Ecuador: 1/12/2018 - 1/27/2018

Thursday, January 18, 2017 - Exploring Cotacachi

When we woke up this morning we looked outside and saw Juan Pedro (Abuelita's mute brother-in-law) walking in the yard wearing a sheet of clear plastic as protection from the omnipresent rain. Sonam saw him and introduced himself. Juan Pedro is always cheerful, and Sonam's interactions with him were precious. Sonam is so friendly and people immediately let their guard down. We really enjoyed watching the two of them interact with one another.

We went outside and wished everyone a good morning. Cachupin wasn't content to stand by and watch Craig give Rosa a hug; he had to get involved. He stood up on his hind legs and demanded to be part of the hug, giving us all a good laugh.

For breakfast we had fried eggs, plantain hash, coffee, colada, and juice. Sonam and Javier did the dishes. Abuelita was outside feeding breakfast to her single pet chicken. Neighbors walked past the house while bringing their cows out to pasture.

The weather cleared up, and after four days of omnipresent rain, we decided to take Sonam on an impromptu visit to Cotacachi. I had several hours free before I had to be back for a work meeting, so Antonio called a car for us.

The car drove us straight to Cotacachi, dropping us off in front of Parque San Francisco. We looked at the various statues in the park which pay tribute to the city's claims to fame: music and leatherwork.

We peeked inside Iglesia San Francisco, with its stained glass windows and beautiful altar. This was the church where Sisa was baptized. We told him that he would identify with St. Francis, the church's namesake, for his love of animals. Unfortunately, the church was closed so we couldn't go inside, but we could see the interior through the locked metal gates. It was Sonam's first time seeing inside a church in real life, and he was impressed with the light and beauty of it. This is a comparitively modest Catholic church by Ecuadorian standards, and we hoped that we would be able to take him inside some of the more exatravagant ones.

Next we walked up Calle 10 de Agosto, informally but popularly known as Calle de Cuero (Leather Street), where the leather artisans of Cotacachi sell their wares. They do very nice work for a reasonable price, so we often enjoy shopping here.

We passed a statue of Charlie Chaplin with his cane, and we couldn't resist having the guys pose for a photo. Apparently this statue was installed last year as part of the Route of the Arts.

We walked several blocks to the to the Plaza de la Matriz. It is a park in front of the gorgeous Iglesia de la Matriz, the church where Yupanqui and Shina were baptized. Unfortunately, this church was closed too, but we were able to peek inside to see the gorgeous gold altar. We also admired the wood carving on the massive front doors.

Outside in the plaza, we saw a statue of Santa Ana (Saint Anne), the patron Saint of Cotacachi. It was interesting syncretism to see this saint, the grandmother of Jesus, dressed in the traditional attire of an indigenous woman. It brought to mind a painting of the Last Supper at Humberto's house in Guatemala, where the Apostles were dressed as Maya, and the meal took place on the shores of Lake Atitlan.

We took a photo of Sonam in front of the Iglesia de la Matriz with its impressive steeple/clock tower. This would be one of the last times that these clocks showed the wrong time; less than a week after we returned home from the trip, we saw online that a clockmaker had been brought in from Colombia to fix it.

The sun was shining and the sky was blue. The warm rays of the sun felt so good after days of dampness and rain! We walked through town, enjoying the street art graffiti paintings.

We decided to go into the Museo de las Culturas (Cultural Museum) which we had never visited before. We were surprised to find that there wasn't even an entrance fee! It was a lovely old colonial building with an interior courtyard.

We followed the sound of a piano up an antique wooden staircase, and encountered a piano lesson taking place in a small baroque concert hall. It was a bit surreal.

Also on the upper level was am exhibit of costumes representing the various Kichwa and Catholic festivals. These included:

  • Inti Raymi, which we attended in 2011. It is a blend of the Incan solstice festival and the Catholic Feast of St. John the Baptist, since they occur at the same time. Groups of costumed young men from neighboring villages storm the Cotacachi town square (La Plaza de la Matriz) and dance/march to hypnotic music. The symbolic taking of the square represents an upheaval of the social order, so that traditionally and historically marginalized Kichwa natives temporarily dominate the mestizo / white majority population.

  • Semana Santa (Holy Week), which we attended in 2012. During the week leading up to Easter, there are various processions during which people carry heavy floats depicting various Easter tableaux and enact the passion of Jesus Christ.

  • Inti Laimi (Corpus Christi), which is a blend of the pre-Columbian Easter of the Sun and the Catholic feast celebrating the transubstantiation of Jesus Christ's body and blood into the Eucharist. Two performers dance as angels carrying machetes, and two others dance as devils carrying sticks in the Dance of the Abagos. These costumes included masks as well as wigs made of human hair.

