Martes, 20/6/2017: Tram fare study, Korean movies, Orchid show, Bus driver killed near Guayaquil, Taxi app, National dance troupe

Hola, Todos –

Pagina cultural –

Today’s (Tues.) agenda events –

Festival La Orquídea – The 6th edition of “La Orquídea” Film Festival was presented Tues. at 10:00. The festival will run from 24/11 to 1/12.

Upcoming and ongoing agenda events –

Teatro – “Ciudad Esmog” (Smog City) will premier mañana in the teatro Pumapunga at 20:30. Cost: $8 & 10. <The play’s got to be about Beijing where you can’t even see the building across the street.)

Danza – The compañía Nacional de Danza del Ecuador will perform “La Consagración de la Primavera” by Igor Stravinski on jueves at 20:00 in the teatro Pumapungo. Tickets available at Librimundi. Cost: $10.00.

Articles about –

Festival de Artes Escénicas de Género (Festival of Performing Arts of Gender) – The festival addresses LGBTI issues, womens’ rights, sexuality, work, and ancestral knowledge. It will run from today to jueves. “Amores a la distancia” (Long-distance loves) was Tues. in the theater at the Casa de la Cultura. “De abandonos, encierros y soledades,” performed by the Contemporary Dance Company of the U of Cuenca will perform tomorrow at 20:00 in the CCE.

There will be performances at 20:00 in the capilla del Museo de la Medicina with Juana Estrella in “Maria Magdalena, la mujer borrada” on viernes and “En mi cuerpo existirás” on sábado. <I’m not translating titles. If you can’t read the title, how do you expect to understand the play?)

Cine coreano – 3 Korean films will be screened in the Sala de Conciertos at the CCE from today to jueves at 19:00. The movies will be “Cómo robar un perro” (How to steal a dog), “Por siempre el momento” (Forever the moment), and “Bienvenido a Donmakgol” (Welcome to Donmakgol). Forever the Moment is about the 2004 Olympic women’s handball team which was considered the worst team ever assembled in the history of Korean women’s handball. <Google it – it’s probably like that Kurt Russell US Olympic hockey movie only with different sport, race, and sex players.>

Art in public spaces – The city and artists are discussing freeing up public spaces for art in the streets.

Otras cosas –

Titular – Fallo favorable a petrolera Chevron (Favorable ruling for Chevron Oil Company) – Read Tuesday’s article in CHL for details.

Tarifas en el Tranvía – A consultant is doing a study, and will have a list of alternatives for determining the Tranvía fares in the next couple of months. One option will be to leave it at 25¢. <You see I finally found the ¢ symbol on this English keyboard toggled to Spanish.> This is the second study. The first consultant was hired in 2/2014 and the contract was terminated in 10/2016. The current study will also include integrating buses with the Tranvía. An earlier study put the per-fare cost at 67¢, which would require a 42¢ government subsidy to match the 25¢ bus fare.

Refugee applications – Applications for asylum in Ecuador are up. There are currently 29,000 people with refugee status and another 220,000 applications in process. <And that’s just from the blue states. Wait until people in the red states start losing their health care.> Up to 7/2016, the UN Agency for Refugees in Ecuador registered 60,000 refugees, of whom 95% were Colombians fleeing FARC and drug trafficking violence. <Makes our “economic refugee” reasons insignificant and our “political refugee” reasons insulting.>

Focos ahorradores – You can turn in your burned out energy saving light bulbs for new ones at Empresa Eléctrica Regional Centro Sur (Max Uhle y av. Pumapungo). Please put them in a box to prevent breakage.

Cleanliness cops – Workers from EMAC are going door to door to inform people about various sanitation issues. Among these are picking up your pet’s poop. You can be fined from 10-400% of the basic salary for non-compliance <up to repeated, flagrant non-compliance>. Other issues are leaving garbage out on non-collection days, unfenced land, and lack of retractable garbage grills. To complain, call number 139.

AzuTaxi – This is the only authorized application for calling a taxi in Cuenca. The app. was created by the taxi unions and you can check your taxi in real time and see the data on the driver. Uber and Cabify are not authorized. EMOV has a special unit enforcing informal transportation services. This is an activity sanctioned by the Penal Code with a fine of 2 basic salaries ($750), loss of 10 points off your license, and loss of your car for 7 days.

Bridge change – The Felipe II Bridge which crosses the Yanuncay and connects 27 de Febrero with 1 de Mayo will change from southbound only to two way. This will happen with other changes in the area to relieve traffic pressure at the 3 Puentes redondel. <There are 6 streets feeding into it and it’s almost never fast.> Expect new one way signs on the side streets as well.

Exposición Orquídeas 2017 – The orchid exhibit will run from Tues. to el próximo sábado with hours from 10-18:00 in the Casa de la Provincia (Bolívar y Tomás Ordóñez). The orchid most representative of Azuay is the Epidendrum Bifalce or “Flor de Cristo” or Flower of Christ. <Which sounds like a 19th century British curse.>

Police page – A bus driver for the Cooperativa Transporte San Luis was shot in the head and killed on the Guayaquil-Cuenca route near the Durán-Boliche toll booth. According to preliminary reports, one of the “delinquentes” (your word for the day….you mean you actually wanted me to translate an obvious cognate!?) got on the bus and forced the driver to detour and pick up 5 more who took valuables from at least 15 passengers. It is assumed the driver put up resistance and was shot. <I hope the drivers unions have survivor benefits for the family.>

Deportes –

Circuito ciclístico -There will be a bicycle ride benefitting patients of FASEC (Fundación al Servicio del Enfermo de Cáncer – Foundation for Cancer Patients) este domingo. Riders in the 90 km race leave at 7:30, 50 km at 8:30 and 25 km. at 9:30 from Body Care redondel (Turi). Register at Cube, Tecnocyclo, Fasec, Supermaxi, Gran Akí, Corporación Mucho Mejor Ecuador, and La Voz del Tomebamba.

And that´s all for today so Hasta Mañana –

Jeanne