La Rotonda, Sights, Tourist Attractions
La Rotonda is a historical monument that can be found on the waterfront walkway in Guayaquil. To be more specific it can be found in Cdla. Alborada, on Benjamin Carrión avenue on third street and is open from half past nine to eight in the evening. The monument is in a semicircle shape and was designed by the famous Jose Antonio Homs, a Spanish Sculptor, in 1937 to commemorate this occasion. While you are in the area you can also browse the more than forty shops available as you make the most of your day out.
This monument celebrates the mysterious meeting that took place between two Latin American liberators on this very spot. To this day no one knows exactly what they discussed. The two men, Malecón Simón Bolívar and José de San Martín, met on the 26th of July 1822 to discuss what strategies they could come up with to try liberate the continent from Spain’s rulership. From that special but poignant meeting they decided to remove Guayaquil and move it to Gran Colombia. From that night on, Simón Bolivar was left to complete the mission as general in chief without San Martín who left the continent immediately.
Malecón Simón Bolivar was a Venezuelan liberator who became famous for his involvement in freeing countries like Ecuador, Bolivia and Colombia from the Spanish Crown. Similar to Bolívar was his equally famous companion San Martín, the Argentinean who took part in liberating and protecting Peru and Chile from the Spanish control. It was because of these two great men that great Colombia was formed, which included Venezuela and Ecuador.
Six years later Simón Bolívar resigned from being the most powerful man in South America when an assassination attempt was made on his life. From there things went from bad to worse – not only was he suffering with tuberculosis but he was bitter with the way things had turned out. Eventually he chose to step out of the public eye until his death in 1830.
Guayaquil or Santiago de Guayaquil is the biggest city in Ecuador and it is here that you will find attractions like La Rotonda. Guayaquil also has one of the biggest populations in the country, with nearly three million citizens living in and around the city. This sizable population is largely a result of the port of Guayaquil, which plays a significant role in business and trade.
