Posts in Adventure

My dear travelers and lovers of unusual journeys, welcome to the new series of travelogues on the Mr.M blog. The end of October will be dedicated to an unusual country in the heart of South America, a country known for the best cocoa, bananas and coffee – Ecuador. At the very beginning of this series of travelogues, I would like to thank PRO ECUADOR, the tourism board of Quito – Visit Quito, the Dutch national airline KLM, as well as other partners who selflessly supported my adventure in South America. With their help, travelogues from Ecuador and fashion stories were created that you will have the opportunity to read this November and December, and I sincerely hope that you will enjoy the new adventure.

How to get to Ecuador? The best and fastest way to get to Quito is via Amsterdam with KLM. KLM Group, founded in 2004, consists of three independent airlines Air France, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Transavia. The KLM group has a loyalty program FLYING BLUE that is extremely important for all frequent travelers of KLM and Air France airlines. When you become a member of this loyalty program and start collecting miles every time you fly with Air France and KLM or members of the Sky Team alliance, you have the opportunity to achieve numerous benefits, and as your status increases, your benefits increase with it. Membership is completely free, and you can spend the miles you earn as money and use them to pay for additional services on the flight, on the ground, the services of numerous partners such as hotels and car rental agencies, but also the airline tickets themselves, for more information about this program loyalty, read on the LINK.

Traveling in Premium Comfort economy class is for those travelers who are looking for a little more freedom and choice, comfort and convenience. Every trip in KLM Premium Comfort class is special and in terms of service quality you are between standard economy class and business class, which is excellent for the value of the money invested because the price of a ticket in Premium Comfort class is not too expensive compared to a ticket in standard economy class, but you get significant benefits that can mean more space in a separate cabin on intercontinental flights.

The Republic of Ecuador is a country in the northwest of South America, bordering Colombia to the north, Peru to the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It also includes the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific, about 1,000 kilometers west of the mainland. The capital of the country is Quito, and the largest city is Guayaquil.

The territories of modern Ecuador were once home to various indigenous peoples who were gradually incorporated into the Inca Empire during the 15th century. The territory was colonized by the Spanish Empire during the 16th century, achieving independence in 1820 as part of Greater Colombia, from which it emerged as a sovereign state in 1830. The legacy of both empires is reflected in Ecuador’s ethnically diverse population, with the majority of its 17.8 million people being mestizos, followed by large minorities of European, Native American, African and Asian descent. Spanish is the official language spoken by the majority of the population, although 13 native languages ​​are also recognised, including Quechua and Shuar.

Quito, the city’s formal official name is San Francisco de Quito, is the capital of Ecuador, with an estimated population of nearly 3 million in its metropolitan area. It is also the capital of Pichincha Province. Quito is located in a valley on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes.

The city is located at an altitude of 2,850 m, making it the highest or second highest capital city in the world. This different position is because Bolivia is a country with multiple capitals, if La Paz is considered the national capital of Bolivia, it is at the top of the list of tallest capitals, but if Sucre is listed as the capital, then it is the second tallest, behind Quito.

Quito is the political and cultural center of Ecuador as the city is home to the country’s main governmental, administrative and cultural institutions. It is also one of the country’s two main industrial centers – the port city of Guayaquil being the other.

The date of its first settlement is unknown, but archaeological evidence suggests that it was first inhabited by a sedentary population between 4400 and 1600 BC. In the late fifteenth century, the Inca emperor Huayna Capac defeated the Quitos, the original inhabitants of the region, and incorporated Quito into the Inca Empire, designating it as the capital of the northern region of the Inca Empire. The Spanish conquest of the city in 1534 is the official year most commonly cited as the founding of the city, making Quito the oldest capital in South America.

The historic part of the city of Quito is among the largest and best preserved in America. It is interesting that in 1978, Quito and Krakow were the first places of world cultural heritage declared by UNESCO. Quito is the capital city closest to the equator, which passes through the northern part of the metropolitan area in the parish of San Antonio.

