Articles

The Inti Raymi de las Universidades y Diversidades 2026 will gather university dance and music groups in Cuenca on June 19. The free event starts at 19:30 at Teatro Universitario P. Carlos Crespi, with groups representing Azuay, Canar, Zaraguro and UPS traditions.

Gualaceo's 202nd cantonization festivities run through June 27, with a smaller calendar than past years because of COOTAD funding changes. The highlights include the Cholita Gualacena election, the queen's coronation, the civic-student parade, the solemn session, the cantonization show and a provincial BMX race.

The Feria Laboral Virtual Ecuador 2026 runs June 18-20 with 25 participating companies and a digital platform for reviewing vacancies and applying directly. It is not Cuenca-specific, but it may be useful for residents looking for local, remote or national work options in Ecuador.

Starting Saturday, June 20, 2026, Registro Civil will offer permanent Monday-to-Saturday service at 14 agencies nationwide, including Cuenca's San Blas office. Saturday hours are 08:00 to 17:00, and cedulas and passports can be handled without booking a turn first.

MIT reopened passage at Tendales after six days of machinery work on the Cuenca-Giron-Pasaje road. The catch: circulation remains suspended at kilometer 90, so light vehicles and heavy vehicles are still being pointed to different alternate routes.

The first Monay overpass is scheduled to enter service in September, with crews prioritizing the remaining beams over the next 15 days. The broader interchange is still a major work zone, with more than $42 million invested and completion expected in 2027.

Architects Carlos Espinoza and Alexis Schulman argue that preserving Cuenca's Historic Center should mean keeping people living inside its old houses, not just protecting the buildings. Their answer is responsible densification: reusing under-occupied heritage homes as housing without erasing their character.

In Barabon, west of Cuenca, María Morocho and Manuel Nariguanga still make baskets from suro fibers beside the Yanuncay River. The craft is beautiful, but it is also fragile: materials are harder to obtain, younger generations have left, and many master weavers are now over 60 or 70.

Juan Carlos Vega, a Cuencano who currently leads Ecuador’s Agriculture Ministry and previously headed the Finance Ministry, has been selected by ADN as a pre-candidate for mayor of Cuenca. His public pitch centers on agriculture, rural credit, technology and direct commercialization.