Ecuadorians in the UK

At the time of my trip to Ecuador, the drafting of the new constitution was the topic of much discussion in the media. News came daily from Montecristi where the constitution assembly worked long working days to be able to deliver a final draft by the agreed date. Concepts like 'buena vida' or 'justicia indígena' were welcome by many and regretfully dismissed by others. Ecuadorian migrants abroad were also present (as the Quinta Region represented by the migrants’ assembly members). The hard-line of the Catholic Church managed to make its voice heard using the non-existent mention to the legality of the ‘abortion’. The internal divisions within Ecuador were once again present (Guayaquil vs Quito; Nebot vs Correa).The 2008 Ecuadorian Constitution was approved.

The day of the referendum I happened to be quite far away from Ecuador. It was a chilly Sunday morning leading to an exhausting sunny afternoon. Outside Uganda House, round the corner from Trafalgar Square (London, UK). September 28^th. Ecuadorians living abroad are entitled to vote (as long as they are registered with the embassy). Some of them did, others (rightfully) could not be bothered. In the Ecuadorian consulate in London only 321 people voted (out of 877 registered ones, i.e. 36%); 75% of whom backed the new constitution. I (along with two other PhD students) spent most of that day handing out a questionnaire about the political behaviour of Ecuadorian migrants. Results were also collected in Italy, Spain, Mexico, and the US, for a ‘transnational’ initiative led by Italian sociologist Paolo Boccagni. Data will be processed in due time although the low numbers will not allow to make any generalisation.

The consulate gates were very busy on the day of the Referendum, as the people from ECA (Ecuadorian Community Association) were also collecting data for the ‘Ecuadorian Census in the UK’. It is an amazing initiative, organised by amazing and really welcoming people. Acknowledging the huge vacuum in the information regarding Ecuadorians living in the UK, the people from ECA set up a census to shed light on the numbers, personal features and work characteristics of Ecuadorians living in the UK. It is really thought through, and it can even be access online, so if you are an Ecuadorian living in the UK or know anyone, please register (it is anonymous). It can be extremely helpful to obtain information about the kind of difficulties Ecuadorians living in the UK are experiencing, as a first step to tackle them. This is the webpage:

Primer Censo Ecuatorianos en el Reino Unido

You may also want to have a look at the webpage of the ECA (Ecuadorian Community Association). It is a clear and well-designed webpage with lots of useful information:

http://www.ecuadorian.org.uk

Food (part II)

The ciusine in the Ecuadorian coast is very tasty. It relies on fresh fish caught early in the morning (you can see the housewives and the cooks buying it early in the morning in a colourful noisy show).

The best known dish is ceviche. In Europe the kind of ceviches we can find are cooked in the Peruvian style. There is always the discussion about which country owns the authorship of this dish. Ceviche is in fact a way of cooking using lime, red onion, tomato and coriander, all them finely chopped. I have tried all sorts of ceviches, every place seemed to have their own way of preparing ceviche. There are ceviches of prawn (camarón), fish, clams (concha), crab... The ceviche de camarón is by far my favourite (better even with a freshly cooked chifles - thin slices of plantain deep fried in oil)
After two spectacular failures (one of them involving a large part of my partner's family) it seems as if I've come up with the right recipe. I have doubts about how ortodox it is, but in fact the outcome is really succulent. I've got the recipe from the blog of a female Ecuadorian migrant in the US (http://laylita.com/recipes/). It is worth having a look around as it is packed with beautiful pictures.

Another of my favourite Ecuadorian coastal dishes is fish in peanut sauce. I ate it in a small restaurant in the touristic village of Puerto Lopez, and it was absolutely delicious in its simplicity (no photos of it I´m afraid as the street lights went off at dinner time, as usual).

Food, of course, what else? (part I)

Ecuador is geographically divided in three well differentiated areas: the coastal stripe, the Andean highlands and the Amazon. Unfortunately I have nothing to say about the food in the Amazon as I haven´t been there yet. The foodways strictly follow those physical divisions. Available foodstuffs are very different, even the staples. Rice is the key food everywhere, as a cheap and nutritious side ingredient.

But let´s start talking about food in the Andean highlands, far less interesting in relation with flavour than its coast counterpart, but more symbolically loaded.

Corn is the symbolic foodstuff par excellance. There are lots of different kinds of corn, many different ways of cooking it. Chicha is an alcoholic drink made of corn (originally chewed by women in special occasions, but not anymore), locally produced which is consumed in a number of special events. Morocho is another drink made of corn. It is a warm sweet milky drink incredibly comforting in the cold Andean evenings. I am still wondering how it is actually made. It seems every family has its own way of cooking morocho, and they keep it secret!

