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Gastronomy
The food in Guayaquil and the surrounding areas (and throughout Ecuador) can be summed up in two words: varied and delicious. Each city has its own specialties and Guayaquil is, of course, famed for its cuisine throughout the country. Local cooking includes the exquisite ceviches, the ever-popular “sangos” made with plantain and shrimp, bean or lentil stews accompanied by roast meat and “patacones”, “caldos de bola”, fish “encebollados”, “sancochos” with plantain, cassava and chopped maize, cassava “muchines”, the traditional “guatita” as well as numerous other seafood delicacies complemented by plantain and cassava. The perfect accompaniment to the typical Guayaquilean and coastal food is usually a beer, well cooled. Ecuadorian beer is recognized as being one of the most world’s most flavorsome.
A brief History
The indigenous people that inhabited the area centuries ago were traders by nature. Living alongside the sea, they soon became adept boat builders. Even today, the shipyards in and around Guayaquil regularly turn out ships of all types. However, apart from the plentiful archeological and anthropological evidence found and preserved in the zone and its excellent museums, no buildings or ruins of these ancient cultures have survived.
In 1534, the Spanish conquistador Francisco de Orellana founded the Spanish villa Santiago de Guayaquil, at the foot of the “Cerrito Verde” (now Cerro Santa Ana), thereby marking the beginning of the Colonial period. Three centuries later, during the period of independence, Guayaquil played a major role in the independence of Ecuador and, of course, of the city itself on October 9, 1820.
From the Republican period onwards, Guayaquil has grown until becoming the country’s largest city with a population bordering on 3 million. A recent urban regeneration program has seen the 21st century Guayaquil lovingly restore its Colonial past. Buildings, squares and parks have been regenerated and the most significant monuments in its historical center renovated.
LEGENDS
One of Guayaquil’s most popular legends, dating back to the Colonial period, concerns “La Dama Tapada”. According to the story, one evening a few old-time bohemians were loitering around the Colonial church of Santo Domingo, close to the popular areas of Las Peñas and Cerro Santa Ana. Suddenly, a beautiful woman, dressed in black, appeared before them. Her face was covered by a veil, which only served to arouse the interest of the bohemians, one of whom followed her with the idea of initiating a conversation. As the “Don Juan” approached, the woman uncovered her face, revealing a cadaverous skull … the face of death… a sinister premonition for all-night revelers and drunks. This tale, ingrained in the popular imagination, may well have a more prosaic origin rooted in wives wishing to frighten their wandering and nocturnal husbands and teach them a lesson …
From the Pre-Colombian times comes the story of Tin Tin, accredited to the people of Punáes who inhabited the Golf of Guayaquil and who attributed the birth of a child to the magic worked by the Dios Murciélago (“Bat God”), the Tin, rather than any activity previously undertaken by the parents. Tin was perceived as the God of Life, responsible for implanting and germinating the seed of a new life in the womb of a woman. A distinctly original explanation of the origins of life, conceived by a people who inhabited the zone thousands of years ago ….
