Alayna and the Wonders of Ecuador

            The diet of Andean indigenous people before the Spanish arrived was mainly maize, squash, legumes, quinua, tubers, and various other wild plants and fruits. When the Spanish came, they influenced the Andean diet with the introduction of wheat, barley, vegetables, sugarcane, fruits, sheep, pigs, cows, and chickens. Both the original diet constituents and the new ones are still present as a significant part of Andean cuisine.             Today, the sierra region of Ecuador faces more challenges related to food than the oriente and the costa regions. There is more poverty and less awareness of nutritional value of the foods they eat. With less money to spend on food and an imbalanced food market, unhealthy foods are cheaper and easier to access than healthy foods and natural crops. Many people in Ecuador still do provide food for their families by planting on the l...

            In Otavalo, the native Indians have kept much of their culture and many of their daily rituals, even after Spanish conquest, Ecuadorian independence, and a shift in other towns and cities to modern life. They are proud that they have not changed and do not want to change. If anyone from another place comes to Otavalo and tries to change the Indians—make them blend more with the modern life that surrounds them—this outsider is ostracized, and the Indians want little or nothing to do with them.             The Quechua word “causay” at the time of the 16 th century had many meanings. Over time, the meaning of this word evolved to “kawsay” and its meaning changed to being a concept of “good living” or “sweet life.” An implication of this word is good health, including eating clean foods and taking care of one’s body. Further implied with kawsay is social justice an...

            In the last few decades there has been a mass migration out of Ecuador. The two main places Ecuadorians go to are the United States and Spain. In the United States, the most popular places they migrate to are Chicago, New York, and Minneapolis. Today Ecuadorians make up one of the largest groups of immigrants in New York and its suburbs. Ecuador also has many immigrants coming to the country, most notably from Peru and Colombia. One of the first reasons Ecuadorians began migrating to the U.S. was because of the economic fall of the Panama hate trade in the 1950s. Ecuadorians hand-wove Panama hats and sold and traded them to people who took them to the U.S. this was a significant part of their income, so when the business fell they needed to do something to keep themselves afloat financially. Many Ecuadorians followed the trail routed by the hate trade to New York, where they intended to make a decent living and then eve...