Traveling through Ecuador

In the past two weeks, I have seen a variety of cultures here in Ecuador. I have stayed in Quito, Intag, Otavalo, Yasuní National Park, Baños, and Cuenca. On the map, these cities are spread out through most of Ecuador and have quite a few differences. I have gathered from observations, that in every town we have visited there are two obvious classes of people: modern people and the indigenous. Indigenous people seem to have remained away from the eurocentric values that have reached most societies. They dress in classic attire; the color of the outfit depends on their origin. For the most part, a dark skirt, white blouse, colored scarf, and a long braided hair describes the indigenous woman.  Male attire is similar replacing the skirt with slacks, but altogether the indigenous people are easy to recognize because their clothes do not conform to the modern world. Although they do not socially conform to globalization, they are not untouched by the evolution of technology and communication. The expansion of cities has effected the simple life of indigenous Ecuadorians by taking their land and polluting the environment, which in turn, has pulled them into the world of the American dollar (the currency of Ecuador). Many indigenous Ecuadorians make their living by selling food and hand-crafted goods on the streets and in the markets. Some of these goods are hand-woven baskets, hand-carved instruments, hammocks, jewelry and alpaca scarves, blankets, ponchos, and sweaters. Although very crafty, some of the indigenous people of Ecuador seem to be the poorest class of people in the places I have traveled to.

The urban, middle class seems to be quite similar to Americans. Adults work during the week; people like to go out dancing on the weekends, and many people use Facebook. My generation is glued to their cell phones, and children watch the same cartoons, translated to Spanish. From our modern culture I remember seeing: Barney, Spongebob, Woody the Woodpecker, Lion King, the Little Mermaid, Puma, Fox Racing, Abercrombie, Nike, Adidas, Coca Cola, and Nestle. American music is also popular here, I have heard a variety of music ranging from the Beatles to Taylor Swift. Other than American music, reggaton is very popular, which is Spanish music with a dance beat.

Although the houses in the rural cities seem torn apart, there are not many social differences from the people that I have had a chance to interact with and the people in America. I think the relation of modern Americans with Native Americans and modern Ecuadorians with indigenous Ecuadorians is similar. Each group of natives has had their land taken which forces them to comply with modernization. They both also stay true to their traditional attire and use their artisans as their source of income rather than getting a nine to five.