We went back downstairs and encountered an unexpected and quite interesting exhibit which featured a musical group from Cotacachi called Orquesta Rumba-Habana. The group was founded in 1949. Their colorful music stands were on display in front of a large photo showing them in formal attire posing by Lake Cuicocha. There was a display of their vinyl recordings, which we assumed were from the 1950's. But it turned out that they actually recorded their first 45 rpm record in 1979! And their LP's followed from 1981 onward. There were many photos of them along with awards they have won, from silver trophies to silver records.

Other exhibits included pre-Columbian musical instruments such as drums, flutes, conch shells, buffalo horns, and ocarinas, as well as colonial instruments. Colonial instruments went hand in hand with the spread of Catholicism, and were often used in religious worship. We saw a melodio (reed organ), which resembled a harmonium with foot pedals, as well as tubas, trombones, harps, violins, and guitars.

Cotacachi is known as the leather capital of Ecuador. There was a saddlery exhibit, including a wooden saddle form, wooden stirrup forms, a leather press, a hand-operated sewing machine, metal tools, and carved wooden designs (in inverse) to be stamped onto the leather with a wooden paddle. There was leather art (including an image of a Russian Orthodox church) as well as some vintage leather suitcases.

Next was an exhibit on silverwork, a trade which dates back to the 19th century in Cotacachi. There were anvils, mallets, a crucible, and a huge set of bellows. There were molds into which the silver was cast in the shapes of horseshoes, crosses, and statues.

Examples of metalwork were displayed in a glass case, including practical items like utensils, Catholic-influenced items like rosaries, and adornments such as jewelry. One of my favorite pieces was an anthropomorphic Inti (sun) pendant.

Silver Inti (sun)

Silver Inti (sun)


An exhibit showcased weaving with local reeds. Reeds could be fashioned into intricate baskets or the soles of espadrille shoes.

The ceramics exhibit included the 3 types of earth mixed together by foot to produce the clay. Ceramic items included chicha jugs, serving dishes, and pots for toasting grains and tortillas.

The final room was a more macro view of the geographic and anthropologic history of Ecuador, rather than being focused on Cotacachi.

There were various spondylus shells in a display case. These colorful mollusk shells were quite valuable in pre-Columbian times, and their use in the region dates back to 4200-2500 B.C. They were used in rituals as offerings and were buried with the dead, and they were also used as currency.

There were tools made from obsidian, which must have been plentiful in pre-Columbian times due to the volcanic activity of the region.

Other stone tools were on display, including the type of grinding stone that Rosa still uses to this day for corn, despite owning an electric blender. It is humbling to see these kinds of cultural connections. and we hope that the Kichwa people never fully assimilate to the majority culture.

There were also antique machines on display: a foot-powered lathe used to make wooden trompos (whipping tops), as well as a printing press. The trompos are a competitive game played on the streets throughout Ecuador.

It was a little jewel of a museum and we enjoyed it very much!

It had started to rain a bit while we were inside. We wandered back toward Parque San Francisco, stopping at a Tia grocery store to buy some supplies. We passed a larger than life leather shoe advertising one of the leather shops. It immediately made me think of my shoe diva friend Juliane, and I had Sonam snap a photo. Our driver was supposed to pick us up at 1:00, and was already waiting when we arrived 5 minutes early.

We returned home in time for lunch and my afternoon meetings for work. Javier and Rosa helped the kids with their homework.

After work, we gave the kids a bilingual copy of "The Three Billy Goats Gruff." After reading it several times, Sisa went and got her notebook and wrote out the whole story in English as practice. She really loves to write; a girl after my own heart!

We practiced reading Spanish words with Yupanqui.

Tonight Sonam cooked for us, making "copy datshi" - cabbage, chili peppers, and cheese. He used peppers from Rosa's garden and cheese which came all the way from Bhutan! He is such a great cook, just like his Apa (father). And he is so comfortable and cheerful that he will sing and dance as he cooks. It really amuses Rosa. He spreads such sunshine wherever he goes!

The copy datshi was delicious, and we enjoyed it alongside rice, mashed potatoes, beans, and salad. It was a busy day, and we were tired by the time we went to bed. We gave the kids hugs and said our goodnights before retiring to our respective rooms.





Cultural Museum, Cotacachi
Statues of the cultural legacy of Cotacachi: music and leatherwork

Statues celebrating the cultural legacy of Cotacachi: music and leatherwork

Posing with the Charlie Chaplin statue, Calle 10 de Agosto

Posing with the Charlie Chaplin statue, Calle 10 de Agosto

Sonam in front of La Iglesia de la Matriz

Sonam in front of La Iglesia de la Matriz

Colonial architecture

Colonial architecture

Museo de las Culturas

Museo de las Culturas

Steph joins a Dance of the Abagos tableaux

Steph joins a Dance of the Abagos tableaux

Orquesta Rumba Habana exhibit

Orquesta Rumba Habana exhibit

Leather textures/patterns

Leather textures/patterns

Silver molds

Silver molds

See all photos from January 18, 2018



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