Articles

Only 2 of Azuay's 15 cantons — Guachapala and El Pan — have updated property cadastres. That's blocking a provincial property tax the prefecture passed all the way back in December 2023. If you own rural or rural-adjacent property in Azuay, here's why your provincial surcharge may look strange this year.

The antidrug unit of the National Police met with Cuenca's tourism sector on Monday and laid out the numbers. Seventy-nine kilos seized so far in 2026 — the same figure as all of last year. Seventy percent is marijuana. And six of Cuenca's twelve homicides this year are linked to drug disputes. Here's what it means for expats who go out at night.

A pickup truck driver was killed and traffic was shut down on the Cuenca-Molleturo-El Empalme highway around 11 AM on Tuesday after a five-vehicle pile-up in rain and fog near kilometer 92. It's the route most expats use for weekend trips to the coast. Here's what happened and why you should be careful on it right now.

The Segundo Encuentro Internacional de Mediadores de Lectura Biblio Azuay 2026 is happening at the Casa de la Cultura this Wednesday through Friday. Three days of conferences, workshops, and oral-storytelling sessions with speakers from Colombia and Ecuador. Here's where to go.

The Museo Municipal de la Paja Toquilla and Ricaurte's Casa Amiga are running four rounds of free toquilla straw weaving classes through June. Basic and advanced levels, afternoon and Saturday morning slots, spots are limited. Here's the schedule and the email to grab a seat.

A health insurance certificate from your Ecuadorian insurer is no longer sufficient for the residency visa categories that require insurance — immigration now wants the policy registered in a central government database, and the registration takes roughly a month. Not every category is affected (the professional visa, for example, doesn't require health insurance at all). Here's what's happening and what to do if you're in the middle of an affected application.

The Bienal Internacional de Artesanía Contemporánea (ARDIS 2026) wrapped April 13 at the Jardines del CIDAP. The top honor — the Medalla CIDAP — went to the Amazonian collective Ömere for a chambira fiber work called "Terekenkare. La voz interior." Cuenca's own Tomás Carpio made the honor mentions.

Both of Cuenca's big April holiday windows — Easter and Founding Week — came in under hotel projections. Easter hit 60% occupancy against a 70% target; Founding Week landed at 40% against an expected 50%. Industry voices are blaming thin programming, violence, and the state of the roads in.

The Universidad de Cuenca's agronomy program marked 47 years this week. It started in 1979 with just 39 students and has quietly become one of the Austro region's most important agricultural-knowledge institutions. Rector Rodrigo Mendieta was at the commemoration.