Merry Christmas from Ecuador

Christmas Day in Ecuador is a day for family, and exchanging gifts is very important. Actually, one of the first items to appear on supermarket shelves is an assortment of gift baskets of various sizes that employers ‘are expected’ to buy for their workers. Contents range from a bottle of wine, to cooking oil, rice, spices and other food items. 

Having decided to remain in Ecuador for Christmas holidays, I was rather eager to experience their celebrations. In Quito, my friends told me that festivities tended to be personal and although traditionally religious they incorporated civic celebrations as well.

My pesebre.

Early on in December you start to notice nativity scenes called Pesebres [sometimes clothed in traditional Ecuadorian costumes] erected in various locations including parks and church compounds. These are very elaborate and in fact for most homes, pesebres take the place of a Christmas tree. I made sure to get myself a pesebre. All around in parks and plazas [town squares] people hold Novenas, which are public gatherings where people perform religious hymns and prayers.

Christmas Eve is Nochebuena, and families gather for dinner [cena de Nochebuena] which may traditionally include  turkey or chicken, salads, fruits, selected cheeses, rice, wine or the local drink chicha. I had a turkey cena de Nochebuena with a lovely Polish-Ecuadorian family, which was prepared by a black Colombian maid [interesting demographics here].  I did not attend the midnight Misa del Gallo, the Christmas Eve mass, which I later learnt is the highlight of the Christmas prayers.   

We turned this house-plant
into a christmas tree. 

Christmas Day as I pointed out earlier is a family day, to visit and exchange gifts. Had I really understood this, I’d have attended the Misa del Gallo and avoided the disappointing, sleepy Christmas day service. We even tried mass in two different churches, hoping for ‘vibe’ and life, but we found rather ‘ordinary’ rushed services, with more empty pews than not, of sleepy-looking people. It didn’t feel very Christmassy.

Most Ecuadorian homes I’ve been to have a shrine, adorned with flowers, candles and statues of Maria and baby Jesus. During the Christmas mass, I noticed that most people brought their baby Jesus to the church for priests to anoint/bless with holy water.

I will travel to the coast for New Year’s and though I feel like I’m leaving the festivities behind I am looking forward to a few days of warmth and quiet. Mompiche is a very small town.

The Memorable Face of Gratitude…

The persistent tagging at my jacket from behind caught my attention. I turned around to investigate the source and was surprised to see the face of a small boy looking up at me. He was going on in a barrage of Spanish that I could barely make out and he seemed agitated. In his other hand he was holding out the toy truck we had just given him and he appeared to be giving it back to me.  After another unsuccessful attempt to understand him, I called someone over to help. Finally, I understood that he didn’t like his age-appropriate gift. He had mastered the courage to return it for exchange with what he really wanted; a soccer ball.

The boy proudly showing off
his soccer ball

The memorable face. It's like that
was the best gift he'd ever received

His mother stood aside, appearing embarrassed at the audacity of her son to be ‘picky’.  But within a short time, the boy drew the attention of everybody around, as he was the only one in the group to reject his gift. But, rather than admonition, he brought out admiration from the Canadians whose culture strongly encourages personal choice and decision-making. We had brought soccer balls in variety of colours, and we were further surprised as the little boy indicated that he wanted a blue/white ball. I couldn’t help but think with that attitude, that little boy was going far in his life.

And this brings me to gratitude. When I think of that day, one particular face stands out in my memory. I remember him more not for his courage to pursue his gift of choice, but more for how his face which later beamed more than all the hundred plus faces put together. And as I’ve always believed, gratitude and appreciation should be shown or spoken out, whether we’re receiving from a stranger, or from a close one.

I regret though that although that little happy face will remain with me for a long time, I don’t have a name for him. He was so happy with the ball that he scooted off for a test game faster than I could ask “¿Cómo te llamas?"

Enjoying the 'good game' already

Chumillos-Images

Clare Fitchett shares Candy with kids
we met along the way

The Beautiful landscape

Breathtaking, Ecuador is

Plenty of grazing land for the sheep
Reminds of of my uncles farm in Nyandarua,
Central Kenya

More beauty

The Kids sit quietly observing the
Proceedings

Calves tethered by the roadside

Linda Kolodziej, Kyung Whitaker and
I take a photo moment with
some local women

Santa Came Eearly to Chumillos

On the Saturday morning of December 10th, a bunch of Canadian expats and/or their spouses drove to the mountain village of Chumillos in a convoy of four cars packed to the brim. We were on a mission to deliver Christmas gifts to the villagers and the gathering point was at an elementary school called Carlos Iguamba Andrango. Sharing during Christmas brings tremendous joy to many and makes the celebrations all the more special, and this is why these Canadians have done this every year since they've been here. The Canadians had collected cash and our Ecuadorian friend and secretary Susana Gallardo had organized the buying and packaging; of clothes, food baskets, toys upon loads of children toys and lots of candy and biscuits. I was really excited. This was going to be a fun day.

