A very good friend of mine in the US committed suicide about 8 weeks ago. I had seen her only a month or so before that. She seemed more upbeat than she had been in the past year or so. I’m at a loss to understand it and for a long time I will wonder, “what did I...
Parque Calderon was once Parque Vargas Torres
Did you know that before being called Parque Calderón, the central square of Cuenca was called Vargas Torres? No? Well, don’t feel alone. Even most Cuencanos don’t know it. But if you take a look at the monument at Sucre and Benigno Malo, next to the Municipality of Cuenca, you’ll see why. Luis Vargas Torres was […]
A New Entertainment Treat Awaits You!
[by Irene Gardner] 24 September 2019 Be sure to check your calendar! For a limited time, a new production of “Morning’s at Seven”, by playwright Paul Osborne, will be offered at the Azuay Community Theatre (ACT)! Written in 1939, “Morning’s at Seven” focuses on four aging sisters (the Gibbs sisters), ages 65 to 72, who […]
CRIME REPORT AND ACCIDENT REPORT
Cuenca Area Traffic Accidents Two young people died as a result of traffic accidents in Cuenca and in Chordeleg that occurred on Monday. On Tuesday morning, Juan Pablo Brito, 25, died, at the Vicente Corral Moscoso hospital, after suffering serious injuries from an accident he was inon August 28, on Paucarbamba and Los Fresnos avenue. […]
New real estate company focuses on accessibility and design
Alex Galvez has always been passionate about decorating her own homes and helping others decorate theirs. So, when she decided to launch a new career as a real estate agent, she knew precisely what her focus would be. Helping clients with handicaps find the homes that were designed specifically for them in mind. “What I […]
A night of theater beckons all
Cuenca becomes a city of theater! This past Wednesday marked the beginning of XIII edition of the International Festival of Performing Arts ‘Scenarios of the World.’ During this year’s festival, the scenic expressions of eight countries will be performed until October 6h. Of the works being presented,15 are national proposals and nine are from Cuenca. The groups that […]
Banco Pichincha among the 30 banks who draft the Principles of Responsible Banking
Banco Pichincha was the sole Ecuadorian financial institution to participate in the drafting of the Principles of Responsible Banking. This document is part of the United Nations Environmental Program Financial Initiative. Thirty banks began work on these principles back in November of 2018. The principles were officially presented at the Climate Action Summit of the […]
More competition and routes have had little effect on airline ticket prices
Despite the arrival of new airlines to the competition and improved routes, flight tickets in Ecuador have not had a significant decrease in price, and in some cases, they’ve gotten more expensive. The executive director of LATAM, Daniel Leng, has stated that the in order for ticket prices to go down, two things are needed: […]
Vaping use and related deaths raises concern in Cuenca
Replacing tobacco use with electronic devices such as vaporizers, vapers and electronic cigarettes is a common practice. About 60 percent of tobacco addicted patients are using these systems as a solution to stop smoking, according to Milton Capón, zonal director of...
Ecuadorian National Assembly approves use of medicinal cannabis
On Tuesday, September 17th, with 85 votes in favor, 23 against and 23 abstentions, the National Assembly in a plenary session approved the use of medicinal cannabis in Ecuador. This measure reforms the Organic Penal Code (COIP) in order to not penalize the cultivation of medicinal marihuana plants with less than 1% of THC composition […]
Small town citizens create a digital photo book to promote their culture and tourism
“Memorias de Playa” (Beach Memoirs) is the name of the digital photo book created by the townspeople from Valdivia and Dos Mangas, in the Santa Elena province. This initiative was created by students from the Universidad Casa Grande. The project aims to rescue the customs and cultures of these coastal towns, and draw the attention […]
Esmeraldas tourism is getting back on its feet
Due to the violence and tension in the recent years near Esmeraldas, tourism dropped significantly in 2017 and 2018. Added to that were the continual recovery the 2016 earthquake. However, in 2019, tourist spending has increased 67% compared to 2017. In 2017, there was a lot of tension between the newly elected administration and the […]
Cuenca’s first Killa Raymi fair attracts 80 delegations
On September 23, people from many indigenous nations gathered in Cuenca for the first fair of the Killa Raymi (also Kulla Raymi or the Festivity of the Moon, in honor of creation and feminine fertility). This holiday is historic and was always celebrated during the winter equinox. Nevertheless, formal festivities had never been organized. The […]
Thousands of volunteers cleaned Ecuadorian beaches
In commemoration of the International Beach Cleanup Day on September 21st, nearly 30,000 volunteers gathered in 250 bathing and tourist spots in Ecuador to clean up piles of trash and accumulated waste. In some tourist spots, the volunteers collected over a ton of waste products. The Ministry of Environment (MA), the Scouts Foundation and Nestle […]