Find Out Why these Ecuadorians have got the Attention of the Whole World

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Otavalo is a city beloved by its people and known by them as “llakta”, which means “town” in their mother language. The people from this city are a vivid example of coexistence and adaptation to the modern world. They are people eager to show how much they are worth through their values, their love for nature, their craftsmanship skills and simply their excellence and versatility in all senses: qualities that have spread their fame to the whole world.

The main aspect of these people’s lives follows very simple rules: to respect Mother Nature, to use the natural resources in a rational way, to encourage the community’s development and to be joyful and committed to their responsibilities. These simple guidelines had made the people from Otavalo be great farmers, painters, musicians, weavers, polyglots and merchants not only in Ecuador, but all around the world, getting the fame of being impressive, multifaceted and certainly successful people that have set an example of development and organization for societies.

This way, with no other help except for their own ability to organize, they have created the South America’s largest and most colorful textile and handcraft indigenous market, making the city if Otavalo get the attention of the whole world. At present, their textiles and handcrafts are exported to places such as Australia, Italy and Spain, as well as some Middle Eastern countries.

Otavalo’s fame is not only due to the products they export. The artists from this town thought their music would also be liked by people from other countries. With no hesitation, they have managed to travel to countries like the US, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore, where their excellent live Andean music is still enjoyed by many fans.

The culture of this town is a culture that has profited from its ancestral knowledge. The people from Otavalo has always believed in it and worked to make it richer and to move forward. Some of the locals are nowadays cosmopolitan people, but they keep on being themselves. They keep on expressing the art, the culture and the values that have given them their strong identity and that bond them to their hometown: their beloved and yearned for Llakta.

Photo: Rinaldo W.

Discover the Romantic Legend of the Lake and the Tree

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Only five minutes away from the city of Otavalo are found two attractive touristic spots: the San Pablo Lake, found southeast of the city; and the Lechero Tree, located at the top of a nearby famous hill called “Rey Loma”, where an indigenous fortress was built.  These two magical places are the main characters of a fascinating legend:

The story tells that North of Ecuador in the Andean mountain range, in a region now known as the Imbabura province, there was a time of great drought during which nothing would grow at the fields. According to the indigenous tradition of those times, it was necessary for a young maiden to be sacrificed in order to calm down the rage of the Imbabura volcano, who was believed to be the cause of such bad season.

A beautiful indigene girl called “Nina Pacha” (which means “Light Source”) was chosen for the sacrifice. Nina Pacha was in love with a young man called Guatalquí, who was ready to do anything to save the life of his beloved one. It was impossible to escape from the village, since it was very well surveyed, so the lovers decided to get help from a powerful wizard. He told them that the only way to leave the village and escape from the sacrifice would be having Nina Pacha cut one of her two beautiful long braids. Both lovers had to hold on to one end of the braid without letting go, as a proof of their union and their love’s strength. The wizard added that they could not look at each other’s face nor back to the village until reaching the top of the nearby mountain, otherwise she would become a lake and he would become a tree.

The lovers began their escape following the instructions from the wizard. With a lot of effort, the couple was finally approaching the peak of the mountain, but they were not alone: they were being chased by a crowd of angry villagers. When the two lovers were about to get caught, Nina Pacha could not help looking back, and Guatalquí did the same involuntarily. At that moment, the sky cleared and the Imbabura volcano awoke from his sleep. The beautiful Nina Pacha became a big lake at the feet of the volcano; and at the same time a lightning struck the young man, who vanished leaving behind a leafy tree known nowadays as the “Lechero”. At the end, the shocked villagers witnessed a hard rain falling over the fields …the drought was over.

It is said that from that moment on, the lake and its guardian tree became a place of prayer and rituals related to the crops. The tree and the lake are very close to one another, and you can have a whole sight of the lake from the top of the hill where the tree is at, as if the young Guatalquí kept surveying his beloved Nina Pacha, staying together forever like they couldn’t before.

Nowadays, it is believed that when you visit the Lechero tree for the first time, you can make a wish while hugging him tightly. As long as it is a positive wish, the tree will make it come true.

Photo: Ecuador a la Carte

The Story of an Extinct Society Still Alive in This Side of the Planet

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Those who have been at the largest Latin-American indigenous market of Otavalo must have realized that a world completely different from the one we are used to exists. They must have had a taste of that indigenous world, a world full of joy, art, history and pride. You can go further in the discovery of this mythical indigenous culture continuing on the main road to the north, where the village of Peguche is found: a community of proud craftsmen full of wonderful traditions and achievements, settled by a famous ritual waterfall. Peguche is a living testimony of an ancient society surviving in the modern world.

Peguche is only 20 minutes by car from Otavalo. There, inhabitants greet each other with a “ñanda mañachi”, which means “let me use your path” and is used as a sign of respect. Peguche is a village of unassuming people whose life goes around music and traditional handcrafts. From this mixture of occupations, great musicians have come out with a unique ability to create their own instruments. With the passing of time, these instruments have been improved to be perfect in quality and sound. Nowadays, the village produces both Andean and contemporary instruments with a sound so pure that people from all around the world travel all the way to that place just to purchase one of them.

