Poncho-wearing, flute-playing Andean groups are a staple in nearly every large city across the globe. The musical and artistic traditions of this culturally rich nation, however, are far more complex. You’ll find stunning colonial architecture, powerful artworks by celebrated Ecuadorian painters and rich folkloric song traditions that tap into the nation’s African and indigenous roots.
When it comes to colonial architecture, two cities stand high above the rest: Quito and Cuenca. Both have historical centers so stunning they’ve been declared Unesco World Heritage Sites (Quito in 1978 and Cuenca in 1999). Quito’s churches are some of the richest, most spectacular colonial buildings in all of South America. Bearing testament to the fact that Spain was under the rule of the Moors for centuries, many of Quito’s churches have striking Moorish (Arabic) influences known as mudéjar.
Many of Quito’s churches were built atop sacred indigenous sights, adding yet another layer to the cultural mix. The overall appearance of the city’s colonial churches is overpoweringly ornamental and almost cloyingly opulent.
The beauty of the Escuela Quiteña lies in its fascinating blend of indigenous concepts and styles and European art forms. The beliefs and artistic heritages of the artisans crept into their work. If you look closely at paintings in Quito’s many religious museums and churches, you’ll see a lot of non-European themes: Christ eating a plate of cuy (roast guinea pig), or the 12 apostles dining on humitas (a type of corn dumpling). Religious figures are often depicted with darker skin or stouter builds that reflect indigenous Ecuadorian body types. Inside churches, sun motifs and planetary symbols appear on ceilings that are decorated in what appear to be Moorish patterns.
The Escuela Quiteña became renowned for its mastery of the realistic. By the 18th century, artisans were using glass eyes and real hair and eyelashes in their sculptures. They added moving joints, inserted tiny mirrors into mouths to mimic saliva, and their accomplished polychrome painting (the use of multiple colors) became famous. Some sculptures, particularly those of the 18th-century carver Manuel Chili (nicknamed ‘Caspicara’), are so realistic they almost seem to be alive. Notable painters of the Escuela Quiteña include Miguel de Santiago (whose huge canvases grace the walls of Quito’s Monastery of San Agustín), Manuel Samaniego, Nicolás Goríbar and Bernardo Rodríguez. Caspicara’s work can be seen in Quito’s Monastery of San Francisco.
Ecuador’s most significant artistic contribution is the Quito School of Art, which reached its zenith between 1600 and 1765. The Quito School died out following independence, largely because the style was associated with the Spanish regime. The 19th century brought the Republican period, during which favorite subjects were heroes of the revolution, florid landscapes and important members of the new republic’s high society.
The 20th century saw the rise of the indigenista (indigenous-led) movement, whose unifying theme was the oppression and burdens of Ecuador’s indigenous inhabitants. The pioneer of the indigenista movement was Camilo Egas (1899–1962), who, along with painter Eduardo Kingman (1913–98), placed Ecuadorian modern art on the international map. The country’s most famous indigenista painter, however, is Oswaldo Guayasamín (1919–99), whose evocative and haunting works tackle such themes as torture, poverty and loss. His pieces hang in galleries all over the world, although the best place to see his work is in Quito.
No discussion of Ecuadorian painting is complete without mentioning tigua, an intricate, colorful painting style generally depicting Andean indigenous groups. The art form’s major progenitor is the internationally known Alfredo Toaquiza.
Ecuador has several notable literary figures, although none have become household names outside the country. Juan Montalvo (1832–89) was a prolific essayist from Ambato who frequently attacked the dictatorial political figures of his time. His best-known work is the book Siete tratados (Seven Treatises; 1882), which includes a comparison between Simón Bolívar and George Washington. Juan León Mera (1832–94), also from Ambato, is famous for his novel Cumandá (1891), which describes indigenous life in the 19th century.
Perhaps the most notable Ecuadorian writer of the 20th century is quiteño Jorge Icaza (1906–79), who was profoundly influenced by the indigenista movement. His most famous novel, Huasipungo (1934; translated as The Villagers in 1973) is a brutal story about indigenous Ecuadorians, the seizure of their land and the savage massacre of those who protested.
