 Culture
Ecuadorian culture is vast, ever-changing and complex, but very interesting nevertheless. Ecuador’s heritage greatly influences every aspect of our lives, you will find this reflected all throughout the country and it will become evident once you start noticing people’s way of life.
Ecuador has been the scenario of several colonization processes throughout history, from where there are two main processes: Incan invasion and Spaniard Colonization. The last one being the most recent and contrasted, it’s the one that left us with the blend of cultures and traditions that exist today. There are 14different indigenous nationalities in Ecuador, which coexist at the same time with white and black cultures.
More of an invasion, from the technical point of view, the Spaniard colonizers came to evangelize native indigenous people. Stripped from their beliefs, most traditions where lost and considered pagan by the church. Spanish was taught as the new language and most of the native tongues were lost forever. Nevertheless, the Spaniards also brought with them new technologies and sciences to the “new world”.
Being as it is, whether this process was productive for the region or not, it profoundly changed the Ecuadorian’s way of life. Today, many of the lost traditions are struggling to come back. Indigenous people have fought bravely in order to regain respect and involvement in the community, but statistically speaking, they are still left out from a big part of the development process.
The Spanish influence can be seen in our architecture, our language and religion. Indigenous influence has its way in our food, our personalities and also in our language. The population is mostly Catholic, very conservative and somewhat superstitious. Ecuadorians are friendly and respectful folk, but at the same time a bit disorganized for the conventional standard. Ecuadorians are so similar, yet so different depending on the region. People from the coast are informal and far more outgoing; on the other hand, people in the highlands tend to be more formal and a bit shyer.
Ecuador’s biggest treasure is its people. Be sure to enjoy it! | |
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