The oldest traces of human presence in Quito were excavated by the American archaeologist Robert Bell in 1960, on the slopes of the Ilalo volcano, which is located between the eastern valleys of Los Chilos and Tumbaco. Hunter-gatherers left obsidian glass tools, dated to 8000 BC. This archaeological site, called EI Inga, was brought to Robert Bell’s attention by Allen Grafham. As a geologist in Ecuador, Graffham pursued an amateur interest in archaeology. He made surface collections at the site during 1956. The discovery of projectile points, especially specimens with basal grooves, piqued his interest, and he visited the site several times to collect surface material. Grafham’s previous interest in Paleoindian remains, and his experience with early man-made materials in Kansas and Nebraska in the central plains of the United States, led him to believe that the site was an important discovery.

Another important trace of human habitation was found in the present area of ​​Kotokolao (1500 BC), northwest of Quito. The prehistoric village spread over 26 hectares in an area irrigated by many streams. Near the ancient rectangular houses there are burials with pottery and stone offerings. The Cotocollao people mined and exported obsidian to the coastal region.

The priest Juan de Velasco wrote about the kingdom of Quito. Its source was a lost work by Marcos de Niza, the existence of which has not been confirmed. His account states that another people, known as the Cara or Schiris, came from the coast and took over the entire region by 890 AD. He continues that this kingdom lasted until the Incas took over the territory in the 15th century. However, archaeological evidence does not indicate unity among the various ethnic groups in the region. The local Kuitu or Quillaco tribe is distinguished by its art and architecture from its neighbors.

By the 20th century, many prominent historians who had begun more academic studies doubted the account of the Kitu-Kara kingdom. They think it was a legendary pre-Hispanic depiction of the highlands.

These days, most historians deny the existence of the kingdom of Quito in favor of a more fragmented region. Cuitu ruled Quito at the time of the Inca invasion by Topa Inca Yupanqui under his father’s rule. At the beginning of the 21st century, there were new spectacular discoveries of tombs 20 meters deep in the La Florida neighborhood of Quito. Dating back to 800 AD, they provide evidence of the high quality of craftsmanship among the Kuitu, as well as the elaborate and complex character of their funerary rites. In 2010, the Museo de Sitio La Florida was opened to preserve some of the artifacts from the tombs and explain this complex culture.

The Inca uprising against the Spanish continued during 1534, Conquistador Diego de Almagro founded Santiago de Quito on August 15, 1534, renamed San Francisco de Quito on August 28, 1534. The city was later re-founded in its current location on December 6, 1534 by 204 settlers led by Sebastian de Benalcazar, who captured the Ruminhahui leader, effectively ending any organized resistance. Ruminhahui was executed on January 10, 1535.

On March 28, 1541, Quito was declared a city. Further, on February 23, 1556, it received the title of Mui Noble y Mui Leal Ciudad de San Francisco de Cuito (“The Very Noble and Loyal City of San Francisco of Quito”), marking the beginning of its next phase of urban development. In 1563, Quito became the seat of the Real Audiencia (administrative district) of Spain. It was classified as part of the Viceroyalty of Peru until 1717, after which the Audiencia was part of the new Viceroyalty of New Granada. Under both viceroyalties, the district was administered from Quito.

The Spanish established Roman Catholicism in Quito. The first church (El Belen) was built before the city was officially founded. In January 1535, a monastery was built in San Francisco, the first of about 20 churches and monasteries built during the colonial period. The Spanish converted the indigenous population to Christianity and used them as labor for construction.

It is interesting that in 1743, after almost 210 years of Spanish colonization, Quito was a city with about 10,000 inhabitants. Quito briefly declared its de facto independence from Spain between 1765 and 1766 during the Quito Rebellion. On August 10, 1809, the movement to win independence from Spain was relaunched in Quito. On that date, a government plan was presented, appointing Juan Pio Montufar as president and prominent pro-independence figures in other government positions.

This initial movement was defeated on August 2, 1810, when colonial troops arrived from Lima, Peru and killed the leaders of the uprising and about 200 other settlers. The chain of conflicts reached its peak on May 24, 1822, when Antonio José de de Sucre, under the command of Simón Bolívar, led troops into the battle of Pichincha, on the slopes of the volcano. Their victory established the independence of Quito and the surrounding areas.

