Volume 1 ISSUE 15
October 5, 2016 www.cuencadispatch.com
the Story of “big red Is Dead”
WHAT’S INSIDE?
By Frances A. Hogg
WORLD NEWS - Page 4
CANADIAN NEWS - Page 6
Franny with Big Red and carpenters, Jeremiah and Damian
I
t had been four months to the day since the 7.8 earthquake that destroyed so many lives in Ecuador. Along with my business partners Kristen Sawyer and Zach Cashero, I was on my way to Manabí province to visit our other partners, Sara Coppler and Geoff Odell. Both Sara and Geoff are experienced disaster-relief and international development specialists. Only months in advance of our planned launch of La Revista Zero, our partners left Cuenca to help at the coast. We stood behind their decision. We all knew that the earthquake had changed everything. While we managed fund-raising events in Cuenca, Sara and Geoff worked to establish Proyecto Samán, in Canoa, providing temporary housing and help to rebuild the lives of the residents. Kristen, Zach and I had planned to use our visit to inspect the settlement and report back to project supporters about the impact their donations had made, as well as to explain why their continued financial support is necessary.
After many hours on buses and an expensive taxi ride the six kilometers from Canoa to the Proyecto, we reached the settlement in time for lunch. Over rice, lentils and soup, we interviewed volunteers and staff. We also talked with residents. We heard again and again that the most pressing need was for a way to transport people and supplies from the city to the settlement. The only vehicles available were an old truck called Big Red and a small car, both owned by volunteers. The vehicles were over-used and suffering near daily breakdowns. Sara Coppler planned a brain-storming session for the next evening. After a shared meal and music, ideas started flowing. What is the best way to explain the current situation, the need and possible resolution of the transportation problem? “Let’s make a movie!” someone said. We needed something clever. Something funny. Something people would want to share on their social media
sites. I wrote a couple of scripts. The one everyone liked the best involved the death and funeral of Big Red, and the efforts of a little boy to fix the problem using magic. Volunteer Kathy McCullough (an artist and writer from Cuenca) and I made props from found objects: a miniature cardboard Big Red; lengths of garland made from roadside weeds; a funeral wreath fashioned from vines; mourning veils cut from mosquito netting. Other volunteers made a costume for the young star of the film, Yeferson Gómez, and gave acting lessons to the residents of the settlement. Kristen and Zach decided locations and planned camera angles with Geoff, the photographer. Filming started after lunch. There were a few hiccoughs. The magician’s hat proved too large and kept engulfing young Yeferon’s head. Little boys living at the Proyecto fell in love with a tiny bicycle prop and kept running off with it. A smoke effect proved difficult because the wind continued on page 3
US NEWS
HEALTH & WELLNESS
- Page 7
- Page 10
STRANGE NEWS
- Page 11
Veronica Arpi The Expert
The Original Cuenca’s Best Properties SINCE 2007 www.cuencasbestproperties.com
099.474.8668
ecuadorproperty.org@gmail.com