Following by foot a rustic path that goes through corn and guava plantations is found the entrance to the track leading to Peguche’s ritual waterfall. Among legends and real stories, its secrets are hidden behind eucalyptus and other ancient plants, across a long river. The deafening sound shows that you are close to the sacred waters: a magnificent white water veil of 20m (65ft) high.

The Peguche waterfall is a place worth admiring from the viewpoint located on the opposite side of it, but the spiritual experience is even greater if you let the waterfall’s cool, relaxing waters fall over you, just as the indigenous people do. It is said that taking a bath at the Peguche waterfall renews your spirit, getting rid of all negative energies and welcoming all the good ones. On the night before the Inti Raymi Festival, the waterfall is a meeting point for indigenes and shamans who have rituals before the festivities.

A sign written at the entrance to the waterfall’s path may roughly describe the Peguche experience: “Come into my world and discover the beauty of my ethnic group, my art, my culture, my history and my ecology”. Peguche is a village in which there is much more than pure nature. This place, once ruled by the colonizers and currently completely managed by its own indigenous community, represents its people’s struggle for having a fresh start, overcoming the dark history of the past by recovering their traditions and old ways of life, and constructing a new society based on them.

Photo: colleen_taugher

Huairasinchi: One of the World’s Greatest Adventure Races

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Huairasinchi means “the wind’s force” in the ancient Quichua tongue. It is the name given to one of the World’s toughest adventure race that takes place at some of Ecuador’s most amazing spots. It is a three-day long race where the contestant teams from all around the World go beyond their limits and struggle with all their strength to complete the route through different sport disciplines such as mountain bike riding, trail running, paddling and fixed ropes; and good orientation skills.

Each year, this adventure competition takes the teams through remote places full of friendly people, historical richness and natural beauty. This year on its 7th edition, from February 13th to 15th, the 2010 Huairasinchi Race took place at the provinces of Carchi and Imbabura. The route was carefully planned to take the teams through magical places such as the Cuicocha and Yaguarcocha lakes, the humid forest of Apuela, the Piñan and Ángel plateaus, the Guadual area and the Chota Valley, among others. As the race is part of the “AR World Series”, the winners will get a place at the Bimbache Extreme in Spain, a race that gathers the champions from all the different AR races taking place at Argentina, Australia, Costa Rica, France, Poland, Portugal, Sweden and the US.

Jari Kirkland, member of the 2006 Huairasinchi winning team, talking about his experience at the race said: “The view, the scenery and everything else far exceeded my expectations. I honestly believe it could be the most beautiful country. It’s not very big and yet you have many different things so close from one another. We walked in the jungle yesterday and, a couple of hours later, we were already in the hills and mountains.” Considering that statement, we can tell that the Huairasinchi is much more than an adventure race. This race is a way of living that shows how to reach goals, going beyond physical and mental limits and learning to respect and protect nature.

Photo: Jonathan Thorne and Hjvannes

Otavalo: Meet the World’s Largest and Most Colorful Indigenous Market

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It is early morning in Otavalo, where the world’s largest and most colorful Indigenous market takes place. It all begins at dawn, when the first costumers arrive attracted by the food and the animals for sale. This market dates back to pre-Inca times and it is a veritable collection of animals to eat and buy that mingles with the sound of the Andean pipes and the Quichua, the native indigenous language.

By 9am, the activity takes place at the hundreds of handicraft booths spread all along the main streets. The center of the action is the "Poncho Plaza", where almost any craft item produced in Ecuador can be found at really cheap prices.

The little stalls offer a bewildering and exciting array of local handicrafts, with textiles of outstanding rainbow colors predominating. Naturally, you will also find there the famous Panama hats -originally made in Ecuador- at half the price or less than what you would pay in Quito, the capital. The variety of colors of the various fabric products, the blankets, ponchos, balsa wood bowls and carvings, as well as the variety of fruit and vegetables on sale is a feast for the eyes in this lively market where haggling for lower prices is expected and part of the fun.

The market is safe and tourists are always welcomed by the friendly local people, the Otavaleño indigenous. People can’t help but be delighted by the dignified Otavaleño ladies who still wear their distinctive traditional dress of intricately embroidered white blouses with flounced lace sleeves, their black skirts and their long, braided hair often decorated with colorful ribbons.

Saturday is the busiest market day and the best time of the week for tourists to go. This world-famous outdoor marketplace, that some consider “a place to visit before you die” (Book “1000 places to visit before you die” by Patricia Schultz; and Ninemsn’s article “Top 10 Places to see Before You Die”) is a wonderful way to experience some local culture while you get a good price for loads of gifts and souvenirs for everyone back home!

Photo: Pictures from Heather