Quito is the largest city in terms of contribution to the national GDP and the largest in terms of income per capita. The largest primary industries in Quito include textiles, metals and agriculture, with the main export crops being coffee, sugar, cocoa, rice, bananas and palm oil. The headquarters and regional offices of many national and international financial institutions, oil corporations and international businesses are also located in Quito, making it a world-class business city.

In Ecuador, cantons are divided into parishes, so named because they were originally used by the Catholic Church, but with the secularization and liberalization of the Ecuadorian state, political parishes were separated from those used by the church. Parishes are called city parishes if they are located within the boundaries of the seat (capital city) of the corresponding canton, and rural parishes if they are outside those boundaries. Within Quito (in the city itself), the division into urban parishes depends on the organizations that use these parishes (eg municipality, electoral tribunals, postal service, Ecuadorian Bureau of Statistics). City parishes of different types are not necessarily the same, nor the same in number or name.

Since 2008, the municipality of Quito has divided the city into 32 urban parishes. These parishes, which the municipality uses for administrative purposes, are also known as cabildos since 2001. Since the time of the Metropolitan District of Quito, parishes of this type have also been grouped into larger divisions known as municipal zones.

Quito has the largest, least altered and best preserved historic center in the Americas. This center, together with the historic center of Krakow in Poland, was the first to be declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO on September 18, 1978. The historic center of Quito is located south of the current center of the capital, on an area of ​​320 ha (790 hectares) and is one of the most important historical areas in Latin America. There are around 130 monumental buildings (hosting a variety of fine art and sculpture, mostly religiously inspired, in a multi-layered range of schools and styles) and 5,000 objects registered in the municipal heritage inventory.

What are the sights of Quito?

Palacio de Carondelet is the seat of the Government of the Republic of Ecuador, located in the historic center of Quito. The palace overlooks the bustling public space known as Independence Square or Plaza Grande (the colonial name), along with the Archbishop’s Palace, the Municipal Palace, the Plaza Grande Hotel and the Metropolitan Cathedral. During the Republican era, almost all presidents (constitutional, intern, and dictator) ruled from Carondelet Palace. The presidential residence is located on the third level of the palace, along with administrative offices.

The monumental Basilica del Voto Nacional is the most significant neo-Gothic building in Ecuador and one of the most representative on the American continent. It used to be the largest in the New World.

The Metropolitan Cathedral of Kita is one of the greatest religious symbols of spiritual value for the Catholic community in the city. The construction of this church began in 1535, seventeen years after the Diocese of Quito was created in 1545. The church building was completed in 1799, during the administration of the president of the Real Audiencia, Baron Hector de Carondelet.

One of the biggest events that happened in this cathedral was the murder of Bishop Quito, José Ignacio Checo y Barba, who was poisoned with strychnine dissolved in consecrated wine during the Good Friday Mass on March 30, 1877. The cathedral is also the burial place of the remains of Grand Marshal Antonio José de Sucre and several presidents of the Republic, as well as bishops and priests who died in the diocese. The cathedral is located on the south side of Plaza de La Independencia.

The construction of the La Compania church began in 1605. The construction lasted 160 years. The construction of the facade was completed in 1765. This was done by the Indians who carefully shaped the stones to build the facade in an ornate baroque style, which is one of the best examples of this art in America.

The Basilica of San Francisco is the largest of the existing architectural units in the historic centers of cities in Latin America. The construction of the church began in 1550, on the land next to the square where the Indians traded products.

In colonial times, the church of El Sagrario was one of the greatest architectural wonders of Quito. The construction is in the Italian Renaissance style and was built at the end of the 17th century. It has a screen that supports his sculptures and decorations. This structure was built by Bernardo de Legarda. Its central arch leads to a dome decorated with frescoes of biblical scenes with archangels.

Although they arrived in Quito in 1541, the Dominicans began to build their own temple in 1580 – the Church of Santo Domingo, using the plans of Francisco Becerra, and under his direction. The works were completed in the first half of the 17th century. Inside the church there are valuable buildings, such as the neo-Gothic main altar. This was set up by the Italian Dominicans in the late 19th century. On the roof of the Mudejar-style church are paintings of martyrs of the Order of Saint Dominic. The roof of the nave is supported on a pair and joint frame, decorated internally with ornaments. In the museum on the north side of the lower cloister, there are wonderful pieces by great sculptors from Quito, such as Saint Dominic de Guzmán Father Carlos, Saint John of God of Caspicare and Saint Thomas Aquinas of Legarda. Another Baroque masterpiece that still stands today is the Chapel of Nuestra Senora del Rosario, a recognizable architectural icon of Quito. This chapel was built next to the church. The largest brotherhood in the city of Quito was founded in this chapel.

