Unlock the Treasures of Ecuadorian Culture

The first thing to realize about Ecuadorian culture is that it is not one single culture. Instead it is a whole range of cultures mingled together, representing every level of this very stratified community.

Ecuador's official language is Spanish, but Quichua - an Incan language - is spoken by the Indian population. Besides Spanish, ten native languages are spoken in Ecuador. English is the most spoken foreign language amongst tourism service providers and professionals.

The Afro-Ecuadorians that are present in Ecuador today are famous for their marimba music and many music and dance festivals. Long before the Spanish conquered Ecuador and even before the rise of Incan civilization, the diverse native cultures of the region had rich musical traditions. Music played an important role in the ancient Andean people’s lives and archaeologists have found some very old instruments, such as, drums, flutes, trumpets and other musical artifacts, in ancient tombs.

The Ecuadorians have a distinctive type of dress code. The men and especially the woman in each region of Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands can be easily identified by their dress as it is displays specific cultural diversities that are characteristic of that particular region. A major aspect of Indian identity is present in Ecuador. People that are familiar with the native dress can often tell roughly where an Indian is from, based on what they wear.

Ecuador has some very tasty and very strange combinations in their cuisine. You can expect to find some lemon marinated shrimps, toasted corn on the cob and a huge variety of pastries filled with all types of different stuffing.

As with all other places in the world, Christmas is celebrated in Ecuador. If you want the best and most original Christmas celebration, you should go to Cuenca on the 24th of December where the Pase Del Nino is held.

User Comments & Reviews: 43 Comment(s)

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Ecuador.com Team - 2011-05-19 07:11:05

Thank you for posting your comments on Ecuador.com. We strive to present information about Ecuador that is interesting and informative. We appreciate feedback from visitors to our site - especially when that feedback is positive! Enjoy the rest of the site. -- Best wishes, Ecuador.com Team

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Middle School Spanish IB student - 2011-05-18 22:42:14

This helped me a lot with my project I didn't have to go to 10 different sites this time just to answer 1 question! :D

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alex - 2011-04-26 23:08:20

this site helped me thanks

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Spanish I Student - 2011-04-06 17:37:16

Thanks a ton! This site is so helpful. Finished my project the day it was assigned! My partner was like "How did you get all that?!"

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Blackk Barbiee - 2011-04-04 16:04:19

this is a really really good website&&i would tell anyone to go to this site but....i wish there was more about the culture....i didn't understand the dress code part but this did help me with my project.!!!((: thanks(:

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Adi - 2011-03-13 23:38:54

thanks a lot this really helped me in my project

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cutie pie - 2011-03-09 12:57:02

thanks this will help me alot on my project.... you saved my life!!

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Gracy Martin - 2011-02-14 04:54:25

This is so great information for me. thanks a lot for this.

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