Before sunrise that past Wednesday morning, in an inter-institutional operation called by the Directorate of Markets and Commerce, a group of over 50 officials (26 members of the Citizen Guard, 15 uniformed National Police, 3 officials of EMURPLAG, 9 people of EMOV EP and 5 officials of Agrocalidad Ecuador) raided the El Arenal Market at Feria […]

The Ecuadorian Public Company, National Telecommunications Corporation (CNT), has made an invitation to 23 foreign investment banks to provide assessments on a business model as well as financial and technical suggestions that could be applied to the company. “By July 22nd we’ll know who has answered our offer and what kind of proposals we’re going […]

Inhabitants of the Industrial Park in Cuenca have warned the Environmental Management Commission (CGA) of the presence of red and yellow dust around the sector. This dust was appearing all of the sudden on people’s roofs, walls, sidewalk and over vehicles. “This dust is due to the change of filters of the industrial spray units […]

On Friday, July 12, activists from Accion Animal Ecuador and Lucky Bienestar Animal shelters reported the deaths of at least 12 dogs. “We’re investigating how this happened. Apparently, a SEALED dog food bag, which was left at our donations center, had poisoned food sent by someone!” stated Accion Animal Ecuador in a social media post. […]

Students from the Universidad Catolica de Cuenca (UCACUE) have developed a software able to translate voice into sign language. The software also has a glossary and word games to improve the reading and writing of hearing impaired students. The name of the software is ‘Edu Kids.’ The students from the UCACUE developed it especially for […]

“Siente Cuenca,” which means “Feel Cuenca,” is the key phrase for a new tourism advertising campaign organized by City Hall. The Municipal Foundation presented this new project in a press release on Friday, July 12th. The campaign is aimed at both international and national tourist and the Mayor’s office highlighted that there are a bundle […]

On July 15th, Ecuador President Lenin Moreno and Ecuadorian Chancellor, Jose Valencia, met in Guayaquil with Alan Ducan, the United Kingdom’s Minister for Europe and the Americas.  The purpose of the meeting was to reestablish bilateral relations “to the highest level,” according to the General Press Secretary of the President’s Office. The meeting agenda included […]

“Aloha Mental Arithmetic” is a holistic learning institution with agencies worldwide. This organization makes a once-a-year international math competition for their best students. Nicolas Cabrera, an eight-year-old from Cuenca is going this year. The venue for this year’s event is Guangzhou, China. “There is a great expectation for Nicola’s participation. He has been making three-minute […]

The Ecuador Transit Commission (CTE) has created a QR code so that citizens are able to quickly report any wrong or illegal behavior from the officers of the institution. CTE has gathered a lot of complaints about extortion from some of their officers. When drivers violate a regulation, these officers are requesting illegal payments from […]

Bad waste management from many citizens, whether at their homes or commercial shops, is one of the habits that is creating complications in the city’s garbage disposal. Also, pet droppings are making the city’s spaces more unpleasant for many pedestrians. The EMAC (Garbage Disposal Municipal Company) has the goal of changing this reality by promoting […]

On Saturday, July 13th, Ecuador and Ecuadorian tourism sector companies gathered 19 awards from the World Travel Awards (WTA) event for South America. The awards this event grants can be received by cities, countries or particular institutions in the tourism field. These awards highlight the excellence in the tourism experience. Ecuador was nominated for 41 […]

Lately I’ve been hearing a lot of people comment on how cold it is in Cuenca this year. That normally June and July aren’t this cold. By the power of suggestion, I would say that they are right, but honestly, I can’t remember what the weather was like last year at this time. It could […]

“The Andean Condor is in critical danger of extinction.” That is how the condor was categorized during the commemoration of the National Andean Condor Day. It is estimated that the condor population is barely 150 in Ecuador and just close to 20 overfly Cuenca. “Being such a scarce number, their odds of reproducing are lower […]

The lack of a protocol, or roadmap of the “situation” of begging in Cuenca, has caused the problem to overflow and has allowed a situation of more and more minors being used to ask for money in the streets. The matter becomes even more worrisome as apparently “mafias” have been detected around the begging of […]