I highly recommend you explore the Old Town of Quito with its wonderful mix of colonial and republican/independent architecture with quaint squares and an astonishing number of churches. If you happen to be there during Christmas or Easter, you will be amazed at the number of events, masses and processions that cause crowds. In this part of the city you will find numerous craft shops, cafes, restaurants and hotels.
Quito Free Walking Tour is the only free walking tour that tailors its tours to what you want to see and has small groups so you don’t have to struggle to listen to the guide, they can focus the tour on what you want to see and learn about. it’s also easy to book,
A recommended walking tour that could enhance your vision of the historic center, start your adventure in Calle Maldonado.

There you will have an impressive view of what used to be the “Jerusalem” ravine, which is located between Panecil and the core. Walk north past the trolleybus stop and descend a narrow staircase that leads you to the pre-Columbian street of La Ronda. Stroll along picturesque La Ronda until you reach Av. 24 de Maio. This boulevard was built on top of this part of the Jerusalem Ravine to connect the two sides of the city.

At Garcia Moreno Street, turn north and you’ll reach the Museo de la Ciudad, which provides an easy and interactive history of Quito. Then walk down Garcia Moreno street to Sucre, which is a pedestrian street. La Compania is on the corner and if you take Sucre Street you will reach San Francisco. If you continue on Garcia Moreno you will reach the Main (Independence) Square. If you are going to San Francisco, then walk to La Merced and down to Main Square. This itinerary follows a chronological and logical order of locations. Most people do it backwards, making La Ronda and the Museo de la Ciudad seem like distant points where you’re usually worn out by the time you get there. Anyway, the History Center is so huge that you need more than one visit to see it all. The recommended walk gives you a good overview if you are short on time or want to see as much as possible on your first day.

In the capital of Ecuador, there are many artisans working on unique crafts. These include guitar makers, candle makers, tanners and tanners, silversmiths, ceramicists and wood carvers. You can find them at their workshops, published in the Visitors Bureau guide.

There are also several fair trade shops in Quito that promise to pay artisans fairly for their products. The ones in Tianguez (Plaza San Francisco), El Quinde (Plaza Grande) and Museo Mindalae are all very good.

There are many malls in Quito such as Cuicentro, Mall el Jardin, CCI, CC. El Bosque, Megamaki, Ventura Mall, Ciudad Comercial el Recreo, San Luis, etc. and every street corner has several small “Mom and Pop” shops or stalls selling just a few items. If your shopping list is very long, you can spend all day looking for stores that have the items on your list.

There are many casual clothing stores such as MNG, Benetton, Lacoste, Guess, Fossil, Bohno, Diesel, NrgiBlast or Pura+. So if you need some items, Quito is actually a very good place to buy nice clothes at relatively low prices.

The indigenous peoples of Ecuador include many highly skilled weavers. Almost everyone who goes to Ecuador sooner or later buys a sweater, scarf or tapestry. In Quito, vendors are located along the sidewalks of tourist areas. You should also consider a direct trip to some of the craft markets, such as the famous one in Otavalo. If you don’t have time for Otavalo, you can find almost the same equipment at Mercado Artesanal La Mariscal on Jorge Washington and Juan Leon Mera in the Mariscal District. Mariscal is packed with dozens of souvenir, craft and t-shirt shops that make gift shopping easy.

The Basilica and Convent of San Francisco, better known as el San Francisco, is a Catholic basilica located in the heart of the historic center of Quito. It is the oldest and most important religious building in Ecuador. The building is the largest architectural complex in the historical centers of the whole of South America, and for this reason it was known as “El Escorial of the New World”. San Francisco is considered a jewel of continental architecture because of the mix of different styles combined over more than 150 years of construction. San Francisco is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “The City of Quito”.

