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Ecuador » Travel Resources »
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| Holidays and festivals in Ecuador |
On holidays, inter-provincial busses in Ecuador are full with people who drive home from their family reunions and all the big cities seem empty. During Christmas and New Year, as well as during carnival holidays (February/March) and in the paschal week, you better avoid some beaches at the Pacific coast because they are too full- these are primarily Atacames, Salinas, Playas, Crucita or Jambelí. There's also more traffic on the main streets and you have to drive even more heedfully than usual.
All the banks, offices and other public institutions are closed on the following national holidays and also the regional independence days (Quito, Guayaquil, Cuenca) are celebrated in the whole country.
1st of January: Año Nuevo (New Year's day); Most crapulent day of the year, absolutely nothing is happening throughout the country.
1st of May: Día del Trabajador (Labor day); labor parades organized by the labor unions in all the big cities, primarily in Quito and Guayaquil.
24th of May: Batalla del Pichincha (Battle of Pichincha); The dramatic victory over the Spanish is mainly celebrated in Quito.
10th of August: Primer Grito de la Independencia; first declaration of the Independence of Quito
9th of October: Independencia de Guayaquil (Independence day of Guayaquil); Very big party in Guayaquil, but throughout the country mainly on television.
2nd of November: Día de los Difuntos (All Souls Day)
On November 2nd, All Souls Day is celebrated in Ecuador with unique manifestations of religious syncretism. Throughout the country people visit the memorial parks to honor their departed. Indigenous communities massively visit cemeteries keeping an old pagan tradition of taking along the favorite food dishes to share with their loved ones by their graves. They eat quietly and slowly in a solemn ceremony, sharing food among the families. Some of them circulate around the cemetery exchanging foods. They give food as a reward for those who pray for their departed.
Among some indigenous communities of the highlands, there was a tradition of ringing bells all throughout All Souls Day. The belief was that the "voices" of the bells would liberate some souls from the purgatory.
They also used to bring along candles and introduce them into pitchers of blessed water, a ritual that was believed to extinguish the flames that burn the souls of the purgatory. Spilling water on the cemeteries' floor was also believed to refresh the penitent souls.
The typical food for All Souls Day is "guaguas de pan", accompanied by a beverage called "colada morada". These foods have a remote origin in the Incas, who offered their gods their bodies and blood in sacrifice ceremonies.
"Guaguas de pan" is bread baked in the shaped of child figurines decorated with pastry frosting. "Guagua" is the Quichua word for "child".
"Colada morada" is a drink of a variety of berries with other exotic fruits and spices that give this beverage its purplish color.
3rd of November: Independencia de Cuenca (Independence day of Cuenca); Street parades in Cuenca.
6th of December: Fundación de Quito (Foundation day of Quito); for more information see " Quito"!
25th of December: Second Christmas holiday.
Other holidays, festivals and fairs:
On these holidays many banks and offices are open because many of them are regionally limited.
6th of January: Día de los Reyes , The three Magi; pure religious holiday.
12th of February: Día del Oriente (Discovery of the Amazon by Francisco de Orellana); Agricultural exhibitions and folkloristic parades in the province capitals of the "Oriente" (Tena, Puyo, Macas and Zamora)
12th of February: Galápagos: Día de la Provincia; Colorful parades and festivals on the enchanted islands.
14th of February: Fiesta de San Valentín (Valentine's Day); The gringo (or the gringa) who doesn't give flowers to his/her Ecuadorian lover, is considered a "crude debauchee".
27th of February: Día del Ejercito (Army day), and Batalla de Tarqui respectively (Battle of Tarqui); This day in the year 1829 was the glorious victory of the greatcolombia n army. In Tarqui, near Guayaquil, 8000 soldiers of the Peruvian army were put to flight by 4000 Ecuadorians. This battle is considered the biggest triumph over the southern neighbor.
Middle of February : Carnival week throughout the country; Already few days before, as usual in the Ecuadorian carnival, a lot of water is splashed. Although forbidden by Quito's city council, this amusement goes on.
About the same time, in Ambato there's every year a big fruit and flower festival, the Fiesta de las Frutas y Flores.
4th to 10th of March: Gualaceo; Peach festival, one hour from Cuenca
17th to 21st of April: Riobamba; Agriculture and handcraft holidays.
13th of May: Foundation of the Republic (1830); In Ecuador almost nobody knows it!
24th of June: Otavalo, Tabacundo and Guamote; Fiesta de San Juan (Saint John's festival); Popular Indian dances and mask parades, as well as a traditional boozing party in these little towns, in the Indian communes and "haciendas" (estates). Well worth seeing!
1st of July: Día Nacional del Pasillo; Day of the traditional, national music, the so-called Pasillo. Revival concerts and nostalgic radio transmissions in remembrance of Julio Jaramillo (J.J.), the most famous representative of this genre of music.
24th of July: Nacimiento de Simón Bolívar (Birthday of Simón Bolívar); The ceremonies last two days at the coast, one day in the highland.
25th of July: Fundación de Guayaquil; Foundation of Guayaquil, see below routes " Guayaquil"!
3rd to 5th of August: Fiestas de Esmeraldas (Independence ceremonies); Salsa, Marimba and spectacular Afro-Latin live concerts in the capital of tropical music. In addition, exhibitions of different agricultural products.
End of August: Santa Rosa; International crawfish and shrimp fair.
2nd to 5th of September: Otavalo, Fiesta del Yamor; Colorful harvest festival, Folkloric shows and cockfights.
Beginning of September: Cotacachi, Fiesta de Jora; harvest festival with music and dance shows.
8th to 9th of September: Sangolquí; Popular bullfights (corridas de toros), half an our from Quito.
Third week in September: Loja, Catamayo, El Cisne: Believers procession of the Virgen del Cisne, one of the biggest and most impressive processions in America. See below "Loja"!
20th to 26th of September: Machala , International banana fair and miss banana beauty queen contest. See below "Machala"!
23rd to 24th of September: Latacunga, Fiesta de la Mama Negra; One of the most traditional festivals, that demonstrates the fusion of catholic and Indian elements. See below "Latacunga"!
26th of September: Día de la Bandera , "Day of the banner"; Patriotic holiday with speeches on the schoolyards throughout the country.
Beginning of October: Durán (Eloy Alfaro), International fair (technics, handcrafts, live concerts). See below " Guayaquil"!
12th and 13th of October: In the provinces of Guayas and Los Rios , in many towns, colorful and traditional Rodeos Montubios (spectacular horse shows) take place. As horses and pack animal have always been related to the daily activities of the people in this topical and hot region, these festivals offer a very special and interesting diversion for visitors of the coast and the city Guayaquil. The most famous places for the "Rodeos" are: Samborondón, Salitre, Daule and Yaguachi (province of Guayas), as well as Vinces, Baba and Babahoyo (province of Los Ríos).
11th of November: Independence day of Latacunga.
21st of November : El Quinche (Pichincha), pilgrims walk to the pilgrimage church from the virgin Reina del Quinche.
31st of December : New Year's Eve with firecrackers; Burning of big, self-made paperboard dolls (viejos or monigotes), that mostly represent unpopular persons from politics and the public live.
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