Cuenca news today, written for expats

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.

Residents of Ciudadela Calderon are asking for attention to deteriorated recreation areas, damaged sidewalks, a sinkhole, night security gaps and environmental monitoring near the Parque Industrial. The neighborhood has about 1,000 residents and sits near one of Cuenca’s busiest industrial zones.