Thirteen monasteries (of which six are large), three temples, a large Atrium, which added about 40,000 square meters of construction, were built on its three and a half hectares of land. Numerous activities are currently carried out there: monastic and religious, public care in the fields of health, communication, education and other popular activities that keep the building active.

Inside the church there are more than 3,500 pieces of colonial art, multiple artistic manifestations and different techniques, especially those corresponding to the Quito Colonial School of Art, which was born in this very place. It also has a Franciscan library, described in the 17th century as the best in the Viceroyalty of Peru.

The complex is preceded by the Plaza de San Francisco, which for years supplied the city with water from its central fountain, and which functioned as a popular market, as a space for military and political concentrations, as well as a meeting place and social recreation. The concave-convex staircase connecting the square with the Atrium, which highlights the Mannerist-Baroque facade of the main building, is considered to be of great architectural importance in colonial America.

In pre-Columbian Quito, the current land of the basilica and monastery of San Francisco was occupied by the royal palace of the Inca Huaina Capac, before the advance of the armies commanded by the Spaniards from the south and the impossibility of defending the city, the autochthonous general Ruminhahui ordered its complete destruction. In the city fire, the palace was destroyed and buried under a huge amount of rubble and garbage. One of Ruminhahui’s soldiers was the great-grandfather of a native of Kantunja, who, as an eyewitness to the event, had a lot of knowledge about what was buried there. Construction of San Francisco’s basilica and convent began around 1537, just three years after the Spanish founding of the city, with the completion of a temporary church that remained until 1550, when construction began on the current building and which was completed around 1680. Although the building was officially opened in 1705.

With the support of the European Franciscan Congregation, the Ghent clerics Jodoko Ricke and Pedro Gossel, who were relatives of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, who arrived in the city two years after its founding, managed to acquire some plots on the southwest side of the Plaça Maior de Quito, in the same place where once were the military headquarters of the leaders of the imperial troops: Chalcuchimac and Kuizkuiz. That is, the place had enormous historical and strategic importance for the natives whom the Franciscans wanted to evangelize. The thesis of the site as a center of the Inca and Caranqui culture was confirmed after the archaeological studies carried out in the basilica on the occasion of its restoration, between 1983 and 1990, in which significant ceramic pieces belonging to those of the pre-Columbian culture (and also the Panzalea) were found below nave, monastery, orchard, atrium and square.

The cabildo of the recently created city of San Francisco de Quito, based on the physical layout of the city, originally assigned the Franciscans an area of ​​land equivalent to two blocks, each 220 feet in length. However, in 1538, after successive rulings by the same Cabildo, an area of ​​more than three hectares was reached. In 1533, its borders, both to the north and to the south, coincided with those of the Plaza de San Francisco, so that the plot faced the Plaza, not crossing any of its sides (in the west it should reach the coristado).

When in 1537 Friar Jodoco Ricke asked the Cabildo to hand over, on the one hand, some land for the natives of Yanacun who served the basilica and, on the other hand, another piece of land for her, which was taken from the coristado to the current Calle Imbabura. In 1538, the plot was extended to the north; that is, from the Main Cloister to the current subordinate units of the police; On this occasion, Fr. Pedro Gossel asked “the gentlemen of the Cabildo to give him a piece of land for a garden to put in a house in San Francisco because it makes a turn of the earth and because it goes straight.” An east-to-west street, which kept the rhythm of the checkerboard grid and was an extension of the current Calle Sucre, divided the monastery from the garden; this street had to be definitively closed in the middle of the 17th century, due to the construction of two cloisters that bordered the main monastery.

If a concrete analysis of its architectural environment is carried out, it will be noticed that the classic typology of medieval monasteries has survived in San Francisco. At the same time, the spatial arrangement started from the church, its guiding axis, and the monastery galleries opened from there, where the cells, dining room, chapter house, basement and vestibule were normally arranged. The final form was a quadrangular courtyard, with its four galleries; contributing, in the main, to name their gallery: gallery of chapters, gallery of refectory, gallery of converts, gallery of mandates.

