Ordinance would regulate rental leases; Work on new ‘southern access’ begins; The ‘chocolate immersion’ experience; Telesurgery connects Gualaceo and China
Bored? –
(De El Mercurio del lunes, 6/7) Experiencia sensorial se vive en Museo del Cacao (A Sensory Experience at the Museo del Cacao) – The Museo del Cacao offers a immersive experience centered in chocolate tasting, sampling, and a tour of the chocolate-making process. Visitors can explore cacao through history, aromas, textures and flavors. The activity lasts an hour and 15 minutes, includes beverages, artisanal chocolates and preparations aimed at identifying nuances between cocoa and chocolate. Johana Cruz, museum director, said the experience is designed as a sensorial process that integrates the knowledge of chocolate starting from the origin of the cacao. Reservations required for the activity which is offered from lunes a sábado, from 11:00-15:00. Call 097 928 4746. Cost: $7.50 for adults, $5.00 for children up to 10.
Construction of an alternate southern access highway to Cuenca, vía Tarqui and Turi, began on Monday. (El Mercurio)
(De El Mercurio del jueves, 9/7) Sonoridades y Texturas (Sounds and Textures) – The exhibit “Legados: Sonoridos y Texturas” will open el 17/7 a las 18:00 in the Galería Manos Azuayas in the Casa del Cultura. The show will bring together crafts pieces, audiovisual material, and testimonials that will recover patrimonial knowledge. The show will be dedicated to recognition of trades tied to making musical instruments, Andean sounds, and artisanal clay production. Through the pieces in the show, the public can learn about family histories and creative processes.
(De El Mercurio del jueves, 9/7) Taller de pirograbado (Wood-burning workshop) – The Museo Municipal de la Paja Toquilla y el Sombrero will hold a wood-burning workshop from el 13-17/7 from 14:30-16:30. The workshop will be at the museum (calles Rafael María Arizaga y Luis Cordero). The workshop is for anyone who wants to learn how to burn designs into wood and make decorative pieces.
Curious? –
(De El Mercurio del lunes, 6/7) – Policía incauta droga en contenedores de banano (Police seize drugs in banana containers) – The Policía Nacional seized 64 kilos of cocaine during an operation in Guayaquil. The drugs were being sent to China camouflaged in a container of bananas. They were covered in metal sheets and grease to evade the X-ray controls and detection by drug dogs. A person was captured along with the truck carrying the container. The seized drugs equaled 64,000 doses with a street value of $1.6 million in the US.
(De El Mercurio del lunes, 6/7) Ordenanza apunta a regular los arriendos por seguridad (Ordinance aims to regulate leases for safety) – Jenny Bermeo, Cuenca city councilwoman, expects/hopes that the first debate on the Ordenanza que Regula el Registro Administrativo de Arrendamientos de Vivienda (Ordinance Regulating the Administrative Register of Residential Leases) will be in a couple of weeks. She explained the ordinance will create an administrative register of rental contracts for housing, workshops, and business locations without intervening in either the validity nor civil content of the agreements. The proposal would require landlords to register the contracts in the Dirección General de Avalúos y Catastros (General Directorate of Appraisals and Cadastres) within 30 days after signing or renewals. Any changes to the agreement will need to be updated within 15 days.
The registration can be done in person or electronically by a simplified process The minimum information to include will be identification of the property, the owner and the term of the contract. This list will facilitate information for investigations by the Policía Judicial and allow them to know who is renting property in the different neighborhoods in the canton. The ordinance is also considering sanctions ranging from warnings to fines of 10% of the Salario Básico Unificado for minor infractions and more for serious infractions .
(De El Mercurio del martes, 7/7) Nuevo Acceso Sur se proyecta en 8 meses (New Southern Access scheduled to be completed in 8 months) – Work on the construction for the Acceso Alterno Sur (Alternate Southern Access) on the vía Tarqui-Turi started last lunes. Juan Cristóbal Lloret, prefect of Azuay, explained that an average of 22,000 vehicles circulate daily on the vía Cuenca-Girón-Pasaje in the stretch between the Tarqui Parish and the Control Sur with more during rush hours and weekends. The $5.9 million project will have a redondel at the “Y” in Tarqui at the intersection with the road to Turi. About 15 km. of the road will be widened to 4 lanes. The new southern access will connect to av. 12 de Octubre, the Autopista Cuenca-Azogues . Lloret said that these changes will take about 40% of the traffic off the southern access to the city.
Galo Zhagui, president of the parroquial GAD of Tarqui, said that other work will include an electronic toll collection system, improvements to 39 bus stops, a ciclovía and a Mall de Tarqui in the area of the new redondel which will have space for 60 for artisans in the parish to sell their products.
(De El Mercurio del miércoles 8/7) Telecirugía conecta Gualaceo con China, en récord mundial (Telesurgery connects Gualaceo with China, setting a world record) – A surgical procedure that connected Gualaceo with Harbin, China established a world record for long distance robotic telesurgery. The procedure was done by surgeon Jorge Bravo López who has lived in Chile for more than 2 decades. He controlled the robotic equipment from Gualaceo, his native city, to do a gastric bypass. The procedure was done with the Chinese Kangduo robotic platform, used for this type of procedure for the first time. The team included medical specialists and technicians from different countries who worked to guarantee the transmission of the data. They developed a network that combined fiber optic and satellite links with a delay of less than 150 milliseconds allowing the transmission of medical information in real time between continents. Dr. Bravo said that telesurgery has been around for many years, but in Latin America it’s in its initial phase where technology arrives later or not at all. He said the objective is to increase this type of connection between public hospitals and rural zones where there are fewer specialized surgeons.
(De El Mercurio del miércoles 8/7) “Huactana”, patrimonio nacional (“Huactana,” a national heritage) – The potters in the San Miguel de Porotos parish use a technique called “huactana” in which pottery is formed by beating the clay. The technique has been added to the intangible cultural heritage of Ecuador. It uses wood tools to mold the clay and make pots, jars, bread baskets, and other utensils for daily use. This recognition puts value on knowledge that has been lost over centuries and which is an essential element to the cultural identity of the San Miguel de Porotos parish. The declaration by the MInisterio de Educación, Deporte, y Cultura was made after a process involving international researchers and preparing technical documentation. Part of the aspects that motivated the recognition was that the technique has been maintained due to a system of matrilineal transmission where women teach their daughters and granddaughters through observation, practice, and oral tradition.
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Information in this column, including dates, times and locations, is courtesy of the El Mercurio newspaper. Comments between the carrots, or guillemets (< … >), are the personal opinions of the author and not part of the news translation.
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7/10/2026 4:45:56 AM