According to Norma Cristina Bock, teacher in the school of Hospitality and Tourism at Universidad de las Americas (UDLA), travel destinations that offer spa services, yoga, meditation and organic food are the most popular trend during summer time. “Senior people always continue to seek to experience the benefits of nature when traveling, especially when it […]

Last week the Life Project rescued 13 people from indigence, and Posada San Francisco had a full house every night. For three days Asdrubal Briceño slept between the Tomebamba river bank and Posada San Francisco, where his wife, a minor brother-in-law and his daughter who were passing through the city to Peru slept. Like him, at […]

Mingas are a voluntary communitarian taskforce that typically gathers at a specific time to solve an issue for the town. The word Minga comes from the Kichwa word Mink’a, which means: gathering of friends and neighbors to carry out a common task or farming without remuneration. The people that sign up for a minga generally […]

The El Plateado mountain is located in the Nulti Parish, about 8.7 miles from Cuenca. Within its different hiking paths, it contains many ancient structures, caverns and a magnificent biodiversity and landscape. “The hike up the mountain can take about two hours and fifteen minutes. We go up to 2,700 meters over sea level, and […]

“Don Giovanni” is a play and music piece originally composed by Wolfgan Amadeus Mozart. This time MusArtEH and Armel Productions, got together to create an Ecuadorian-produced opera play based in Ecuadorian customs and reality. On July 6th, the play was featured for the first time in the Müpa Theater, in Budapest, Hungary, as part of […]

The studies to build three new bridges in Cuenca were completed in November of 2018, now it’s just a matter of beginning building. Nevertheless, the green light for these projects depends on the Municipal Corporation’s calendar. The first bridge to be constructed will be in the Misicata sector, connecting Carmela Malo street with Isauro Rodriguez […]

The former “Garcia Moreno” jail in Quito has been turned into a thrilling historic memorial place. It seeks to provide tourists with the goosebumps stories that many killers, drug dealers and corrupt politicians lived, and yes, a lot of innocent people as well. Those who dare come into the penitentiary, will find a depiction of […]

This week, original artworks from Salvador Dali went on display at the Pumapungo Museum, in Cuenca. This special exhibition was arranged by the Ministry of Culture and Patrimony, and it’s the first time these artwork pieces are being shown in the city. Engraved paintings like “Los sueños caprichosos de Pentagruel” (The whimsical dreams of Pentagruel) […]

The Universidad Tecnologica Equinoccial (UTE) achieved a new milestone on July 5th of this year, by launching a nanosatellite from the Vostochny cosmodrome, in Russia. “For the first time, we have a 100% Ecuadorian UTE-made satellite—100% of the design and development was made by Ecuadorian scientists from the Mechatronics career,” said Ricardo Hidalgo, Rector of […]

The National Secretariat of Education, Science and Technology (Senecyt) launched a call for project proposals, in order to give non-refundable grants for the selected projects. The name of the program is Innovacyt. It will be open until September 15 of this year. Close to $3 million is destined to boost innovating ideas throughout the country. […]

On July 4th, the Escuela Politecnica Nacional (EPN) presented a campaign called ‘Ecuador has a Planet.’ This is an initiative to have the Ecuadorian people propose and vote to name a planet and a star in the Universe. This program was assigned by the International Astronomical Union. The head of the Quito Astronomic Observatory, Ericson […]

This week in The Cuenca Dispatch there are a few stories about the influx of Venezuelan immigrants, their inability to get the healthcare promised them and the rise of children begging in the streets. It’s a sad situation that has a complexity behind it that goes much deeper than saying these people should get jobs. […]

Twelve surgical procedures were carried out last weekend at the Jose Carrasco Arteaga Hospital of the Ecuadorian Social Security Institute (IESS). These surgical operations are part of the “Medical Taskforce: Active Surgery” program, which started June 29th and will go on for four more weekends. The taskforce began with patients that require hip, knee a […]

Although the Central Bank estimated back in February a growth in Ecuador’s GDP of at least 1.4% for the end of this year, it has recalculated its forecast, throwing out a 0.2% expected growth. However, around 30 economic activities are showing signs of improvement in their commercial value. “It’s always good when an economic sector […]