People

By David Morrill With the notable exception of the Otavalan craftspeople and merchants, no other indigenous Ecuadorian community has maintained its ethnic identity like the Saraguros. Centered around the town of Saraguro, 75 miles south of Cuenca, the Saraguro nation, which numbers between 30,000 and 40,000, has maintained an enduring presence in the rural areas...
By Angela Rhodes I’ve barely stepped off the plane when the stories about the Valle de la Longevidad — Valley of Longevity — start. My cabdriver asks what I’m doing in this small town in southern Ecuador, and I tell him I’m in search of the legendary old people of Vilcabamba. The cabbie brightens. “My...
Editor’s note: Baltazar Ushca, sometimes referred to as the “iceman of Chimborazo,” was one of 27,000 adults who successfully completed the ministry of education’s Todos ABC program to learn to read and write. He was honored in Quito this week. By Irene Caselli At an age when many in Europe and North America are enjoying...
By Irene Caselli Dressed in a red poncho and traditional hat, Mariano Atupana stands out among the medical staff at the hospital in Riobamba. But it is not just his dress that makes him different. Mr Atupana is a yachak, a medicine man, who uses burning candles and egg yolks to help diagnose ailments. Yachaks...
By David Kaufman In recent years Cuenca, Ecuador’s third-largest city, has quietly emerged as one of the most popular expatriate communities in the world. Set on the banks of the Tomebamba River in Ecuador’s southern highlands, the city is a 45-minute flight from the capital, Quito. Cuenca’s moderate costs and mild temperatures have made it...
The Uruguayan government announced on Thursday, August 20, that local companies looking to begin mass producing cannabis in the country will finally be given the greenlight on September 3. Eleven companies are still in the race to secure a state license to produce marijuana and supply it to pharmacies, which will then sell the drug...
On a recent morning, a dozen customers crowded the counter at Maria’s Alemania Bakery and Restaurant on the corner of Hermano Miguel and Mariscal Sucre in Cuenca, waiting to place their orders. Among the group, which included Cuencanos, North American expats and two Argentinian backpackers, were a German couple, Karl and Heidi Holtz. “We just...
By Susan Schenck A full sized store with products that are about 90% organic and 93% raw in Cuenca? In the three years I’ve been here, I never thought I’d see it! No longer does one have to travel to the Juice Factory in VilcaBamba now that Cuenca now has Tienda Nectar, located at Benigno Malo...
By Gerard Alvarez Patricio Matute is building his dream house in the Ecuadorian Andean mountains near Cuenca, thanks in part to the 10 years he spent working at a boat canvas factory in Ronkonkoma, New York. The two-story, Swiss-chalet-style house will have a swimming pool, a soccer field and an outdoor kitchen sheltered by a...
Editor’s note: Adapting to life in Ecuador is an on-going topic of conversation among North American expats. Yolanda Reinoso Barzallo turns the tables and tells the story of being an Ecuadorian living in the Middle East and the U.S. She is a native of Cuenca and the author of a novel, Días de Arena y...
By Sandy Keenan Most people aren’t willing to drive more than a few hours to get to a second home in the country. But Judy Blankenship and Michael Jenkins leave their house in Portland, Oregon, and travel 4,300 miles — a two-day trip that usually involves three flights and one miserable bus ride that takes...
Cuenca´s  Museo de las Culturas Aborigenes, or Museum of Aboriginal Culture, is not your typical roadside attraction. Despite the fact that it is relatively small and privately owned, many consider it one of Ecuador's best archeology museums. Operated by La Fundacion Cultural Cordero, the museum displays the private collection of Juan Cordero Iñiguez, historian, professor,...

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The Cuenca Dispatch

Week of March 24

“They are pressuring me to resign so they can remove me from office,” denounced Verónica Abad, Vice President of the Republic.

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Ecuador Navigates Economic Challenges with IMF Agreement Looming.

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“Since when does thinking differently mean being a traitor?” Pierina Correa questions in reference to the Tourism Law.

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