One of the most recognizable tunes of traditional Andean música folklórica (folk music) is Simon and Garfunkel’s version of ‘El Cóndor Pasa (If I Could)’. This was already a classic Andean tune (written by Peruvian composer Daniel Alomía Robles in 1913) before the popular duo got their hands on it.
Andean songs like this one typically have a breathy, mournful quality courtesy of the panpipes – which in Ecuador is known as the rondador, a single row of bamboo pipes in a pentatonic (five-note) scale. It’s considered Ecuador’s national instrument and varies from other Andean instruments such as the zampoña (two rows of cane pipes, originating in the highlands area around Lake Titicaca) and the quena and pingullo (large and small bamboo flutes). Other traditional instruments include the charango, a mandolin-like instrument with 10 strings and a sounding box that was originally made with an armadillo shell.
Although most people associate Ecuador with folklórica, the country’s most popular national music is pasillo, which is rooted in the waltz. Pasillo’s origins date back to the 19th century when Ecuador (along with Colombia, Venezuela and Panama) was part of Gran Colombia. These poignant songs with their melancholic melodies often touch on themes of disillusionment, lost love and unquenchable longing for the past. Less commonly, the lyrics celebrate the beauty of the Ecuadorian landscape (or its women), the valor of its men (indeed, pasillo was popular during the Ecuadorian War of Independence) or the charm of its towns and cities.
Pasillo’s most famous voice was that of Julio Jaramillo, known affectionately as ‘JJ’ (pronounced ‘jota jota’ in Spanish). Born in 1935, this handsome singer from Guayaquil popularized the genre throughout Latin America with his lyrical songs. Unfortunately, hard living led to his early death (from cirrhosis of the liver) at the age of 42. At the time of his death, he had become a legend, and some 250,000 mourners came out for his funeral.
Northwest Ecuador, particularly Esmeraldas province, is the heart of the country’s Afro-Ecuadorian population. Here – and in Afro-Colombian communities of neighboring Colombia – you can find musical traditions quite distinct from those in other parts of Ecuador.
The iconic instrument here is the marimba (a percussion instrument laid out like a xylophone but with wooden bars), which produces a range of bright but mellow sounds. It’s accompanied by the conga-drum-like cunuco, the bigger bomba (large sheepskin drum) and the maraca-like guasá. Big West African–style beats back the simple choral arrangements; traditional dances like the stylized bambuco sometimes accompany the music.
In addition to the north coast, in the Chota Valley there’s also an Afro-Ecuadorian community, the only population of its kind found anywhere in the highlands. The music there blends more indigenous elements (including pan flutes) to African rhythms and is called bomba, named after the large drum that lays down the heavy beats.
Among the more popular Afro-Ecuadorian music and dance groups is Azúcar, which is named in honor of the group’s early ancestors, who labored on sugarcane plantations. The outstanding Esmeraldas-based Grupo Bambuco add a horn section to the driving, highly danceable beats.
Musical hybrids have flourished in Ecuador over the last 200 years, creating new genres from traditional Spanish styles shaped by indigenous influences.
The sanjuanito (which means ‘little St John’) is a joyful dance and music style (though it too has melancholic undertones) with traditional Andean rhythms and instrumentation. Its origin dates back to religious celebrations held on June 24 – an important day to both Catholics (St John’s Day) and the indigenous (Inti Raymi or the Inca Festival of the Sun).
Born in the early 20th century, the pasacalle is a distant relative of the Spanish pasodoble, the march-like music typically played at bullfights. The Ecuadorian variant is equally fast-paced with dramatic elements and a clean 2/4 beat.
If there’s one inescapable music in this Andean country, it’s cumbia, whose rhythm resembles that of a trotting three-legged horse. Originally from Colombia, Ecuadorian cumbia has a rawer (almost amateur), melancholic sound, and is dominated by the electronic keyboard. Bus drivers love the stuff, perhaps because it so strangely complements those back-road journeys through the Andes (and hopefully it keeps them awake at the wheel).