help from technicians from the Secretariat of Tourism of Mexico, where this type of project was […]
Cuenca holds first National School Science Project Fair for Sierra and Amazon region
Around 50 students exhibited 20 different science projects—representing schools from all around the Amazonian and Sierra region of Ecuador—at the National School Science Project Fair held in Cuenca on June 26th. There were projects ranging from products for environmental protection, food products without use of chemical pesticides or fertilizers, all the way to robot prototypes, […]
On average there are 52 new cases of skin cancer in Cueca each year
Think your skin is safe in Cuenca? Well actually, Cuenca ranks as the city with the third highest incidence of skin cancer in Ecuador, after Quito and Loja. Many local experts recommend the use of sunblock to avoid excessive damage from the sun when outside. Many Cuencano citizens are quite careless when out in the […]
House of Culture has two more offices in Azuay
The House of Culture (Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana) has two more offices working around Azuay, in Gualaceo and Nabon. This institution organizes cultural and art activities for the communities they serve. Everything from theater, to paint workshops, dance classes and more. The Gualaceo branch has been open since last year; this year the Nabon […]
Activists opposing Soldados-Yanuncay hydroelectric plant plan new actions
The Austro Electrical Company ELECTAUSTRO S.A. has been trying to complete a new hydroelectric plant in the Soldados-Yanuncay region since 2004, when topographical studies began. Since that time, they have faced a lot of resistance from activists from different regions of the country that oppose the project. Activists coming from various delegations of Azuay, Bolivar, […]
The Achuar and an Urgent Call to Action by Irene Gardner
Even before many of us chose Cuenca, and Ecuador in general, as our new home, we most likely had learned during some part of our school lives that the health of Planet Earth is dependent on the health of the South American rainforests, which create and maintain necessary oxygen in our planet’s atmosphere. Closer to […]
Easily (Not) Replaced
“It’s not just stuff! No, it’s not just stuff, it’s junk!” That is always an debate that Codie and I have when she wants to keep something that I think is junk and that she thinks has some value to it. Simply put, she saves everything with the idea that she may need it someday, […]
CRIME REPORT AND ACCIDENT REPORT
Cuenca Area Traffic Accidents An interprovincial transport bus of the San Cristóbal cooperative crashed in the early hours of Sunday, June 23, 2019, in the province of Los Ríos. The Quevedo Fire Department reported that the incident occurred around 00:34 at the height of the road ring on the Quevedo-Buena Fe highway. The accident left […]
IESS paid millions in questionable surcharges
The National Anticorruption Commission says that in IESS there were surcharges on medical supplies that were acquired in the period from April to December 2018. Five cases of acquisition of medicines and medical supplies with surcharge were presented yesterday to the president of the Board of IESS, Paúl Granda. The Commission investigated the period from April […]
False alert on bomb scare
Last Friday, June 21st, rescue institutions were alerted about a possible bomb in a building located near the intersection of Calle Larga and Borrero streets. After firefighters searched the building, Cuenca Fire Chief Cuenca, Jorge Patricio Lucero, confirmed that it ws a false call. The incident occurred around 09:00, after an anonymous call about a supposed […]
City to examine bus stop congestion
A study starts this week to assess the pertinence of interparroquial and intercantonal bus stops in and around the city. This was announced by Guilherme Chalhoub, municipal director of Mobility Management, after a complaint from the Chamber of Transportation of Cuenca for the placement of an interparroquial bus stop next to the urban buses. “This generates […]
$6.4 million to be invested in Azuay road work
The provincial government of Azuay is planning work on 47 roads between now and the end of the year that includes ballast maintenance and asphalt improvement. In total, they will be 624 kilometers of road work completed. The road plan was presented Monday by the prefect Yaku Pérez and the provincial government road director, Gonzalo Clavijo. […]
Stores around Cuenca promoting use of reusable containers
The process of buying products by bulk (weighted) is not new in Cuenca. However, it is becoming more and more common for customers to bring their own reusable containers. Sometimes, stores will also provide their own reusable bags or containers, hoping that the customer will come again with it in order to make his or […]
A man dies of apparent hypothermia in the mountain ranges of Ecuador
In the province of Chimborazo, in the Pallaguchi Huanca town, a man died while walking with a group of friends through the mountainous region. One of his friends stated that they were crossing the mountains to get to the ‘toros bravos’ (bull fights), an event that was being held nearby. The death occurred at around […]
UNESCO has approved the widening of the Biosphere Reservation of Galapagos
The Galapagos reserve has now been broadened to 14.6 million hectares, making it one of the biggest marine-life preservation areas in the world. The Biosphere Reservation created in 1984 originally included an area of about 772 ,000 hectares of land. The International Council for Coordination of the “Man and the Biosphere Program,“ approved this enlargement. […]
Ecuador and Chile take first steps towards a Free Trade Agreement