Road sign to the school

We had been warned to dress warm as it got quite cold up in the mountains and the weather could change drastically.But the heavy jackets and boots turned out to be unnecessary. The heavens were smiling down on us and it turned out to be a beautiful sunny day. Driving up those picturesque mountains was as it is often here, a relaxing photographic, joy ride. All the way up were homes scattered here and there, cows, sheep, donkeys and an ocassional horse grazed everywhere and chickens ran around. And as is typical of Latin America, there were dogs of every size and species everywhere. Men, women and some children worked in farms of corn, potatoes, peas and beans. Being in Ecuador’s farming communities always makes me nostalgically think of Kinangop or Nyandarua, places in Kenya with similar climate and crops.

Offloading the gifts

Along the narrow and winding road that chilly morning, we met groups of children whom we stopped to give some candy to. On arrival at the school, we found our contact guy waiting and within minutes people started trickling in from all sides of the mountains. They must have seen the cars drive through the mountains, as well as the power of cell phone. In about half an hour, it seemed the entire village was in attendance. After a short general introduction, we began distributing presents starting with the children, bags of clothing, and finally on to the food baskets, one basket per household.  

Chatting up some shy kids and   
sharing candy as we await others.

The joy of giving for us was tremendous. The boys particularly were overjoyed with the soccer balls. The women too smiled shyly as they quietly chatted amongst themselves, huddled together against the morning chill. But all in all, it was a rather quiet affair. If you’ve been to any part of Africa, you know what I’m talking about. I’ve observed that Ecuadorians though very open with their emotions are rather quiet on gratitude and appear to be reluctant receivers.  Observing them, it appeared to be just another day for them and I couldn’t help but think of the song, dance and clapping that would have come with such an occasion anywhere in Africa. But then again, we’re different peoples with different cultures. We went back home fulfilled, hoping we had given someone a reason to smile this Christmas.

December 6 and Fiestas de Quito

On Thursday last week, one of my classmates asked me if I liked chivas. I didn’t know what that was so he explained that chivas are the brightly decorated open "party" buses that I’ve been seeing all around town lately. These buses run along the city streets with live bands playing and people riding around on them in a festive mood; dancing, singing and shouting "Viva Quito"!

In December, Quito, the capital of Ecuador, celebrates its "Spanish Foundation" by the Conquistador Sebastian de Benalcazar on December 6, 1534. The partying starts one week before and everyone I meet wants to know if I’m taking part in any Fiesta de Quito.

A central event during this celebration is the bullfights, which boast participation of both local and international matadors. Bullfights for this year are already on at the Plaza de Toros de Quito, and I’ve been advised to avoid that part of town owing to huge crowds. There are also flamenco dances, [I’m supposed to attend one] and people all around seem to be enjoying long lunches, dinners and city walks.



Top: Picadores observe the proceedings, while below, matador and bull fight it out at the Plaza de Toros de Quito.
Photos by Mirek Futkowski 

The different barrios or neighbourhoods organize dancing in the streets, mostly featuring live orchestras. People come in groups of friends or family, to socialize, listen to the music, dance and drink the famous canelazo, a hot drink made with water, cinnamon, sugar and firewater. I’m told that the night of December 5th is an all-night event.

There are also parades that traditionally take place in different areas of the city, with the participation of music bands and dancing groups from different schools in Quito. Many cultural events tailored to keep the traditions of Quito alive also take place during the week. These include folk dancing, recreation of legends and traditions, art exhibitions, food festivals, and fireworks.

During this time people of all ages get together in homes and public places [I see them at street corners] to play an Ecuadorian card game called "cuarenta" or “40”, since it is played with 40 cards. The World Championship of Cuarenta takes place as one of the highlights of the festivity.

What an exciting time to be in Quito!

Note: A picador is a horseman who pricks the bull with a lance in the early stages of a fight to goad and weaken it

Ecuador: HIV/AIDS

This small Andean country with a population of about 15 million people has a concentrated HIV epidemic, with approximately 0.4 per cent of adults infected. Quito, the capital city has an estimated prevalence of 19.3 per cent. The rate of infection is said to be steadily increasing.

Image courtesy of Women News Network

Ecuador HIV statistics: People living with HIV -37,000; HIV prevelance - 0.4 per cent; Deaths due to AIDS - 2,200. With such relatively low rates compared to other countries I've lived in except Canada, it is no wonder that I found World AIDS Day rather unacknowledged here. Nevertheless, I still think we are far from achieving an AIDS free generation around the world.

Read the piece I wrote on June 5th on how misconceptions about antiretroviral drugs may be fooling people into not taking enough precaution to prevent HIV infection.

Stay safe and have a happy December.