The church, in the case of San Francisco, is also the center of that order. Starting from it, four monastery galleries were designed, all of the same size, in which at least two elements of medieval monasteries have been preserved: the dining room and the bedroom. However, no gallery was assigned to the chapter, which never existed in San Francisco. In reality, it is not possible to know exactly which other rooms were arranged around the four cloister bays and where they were located, and according to Fr. Fernando de Cozar, later (1647) the room was located in the monastery. Profundisa, dining room, library next to art and theology classroom, gate and small church with sacristy. The neighboring gallery of the church, the mandate, had to have reading benches in accordance with the ancient norms of spatial organization.

The original plans of the basilica underwent various changes during the almost 150 years of its construction. Many times these changes were “violent and erratic” due to earthquake damage and the evolution of art and culture to finally reach the almost eclectic form we know today; This is why San Francisco is one of the most important buildings of colonial Spanish American architecture.

The facade of the basilica reflects the early presence, and for the first time in South America, of Mannerist elements, which made it a point of reference for this style on the continent. The Renaissance austerity and external mannerism contrast with the interior decoration of the church, in which Mudejar and Baroque styles are mixed with gold leaf to give an unusual shine.

In its three naves, San Francisco reveals Mudejar artesonado ceilings, richly decorated altarpieces and columns of various styles. In the chancel, the Mudejar decoration, original from the end of the 16th century, remained intact, as the central nave collapsed in an earthquake and was replaced by a Baroque coffered ceiling in 1770. Mudejar ceilings at the ends, Baroque in the central nave, altarpieces full of paintings, mascarons and cherubs watching in the center of the Great Altar.

The complex is completed by a monastery in which the architectural beauty of the main monastery stands out, arranged around a huge courtyard, in two superior galleries.

The Metropolitan Cathedral of Quito is a Catholic cathedral in Quito. Located on the southwest side of the Plaza de la Independencia (La Plaza Grande), it (and its previous building) served as the seat of the Diocese of Quito from 1545 to 1848 when it was elevated to an archdiocese. In 1995, it was elevated to the Cathedral of Ecuador, making it the tallest Catholic church in the country.

Shortly after the founding of the city of San Francisco de Quito (December 6, 1534), the entire southern side of the future Plaza Grande was given to the church. The first temporary building, erected in the same year by Father Juan Rodríguez, the first pastor of the new city, was made of adobe with a wooden frame and a thatched roof. With the founding of the parish of Quito (January 1545), Bishop García Díaz Arias was appointed, who arrived in the city on April 13 of the following year, together with Vicar General Pedro Rodríguez de Aguayo, and planned to build a more eminent edifice.

Construction began in 1535 and became a cathedral with the creation of the Diocese of Quito in 1545. From 1562 to 1565, the building rose from its limestone foundations under the leadership of the current Archdeacon Rodríguez de Aguay, who served as Acting Bishop, Díaz Arias died. The architect was Antonio Garcia. The construction was made of stone and the ming system (a local traditional practice of pulling, carving and building together) was used. Turning its side towards the Plaza, the Church helped define its size and shape. The anomaly of the main entrance not opening onto the Plaza is explained by the presence of a deep gorge (la quebrada de Sanguna or Zanguna) that was present at the time of construction, which prevented the building from extending backwards (towards the southwest). The location next to the ravine was chosen for defensive purposes. The ravine itself was flooded by the Iglesia de El Sagrario in the 17th century. The cathedral was consecrated by the second bishop of Quito, Fray Pedro de la Peña in 1572.

The cathedral is a white painted monumental church with one tall bell tower moved to the right of the main entrance. Built on a plan with three longitudinal naves surmounted by semi-ogival arches on square columns, the basic spatial structure of the cathedral is typical of the 16th century. Based on the interior features – particularly the details of the columns, arches and the carved and coffered ceiling – some experts argue that the cathedral should be characterized as Gothic-Mudejar style. It has Gothic features in the pointed arches of its naves, as well as in the ambulatory surrounding the presbytery.

The National Museum of Ecuador, also known by the acronym MuNa, is the national museum of the Republic of Ecuador, which was founded by the Central Bank of Ecuador in 1969, and since 2010 has been in charge of the Technical Sub-Secretariat for Social Memory of the Ministry of Culture and Culture. Heritage of Ecuador. The museum is located in the city of Quito, inside the buildings of the House of Ecuadorian Culture. Around 1927, during the government of Dr. Isidro Ayora, the American Kemmerer economic mission arrived in the country, which emphasized the importance of creating a national bank in charge of Ecuador’s economic and monetary policy.

