Cuenca news today, written for expats

Rafael María Arízaga street, by Plaza Monroy in El Vecino, was once the city's northern gateway. The trades that defined it — seeds, sheet metal, handmade candy — are still there, run by the same families decades later.

The third edition of Cuenca's beekeeping festival sets up on Padre Aguirre, between the Plaza de las Flores and San Francisco, for four days. Expect honey, hive products, and a 'star product' competition.

The Museo Municipal de Arte Moderno is hosting 'Heterotopías 4,' a thesis exhibition by 37 graduating Visual Arts students from the University of Cuenca. Open daily, free, until May 30.

The Ministry of Infrastructure is building a major retaining wall at kilometer 50 of the Cuenca–Girón–Pasaje route, where a sinkhole and ongoing landslides have hammered the road. Expect four months of work — and route delays — starting now.

Orchestra concerts, Alice Through the Looking Glass at the Teatro Sucre, a Latin American horror film series, a book launch, and a sculpture inauguration. Here's the rundown.

The retailer commissioned local artist Javier 'Dieztro' Flores for a public mural titled 'Cuenca, Atenas de luz,' ahead of opening its new store at Mall del Alto on May 21. The mural features a cholita cuencana surrounded by city landmarks.