ECUADOR!
THE MAIN TRADITIONS • LA MAMA NEGRA (The Black Mother) • CARNAVAL • AÑO NUEVO (New Year) • SEMANA SANTA (Holy Week) • DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS (Day Of The Dead)
LA MAMA NEGRA (THE BLACK MOTHER) • The Festival of La Mama Negra, which takes place in the town of Latacunga in Ecuador at the end of September and again during the week of 11 November, is a fascinating and colorful cultural event that embraces the widely divergent traditions and cultures of the local inhabitants’ origins – Spanish, Aymaran, Incan, Mayan and African.
CARNAVAL • Ecuador Holidays are part of religious ceremonies mixed with Andean symbols and typical singularities of each village. In every celebration there are characters: from Devils to “toros de pueblo” bulls of village, each occasion surrounded in an atmosphere and unique decor which systematizes customs, traditions, and rituals of those who celebrate it. A characteristic of the festivals is the music of the “ banda de pueblo” people who entertains the atmosphere with songs of national music. Also, in popular celebrations, liquor, brandy or traditional drinks as chicha are always part of the party.
AÑO NUEVO (NEW YEAR) • One big part of the festivities for New Years Eve in Ecuador are "los años viejos" (the old years). People make large scarecrow-like dolls often of the people they dislike or of notable people from the past year. And then at mid-night everyone lights them on fire. The symbolic meaning of course is the forgetting of the bad of the past year and the hope that the coming year will be better.
MAIN TOURIST ATTRACTIONS • Galapagos Islands • Quito • Nariz del Diablo • Baños • Cotopaxi
COTOPAXI
QUITO
LA NARIZ DEL DIABLO (THE DEVIL´S NOUSE)
GALAPAGOS ISLANDS • The Galapagos Islands are a small archipelago of volcanic islands belonging to Ecuador in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The islands are quite remote and isolated, lying some 1000 km (620 miles) Ecuador. The Galápagos are world renowned for its unique ecosystem which was the inspiration for Charles Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection. Giant tortoises, sea lions, penguins, marine iguanas and different bird species can all be seen and approached. Strict controls on tourist access are maintained in an effort to protect the natural habitats and all visitors must be accompanied by a national park-certified naturalist tour guide