The basis of the collections of the National Museum are the goods acquired in 1960 from the Swiss Max Konanz. Since 1965, the formation of art collections begins, recovering from scholars and private collectors, such as Luis Felipe Borja, Luis Cordero Dávila, Wilhelm Baum, Victor Mena Camanjo and others. It has the most incredible works of colonial and republican art, with the existence of 5,261 works of sculpture, painting, engraving, furniture, textiles, gold and jewelry, porcelain, crystal and more colonial and republican decorative art that seeks to affirm the mestizo identity. countries, an incomparable fruit of European-American syncretism.

MUNA-K is considered the largest museum institution in the country, as it maintains the largest collection of ancestral goods, many paintings by different artists and eras, in addition to vessels and ceremonial figures from different periods of Ecuadorian history. The basis of the collections of the National Museum are the goods acquired in 1960 from the Swiss Max Konanz. Since 1965, the formation of art collections begins, recovering from scholars and private collectors, such as Luis Felipe Borja, Luis Cordero Dávila, Wilhelm Baum, Victor Mena Camanjo and others. It has the most incredible works of colonial and republican art, with the existence of 5,261 works of sculpture, painting, engraving, furniture, textiles, gold and jewelry, porcelain, crystal and more colonial and republican decorative art that seeks to affirm the mestizo identity. countries, an incomparable fruit of European-American syncretism.

At the same time, modern and contemporary art collections are organized that promote the acquisition of the most selected production of Ecuadorian plastic artists, with about 800 works of sculpture, paintings, drawings, engravings, photographs, etc., which allows to visualize permanently the dynamics of the national creator. For this purpose, the National Plastic Competition was organized three years in a row (1977, 1978 and 1979), which helped promote and introduce new artistic values. The collection includes some examples of international art, highlighting a major exhibition donated by the master Estuardo Maldonado.

Since 1976, the formation of ethnographic collections that support anthropological research of aboriginal communities of different ethnic groups in Ecuador began, with about 300 objects of daily use, festive-ceremonial, magical-religious, recreational, work, funerary, etc. which allowed the appreciation of social groups in the country, permanent guardians of ancestral traditions and who strengthen in Ecuador its greater multi-ethnic and multicultural richness. In order to spread this heritage, the Institution, as a trust, handed over the collections to the Pichincha Provincial Council and the museological assembly of the Ethnographic Museum of the Middle World. Today it has an Ethnographic Museum, in the city of Cuenca.

In the next post, I will write about other interesting places that you can visit in the capital of Ecuador. My dear adventurers, we have come to the end of this first special travelogue in the series of travelogues about Ecuador where we had the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of this unusual country in South America. Today’s travelogue would not be possible without the selfless help of PRO ECUADOR, Visit Quito, the airline company KLM in cooperation with local partners who allowed me to feel the spirit and beauty of Ecuadorian culture and tradition. Of course, as always, I tried my best to convey to you my impressions of this unusual experience from Ecuador.

A person is rich in soul if he has managed to explore the world and I am glad that I always manage to find partners of my projects who help me to discover new and unusual destinations in a completely different way.

It is an honor for me to have the opportunity to cooperate with many companies and businessmen in the tourism sector and I would like to thank the Tourism Board of Quito – Visit Quito for this incredible adventure and for allowing me to experience the beauty of this unusual Ecuadorian culture in a completely different way.

How did you like this story of mine about Ecuador and the presentation of Kita, which adorns the heart of this unusual country in South America? Have you had the chance to visit Ecuador so far?

If you have any question, comment, suggestion or message for me you can write me below in the comments. Of course, as always, you can contact me via email or social networks, all addresses can be found on the CONTACT ME page. See you at the same place in a few days, with some new story!

In the following stories from Ecuador, we will discover some other interesting sights that you should visit if your journey leads you to this far away country!

Blogger greetings from Quito,

Mr. M

This post is sponsored by the Quito Tourism Board – Visit Quito, PRO ECUADOR, the airline KLM and other local partners. This post is my personal and honest review of the destination experience.