About
Ecuador
The People
- Major Cities - History
- Ecology - Online Resource
With a population of about
12 million, the majority of Ecuador´s people today are
descendants of the ancient Indian tribes and Spanish Conquistadores
who settled in its highlands, and of the shipwrecked Africans and Polynesians
carried across the seas by ocean currents who populated its Pacific
shores. 
Roughly half the population is mestizo (a mixture of Spanish and Indian).
The Indian population is estimated to make up 41% of the population
with the majority living in the Andean highlands, and 150,000 Indians
of various tribes living in different areas of Ecuador´s Amazon
Rainforest. Afro-Ecuadorians are estimated to number 500,000 with the
greatest concentration in the northern province of Esmeraldas on Ecuador´s
Pacific Coast. All are part of a multicultural nation and fascinating
ethnic mosaic.
In a country with many different altitudes, climates, cultures, and
environments it´s no surprise to find variations in life styles
and habits. Yet throughout the country Ecuadorians are warm, hospitable
peoples, open and welcoming with foreigners, enduring and creative in
the face of adversity.
Spanish spoken on Ecuador´s Pacific coast is clipped and rapid
while in the highlands, it tends to be slow with very clear pronunciation.
Variations of Quechua is spoken in Indian communities throughout the
Andes and in the Amazon jungle.
Coastal people tend to be voluble, gregarious, and risk takers while
highlanders are more reserved and thoughtful in their social and business
life. Good times are had by all as fiestas are an intrinsic part of
Ecuador´s social fabric. Festivities in Indian and some coastal
communities, a mix of Catholic and indigenous traditions, can go on
for days with ceremonies, parades, bands, dances and fireworks. Cities
have their share of festivities too, especially on founding days or
during the Christmas season with street theater and music, bullfights,
pageants, and a series of cultural events. Special dishes are prepared
all over the country at special times such as fanesca, a fish and grain
stew served during Lent and colada morada, a thick purple drink made
with various types of herbs and berries on and around The Day of All
Souls.
Back
Quito , the second highest
capital in South America
at 9,400 ft. above sea level with a population of 1.5 million, is situated
in a long, narrow valley at the foot of Mt. Pichincha to the west and
a lower Andean mountain range to the east. Although only 15 miles south
of the equator, it has a mild springlike climate all year round because
of its altitude. If the sun is shining, temperatures in the daytime
can reach over 80° F. but usually remain in the 70´s. The
evenings are cool, ranging from 40 to 50° F.
It has often been said that old Quito, one of the best preserved colonial
centers in South America and a World Heritage Trust site, is a giant
outdoor museum. Unlike a museum, however, it is a living, breathing,
vibrant part of the city housing about a fourth of the city´s
1.5 million inhabitants. On Sundays Old Quito is closed to vehicles
and all museums, churches restaurants, and most shops are open.
Back
Guayaquil , the industrial and commercial center
of the country, is Ecuador´s largest city with a population
of 2 million. It is a port city with a tropical beat and Caribbean flavor.
Temperatures range from 75° to 90° F.
Until the mid 1990´s Guayaquil was a neglected, unattractive city
but recent and current municipal administrations are gradually transforming
it into a tourist destination, improving its infrastructure, and attending
to the needs of marginal neighborhoods. A major attraction is Malecon
2000, a pleasant 2.5 mile boardwalk along the Guayas River with gardens,
restaurants, fountains, frequent open air concerts, and the Museum of
Anthropology and Contemporary Art. To the north it ends in one of Guayaquil´s
oldest neighborhoods, Las Peñas, with shuttered pastel colored
houses on steep and narrow streets winding up Santa Ana Hill overlooking
the city and the Gulf of Guayaquil.
Cuenca , Ecuador´s third largest city with a year round springlike
temperature is located in the Andes rimmed Pucarambamba Valley in the
south of the country. Its great charm lies in the purity with which
its quaint colonial style has been preserved. Many consider it to be
the country´s finest and most cultured city and often refer to
it as the Athens of Ecuador as Cuencanos have contributed significantly
to Ecuadorian literature and the arts. It is also a major craft center
for weavings, ceramics, jewelry, leather goods and where the misnamed
Panama Hat originated.
Big cities-major challenges:
Beginning in the 1960´s migrants from depressed rural areas came
pouring into Ecuador´s cities, especially Quito and Guayaquil,
looking for work. As a result, marginal neighborhoods and settlements
lacking the most basic infrastructure sprang up in and around metropolitan
areas. Family life disintegrated as parents looked for menial jobs and
children were left uncared for or sent to work on the streets selling
candy, flowers, fruit or shining shoes. While cities struggle to provide
for these marginal dwellers, it is never enough and local NGO¨s
and foundations are working to improve the life and future of this sector
of society. Many depend on volunteer help to carry out their projects
and programs as many children from broken homes and domestic violence
need safety, affection, to learn how to play, encouragement, and motivation.
Little is known about
Ecuador´s history before the 1400´s . Archeological
findings, however, indicate that Ecuador was the center of a relatively
advanced indigenous civilization thousands of years before. Many believe
that Ecuador was shared peacefully between the Duchicela and the Cañari
tribes. In 1463 the expanding Inca empire from Peru reached Ecuador.
It was not an easy conquest, however, as the defending tribes did not
submit and it took almost 40 years before the Inca had control of the
region. The Inca reign in Ecuador lasted only 100 years before collapsing
under the Spanish Conquest in 1533 and after the Incan ruler was put
to death. Under colonial rule indigenous customs, social order, and
religious beliefs were severely suppressed with the Indians forced into
slave labor and ravaged by European plagues and diseases. Despite the
domination they endured throughout history, indigenous groups have survived
and managed to preserve their cultural identity.