Negotiations have begun in Quito for 15 Chilean representatives and Ecuadorian government authorities and other experts, in order to bring together a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the two nations. Chile and Ecuador are already big commercial partners. In fact, there is already a trade agreement between the two countries called Economic Complementation Agreement (ACE). […]
Rains put a halt on tourist activities near Baños and Cotopaxi
There have been heavy rains in the Tungurahua, Cotopaxi and Pastaza provinces which have caused rockslides and landslides over roads, as well as damages to houses and other infrastructure. For now, the Directorate of Tourism of Baños de Agua Santa (in Tungurahua) and the Emergency Operations Committee decided on June 21st to suspend recreational activities. […]
Chief Office of Mobility Management studying solutions intersection problems
A strong social complaint over various conflicting intersections around the city has brought the attention of Guilherme Chalhoub, head of the Chief Office of Mobility Management. Many of these intersections require the presence of transit officers to handle the traffic during rush hours. “Generally, there are at least two accidents a month,” comments Marco Gonzales, […]
Ecuador public companies ready to be given in concession or liquidated
Santiago Cuesta, member of the Delegated Management Committee was interviewed over the decisions made by this board over the companies to be given in concession, those to be sold and those that will remain in the hands of the state. The committee required all government companies to create reports over their balances in order to […]
The cold wave is estimated to last 7 more days
According to ETAPA EP (Telecommunications, Water Service and Sewage Municipal Company), it’s been over thirty years since the last recording of such low temperatures have occurred around Cuenca. This past week’s nighttime temperatures were well below 45° F. Paul Vintimilla, the climate analyst from ETAPA EP assures the cold wave will continue for at least […]
New quality for textile workshops
Asoprotexvi is one of the nine associations in the Austro region that will receive the “Somos EPS” brand. It’s a new strategy promoted by the Institute of Solidary and Popular Economy (IEPS), in order to create a better market for the textile sector. The “Somos EPS” brand does not replace the local association’s brand, but […]
The Municipal Child and Youth Choir and Orchestra has been suspended
Sadly, the Municipal Child and Youth Choir and Orchestra that was founded in 2012—and as of a few weeks ago benefitted 150 children and teenagers—is finding itself suspended. They were in the process of signing another contract with the municipality, but after the change of administration this year, the new contract never came. “It’s not […]
See you soon
Lately, I’ve been overwhelmed with good wishes coming from people who have been reading my column and seeing how Codie and I are moving on with our lives after selling the restaurant and newspaper. So many people have come up to me and wished us well, that it is a little bit sad, or as […]
Four arrested for Money Laundering of $19 Million
Gualaceo, June 13, 2019.- Four people were arrested on June 12 in the cantons of Gualaceo, Cuenca and Cañar for laundering of $19 millions. The operation was run by the units of Transparency and Fight against Corruption and Anti-Money Laundering of the State Attorney General’s Office, in coordination with the National Police. In the joint […]
CRIME REPORT AND ACCIDENT REPORT
(Cuenca Area Traffic Accidents) On Friday around 8 PM, Luis Gustavo Puma Muñoz, 53 years old found was found unconscious with multiple injuries, on the road that leads to the parish of Sinincay. Witnesses heard braking sounds and when they went out to investigate, they found Puma lying in the roadway. He was taken by […]
Four young Cuencanans win public transport awards in Sweden
Earlier this month, Juan Cordero, Jennifer Guzmán, Alejandra Ortiz and Francisco Vicuña arrived in Sweden to present “Movimillas,” a project focused on promoting the use of public transport in Cuenca. With Movimillas, the young students of the Universidad del Azuay proposed adding a magnetic field to the Movilízate card to allow patrons to collect points that could then be exchanged for other products. […]
San Francisco merchants told to remove add-on awnings
This past week merchants in San Francisco Plaza were told to remove any canvases that they are using to cover their products from sun and rain unless they were specifically installed with permission from the city. If they did not, they were told the municipality would “take measures.” The coordinator of the Municipality, Pablo Figueroa, […]
Venezuelan on their way to Peru become trapped in Ecuador
Nearly 2,000 Venezuelans waited for days at the Binational Border Care Center, CEBAF, in Peru, for an opportunity to continue their trip last week. But, since June 15, those who wish to enter Peru have to obtain a visa or a certificate of refuge—to obtain them has become an barrier that causes the exodus to the […]
CFN grants loans to small and medium enterprises
The Corporación Financiera Nacional (CFN), is now offering a special loan program to dedicated to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). This is the SME Express and the SME Prospera, two products defined as the new “star” credits of the corporation. The loan products are aimed at boosting these two sectors of the industry. The first offers […]
Azuay Prefecture provides bicycles to 25 officers and clerks
The Azuay prefecture is asking some of its employees to ride bikes to work. The purpose of this initiative in to reduce the number of official vehicles currently being used. This will hopefully reduce the amount of traffic in the city. These bicycles had been acquired by the previous administration, but they were stored in […]