Cuenca is filled with music and theater year round. With the pandemic, Azuay Community Theater (ACT) endeavored to remain active by creating a series of Radio Talk Shows. For this time of year, they chose to perform Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, adapted by Anthony E. Palermo. Directed by Paula Bailey, the show opens up with sound effects techniques used in the old radio shows before TV, and are quite authentic. The actors and actresses really got into character with their voices, which were amplified with reverbs to help set the tone and mood. The show was quite uplifting and got us into the Christmas spirit.
The cast included several friends we have known for years, including Cody Hamilton, Bob Fry, Ray Lewis, Linda Lewis and Martha Hooper.
This two minute video shows short segments of the play, to give a sense of the “radio show” with a live audience.
Another favorite venue is The Jazz Society of Ecuador, which used to be located a half a block from our apartment. It is now located in Gringolandia. The Jazz Society was founded and underwritten by Jim Gala, a jazz pianist and former owner of a jazz club in New York City. Its mission has been to present live jazz perfomances throughout Ecuador and the volunteer society includes musicians, music teachers, jazz enthusiasts and features different performers weekly, so we recommend getting reservations.
Tonight’s performance featured The Jim Gala Quartet, with Jim on piano, Francisco Lara Marrero on sax, Christian Torres on bass, Pedro Ortiz on drums with singer Mariangel Mundaray and the Jazz Devils. The restaurant was packed for this performance. It’s always an absolute joy watching Jim Gala on the piano–he’s an absolute musical phenomena.
Jazz Devils playing at the Jazz Society of Ecuador tonight.
Mariangel sings Come Rain or Come Shine with the Jazz Devils.
The Eleventh Guitar Festival (Festival de guitars EC) in Cuenca is an annual event, with a series of concerts most evenings, plus daily workshops and exhibitions of string instruments by the luthiers in the Azuay province. The guitar is a 230-year-old tradition in Cuenca, and the city is known for their high level of classical guitarists. One performance near the end of the Guitar Festival was Modo Avion Tango Dúo, starring Juliano Ponton on violin and Adrian Steinsleger on guitar.
This performance was held at the Abraham Lincoln Center, a US government facility two blocks from our apartment (upper-left). Masks and social distancing were mandated (bottom-right) at all concerts.
The Modo Avion Tango Dúo with Juliano Ponton and Adrian Steinsleger
There are also many street performers, including expat favorite, Luis Ullauri (left) singing Hallelujah, and Luis Alfredo, a singer from Venezuela. The performers are always moving around el Centro (the neighborhood where we live in Cuenca). The police have designated places approved on the South side of the new cathedral for street performers, which is not always desirable due to weather. You can also hear Luis Ullauri perform at La Yunta and Don Colon Restaurant weekly.
Luis Ullauri sings Hallelujah on the street, outside the New Cathedral.
Luis Alfredo, a singer from Venezuela, also performs on the streets of Cuenca.