Lunes, 9/1/2017: Zaruma is sinking, Weird music, Temporary and permanent residency

Hola, Todos –

Pagina cultural –

Upcoming and ongoing agenda events –

Concierto – There will be a concert by accordionist Rubén Ruipérez, who is afflicted with a serious illness (but probably not advanced Parkinsons if he’s still playing the accordion), el miércoles at the Academia Euopea de Acordeón (calle Cornelio Marchán y Jesús Dávila, next to the Colegio de Odontólogos). (I see you limbering up your fingers to demand that I give you the time. But I don’t translate what I don’t see, so shoot me for not being a mind reader.)

Taller Clown – Registrations are being taken for a workshop on how to be a clown (some of you don’t need any lessons) in the SONO Centro Cultural (Borrero 6-83). The workshop, with space for 10, will start el martes.

Curso – Registration is open for the next cycle of “Danza del Vientre Tribal,” (Tribal Belly Dance) in the modern style at the Gato Alado Project (Pres. Córdova 14-43 y Coronel Talbot). Cost: $35.00.

Correction – On 5/1, in the article on the Día del Periodismo, it said El Observador magazine had 69 issues.  The correct number is 96.  (And the only reason I’m translating this is because y’all wanted everything on the page translated.)

Articles about –

Renacho Melgar – The El Salvadoran artist left his country to see new ones and has been in Panamá, Colombia, and now Ecuador.  While he is in Cuenca he is painting two murals, on inside the Centro Cultural La Comuna which will be erased on the day of the opening, 14/1.  The second is in the Republica Sur.  He talked about El Salvador, the violence, and gangs; and said “Lo más difícil de nuestro viaje es comprobar cómo hemos asimilado la violencia.” (The most difficult part of our journey is to see how we have assimilated violence.)  (Wise words – The US needs to sit up and take notice.)

Bienal – Pumapungo and the Parque Arqueológico Pumapunga are venues for the biannual art show, including one of the winners, Peruvian Jose Carlos Martinat. (These sound interesting and more accessible to the average Philistine or low-brow. Which is why they sound interesting to me.)

Festival FIMAC – The Strange Sounds music and sound festival, which won’t duplicate what you hear in conservatories, bars, or the streets, will be this week.

Lunes, 9 & martes, 10 – from 19:30 – in the CCE – works by contemporary acoustic and electro-acoustic Latin American composers.
Miércoles, 11 & jueves 12 – concerts in the Prohibido Centro Cultural.
Viernes, 13 – 17:00 – Festival closes in el SONO
19:30 – Concert
22:00 – Party.  (So do you do thrash dancing at a party for a strange sounds festival?)

There will also be panels, workshops, classes and labs on composition and various instruments.  To participate, email: fimac.cuenca@gmail.com.  (I wonder if they’d know what to do with old, deaf gringos brought up on the Stones and James Brown?.)

Otras cosas – 

Titular – Simulacro pone a prueba comicios (Simulation tests elections) – The first simulation in the country was at the UPS yesterday.  40 delegates from political organizations participated.

La tierra se abre en Zaruma (The earth opened in Zaruma) – The cause of the sinking and collapse of the escuela Fe y Alegría, is believed to be informal mining. Mining is prohibited in the 100 or so hectares of Zaruma, but people have heard explosions under ground, beneath the city itself.  Complaints had gone unanswered or unresolved until the school collapse.  150 patrimonial houses are also at risk.  The school was “ubicada en pleno centro cantonal” (smack dab in the middle of town – you know I had to translate that phrase just for the fun of it.  They’re your words for the day.)

Trivia – The average age of Deportivo Cuenca players is 23.

Project – The U. of Cuenca School of Hospitality was originally going to use the old SRI building on Bolívar y Hermano Miguel as a hotel school.  That project is at a standstill, and the new proposal is to remodel the building as a university residence. This would benefit students awarded scholarships that include room and board.  The students in the School of Hospitality will be in charge of the facility (I’m going to call it a dormitory which is what it sounds lik.)

Ley de Movilidad Humana – Jacques Ramírez, Professor of Anthropology at the U. of Cuenca and specialist in regional migration policy, was interviewed about the new Law of Human Mobility.  The law addresses a broad range of issues such as emigration, immigration, refugees, stateless people, human trafficking victims, institutionality, documents and visas.  The law also incorporates the principal of South American citizenship which has the support of UNASUR.  (Is a Latin version of the EU on its way?)  Before, there was a division between migrant and non-migrant visas for foreigners with 10 or 12 subcategories. This will change and divide visas into temporary and permanent residency.  (It sounds the same to me with different words. Either you keep going or you stay.  Are there technical meanings I’m missing?)

Election results – CNE will have results within 6 days of the election with partial results in the presidential race in 3 hours and assembly races in 5 hours.  Previous election results weren’t known for around 20 days.

Flu vaccinations – The national vaccination campaign has been extended to 31/1. It’s free at all units of the Ministerio de Salud Público.  The campaign is aimed at 5 priority groups – pregnant women, children between 6 mo. & 4 years, people older than 65, people with chronic illnesses, and health workers.

UAM – The Universidad del Adulto Mayor (University for Older Adults – Estévez de Toral y Bolívar) is registering students until 31/1 for the new term starting 6/3. Parallel, there are registrations for workshops held in febrero in singing and guitar, painting, memory stimulation, gastronomy, chess and tai chi.  Bring 2 color copies of your cedula, 3 carnet sized photos and if possible, a resume.  (Maybe they’ll grab some of you for teachers rather than as students.)

Intercultural – The first gallery in the Museo Salasaca has opened in Salasaca, 25 minutes away from Ambato in the Pelileo cantón.  The Salasaca are a people from the Panzaleos, Puruháes and Inca civilizations although the name was given during the era of Spanish Colonialism.

Amenidades –

Wedding invitation – (When did people start publishing wedding invitations in the newspaper?  I’m not translating it for fear that some of you bolder ones with fewer boundaries might actually show up.)

Internacional –

Colombia – Talks with ELN will restart on el próximo jueves, 12/1 in Quito.

Venezuela – Pres. Maduro announced a 50% increase in the basic salary from 27,092 to 40,638 bolívares per month.  The current official exchange rate is 678 bolívares to the dollar.  (Is there any way for him to pay for this beyond printing more money?)

And that´s all for today so Hasta Mañana –

Jeanne