Unsurprisingly, the treatment meted out to the indigenous people and
later Spaniards born in Ecuador was enough to ferment anti-colonist
sentiments sparked by the Enlightenment sweeping Europe at the time.
An anti-Spanish revolutionary movement, with troops from Argentina,
Venezuela and Ecuador under the leadership of Simon Bolivar decimated
the Spanish Crown´s army at the Battle of Pichincha in 1830. It
was this decisive battle that consolidated Ecuador´s independence
and its birth as the Republic of Ecuador.
Ecuador´s birth, however, was not an easy one. Tensions between
liberals and conservatives kept the country on tenterhooks for decades.
Even today Ecuador´s political scene is unpredictable. Stability
comes and goes with Ecuador´s fickle economic highs and lows.
The populist president, Abdala Bucaram elected in 1966, was forced out
of the Presidency after 6 months in office for his erratic and scandalous
administration. Fabián Alarcón, then head of Congress,
took over until 1988 when new elections were held with Jamil Mahuad,
a former Mayor of Quito, being elected. While popular at first for having
signed a peace treaty with Peru after centuries of border disputes,
Mahuad had to face a series of bank failures throwing the economy into
chaos and hyperinflation. Bank accounts were frozen and the US$ installed
as the national currency. With the social, political and economic situation
completely out of control, Mahuad was forced out of office by social
and indigenous movements that was followed by an attempt to install
a military/social movement government in a coup which lasted only a
few hours. The military abandoned the attempt and installed Gustavo
Noboa, Mahuad´s vice-president, as President. Colonel Lucio Gutierrez,
the leader of the coup, pardoned but dismissed by the military, went
on to form his own political party and was elected President in October
2002 with the support of indigenous groups and under classes.
Gutierrez did not come through
on campaign promises of social reforms and was forced out of office
in April 2005 by a peaceful but determined civil uprising. Subsequently,
his Vice President, Alfredo Palacios, was sworn in as President
and finished out the term in January 2007. Presidential elections
held in November 2006 put Rafael Correa, a respected economist, in office
for the 2007-2011 period.
Despite Ecuador´s turbulent
history of recent years, political turmoil has taken place without bloodshed
as Ecuadorians are by nature a peace loving people and have learned
to make the most of difficult situations. At the same time native groups
have gained a major role in national political events. In the last decade
municipal governments of major cities have demonstrated efficiency and
creativity in the improvement of their cities and the lives of their
inhabitants. Nevertheless, Ecuador continues to be a developing country
with most of the wealth in the hands of few and the majority of the
population at the poverty level in both urban and rural areas.
Back
Small is Beautiful
"You can breakfast in the mountains,
lunch in the cloud forest, and enjoy the beach, all in one day".
Ecuador, the second smallest country in South America tucked in between
Colombia and Peru, occupies a mere 0.19% of the planet´s continental
mass yet is one of the world´s most megadiverse countries. It
hosts 18% of the world´s bird species, over 4,500 species of orchids,
and 10% of the world´s plants.
The eastern and western mountain ranges of the Andes, running from north
to south through the center of the country, are punctuated by eight
snow-capped volcanoes ranging from 16,000 to 21,000 ft. above sea level
and a half of these can be sighted on a clear day from Quito, Ecuador´s
capital city. On the slopes of the Andes minor changes in altitude can
produce major changes in temperature, cloud cover, sunshine and rainfall.
The combination of these elements and variations in altitude have created
distinct ecological niches for specific flora and fauna adapting to
each different environment.
In the cool highlands, mountains and snow-capped volcanos tower over
bustling cities, towns and Indian communities of the interandean valleys.
To the east of the Andes lies Ecuador´s Amazon Basin, the Tropical
Rain Forest, with gargantuan trees and vegetation and the most complex
ecosystem on earth. West of the Andes you find vast plantations supplying
the world with bananas, cocoa, sugar cane, coffee, and a diversity of
tropical fruits. Further west great stretches of warm, sandy beaches
adorn Ecuador´s Pacific Coast. And a fourth natural region lies
600 miles and a 90 minute flight from the country´s coast: Ecuador´s
enchanted Galapagos Islands which emerged from the sea six million years
ago and through the ages became home to animal species not found anywhere
else on earth.
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With the discovery of oil in the 1970´s, Ecuador´s economy
changed from being essentially agricultural to one largely based on
petroleum. Petroleum exploration, road and pipeline construction and
oil spills have taken their toll on the country´s rain, cloud
and tropical forests. The lumber industry´s exploitation of Ecuador´s
primary and secondary forests in natural reserves has produced deforestation
and desertification in many areas. Fortunately, and over the last decade,
there is growing awareness that Ecuador must protect its natural heritage
and support sustainable development. Environmental legislation is now
tighter, Indian communities and private reserves have embarked on eco-tourism
projects to protect and support natural environments. Here again it
is never enough but volunteers can support these growing endeavors with
their help and understanding of the threats and challenges facing conservation
in Ecuador.
Online Resources:
The Government of Ecuador
Embassy of Ecuador
in Washington DC
Library
of Congress – Country Studies
Ministry of Tourism
U.S.
Dept. of State Country Page
U.S.
Dept. of State Consular Information
CIA
Fact Book
Centers
for Disease Control
Others:
http://www.ecuadorexplorer.com
http://www.thebestofecuador.com
http://www.goecuador.com
Lonely
Planet Guide
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