This week we will celebrate the festivities in Quito with a short program of events. The celebrations could be reduced without protesting. Bread and circus, neither. Ecuadorian custom is to celebrate on the eve of a holiday, and the day before any commemoration or celebration is dedicated to rejoicing, consuming food and drink, games and dancing. The next day, the day of commemoration, is usually dedicated to rituals and formal actions, but above all to rest from the excesses of the previous night. The party takes place on December 24th, not Christmas Day, and December 31st, not New Year’s Day. Therefore, in the festivities for the foundation of Quito, the important thing was the “5th”, the night before December 6, the day when, according to the documents, Spanish rule was established over the city that already existed in this city. area for millennia. So, by moving the mandatory holiday to a day other than the 6th, the joy of the 5th lost its meaning.

The beliefs and myths of ancient Quito are explored in the play

There will also be concerts and cultural events, but they can be held on February 29, September 30 or any irrelevant date, since on the 7th we will already be heading to a beach or that jungle, enjoying nature during a long vacation . Genuine parties do not need state or parastatal support. Whether religious, like Christmas, Easter, or All Souls’ Day, or more pagan than secular, like New Year’s, people follow their gastronomic or cultural traditions without public bodies organizing recitals or fairs. Real fun comes from deep-seated cultural awareness. This explains why almost all the so-called “public holidays”, created by decree, are so little visited. There is nothing behind them, except the painful effort of the bureaucratic State to be recognized as a “homeland”.

Nacho will sing for free during the festivities in Quito: find out which other artists will be part of the concert

And there was another important reason that conspired against the spirit of festivities in Quito, which did not arise out of nowhere. About 65 years ago, only scientists knew the date of this “foundation”, which was unearthed from the colonial archives, however, its commemoration immediately came to life. What was the reason for such sudden success? Because it is set around the fair at a high level. It consisted of concentrating and regulating the type of celebration that had been celebrated since the first years of the Spanish presence. They could be held in squares or in closed streets. It is known that there were no more or less bulls than at the corner of La Compañía church. They were stormy and irregular events, but their frequency used to exceed fifty per year. In the 20th century, they were regulated and formalized, and from the 1960s onwards they concentrated on the Feria de Jesús del Gran Poder, a ceremony that gave meaning and solemnity to the newly established founding ceremonies. With the banning of this consecration ritual, the festivities fell into disrepair. All those who have any possibility of leaving have spread throughout the country and abroad. An exodus that is an image, consequence and metaphor of a city whose inhabitants spread across the valleys and other areas, leaving the urban area weakened and collapsed. (OR)