Bananas are another staple, both in the Andes and in the coast. It can be stewed, fried, boiled... It is incredibly versatile, especially because there are I don´t know how many different kind of bananas (most of them unknown in Europe). In this photo one of my favourite: patacones, smashed and fried plantain.

Talking about symbolic Andean foodstuffs, cuy is a must. It is guinea pig roasted and marinated in a redish sauce.

In this photo, a mixture between coast and highland dishes: encebollado (a tasty fish soup) and chaulafan (that reminds me of a hybrid between Chinese rice and paella).

to be continued...

That is not the solution

Guayaquil, the second biggest city in Ecuador. The place where inequalities are most obvious. New white walls of the Las Peñas quarter try to hide reality. Poor, dirty houses. Mr Nebot is trying to create an irrealistic oasis poverty-free, crime-free, dirt-free, ... That is not the solution. Conceling dirtiness, poverty and crime does not make them disappear. I was even told off twice for taking my shoes off by a nice policeman. I wonder if there is nothing else they can be work for, apart of telling off hot and tired tourists.

Some outrageous photos:

Green Gold

The province of El Oro, next to the Peruvian border, is known as the 'Green Gold'. You guess why? It is the absolutely covered with banana tree plantations. The photo is blurred, I took it from the coach.



The remaining land is used as huge pools for camarones (prawns) called camaroneras. This activity seems to be responsible of the disappearance of manglares.

The coast is also far more dangerous, or at least this is the impression, as nothing bad happened to us at all. Machala is the main port in Ecuador, and as all portcities is has that mixture of cosmpolitanism, wealth and insecurity.

It´s nice to be back in the coast, after a month in the highlands. Especially because I was absolutely fed up with having rice for breakfast, dinner and supper. Food in the coast has a well-deserved fame. Lots of fresh fish and shellfish, tropical fruits, milkshakes... I think food deserves a post for its own.

Bsoque Petrificado de Puyango

Araucarias enormes (un arbol entre pino y palmera) convertidas en piedra hace millones de años. Muy impresionante.

Cariamanga, dealing with reality

Cariamanga is the capital of Calvas. It is three hours away from Loja city, and here is when I fully realise what will be living in Ecuador next year. There are none of the amenities I take for granted. Not even paved roads. To go everywhere takes ages, even if it is only a few kilometers away. There is dust everywhere. I guess I will get use to eat dust in a daily basis. This area is also quite baren. On the positive side, the views are incredible. I´ve got in love with them.

In relation with the research, remittances are the only think that can possibly supporting this booming economy in the middle of nowhere. This is the only place in Ecuador so far I´ve seen packed fruits. Houses (what I have come to call 'remittance houses') are amazing, the colour of the window glasses match with the colour of the facades! There is a lot to know in here.

My research site will not be Cariamanga itself. It is a much smaller place, but I cannot reveal its name!!! The parish priest will probably help me to first be introduced to the comunity. I hope so.

Vilvabamba, 'the' touristic place in the province of Loja

Vilvabamba is also known as the place of life forever. Villagers state it is because of the pureness of its drinking water. I doub it very much after spend two days throwing up all the liquid I put into my body. I guess the absolutely lack of stress has more to do. That stressfree life can be very stressfull for an European like me, who wonder everyday in the evening what the earth to do with my life till night time (well apart the days I spent ill, in which I didn´t think at all, it was hard enough to try to keep something within my body).

En Vilcabamba hicimos el guiri, guiri... nos fuimos de excursión guiada a caballo!!!! Y aunque las fotos tengan una pinta muy chula, no teneis ni idea de lo que duele el culo y los muslos. Y total, que a mi caballo lo adelantaban las viejas andando. Y yo me pregunto, tanta diferencia hicieron los caballos cuando los españoles llegaron a América? Imagino que los suyos correrian más que mi vago Capuchino (así se llamaba mi caballo).

Loja (city of musicians and artists, well in theory)

Loja is well-known in Ecuador as the capital of the artists and musicians. Well that is just a fame. The city is rather boring, small and boring. Maybe because I had this romantic idea about it. There is almost no research about international migration and remittances in Loja. The two universities of the city (one public, one private) are concerned with issues of agriculture and agro-business and distance education. Communications in the province are by far worse than those in Azuay. Some places are relatively close by it takes ages to get there. And not always one can get there. Research is going to be challenging here.
There is one good thing about the city of Loja: its parks. There are a lot of them, big and really neat. So, I guess I must get into sports next year!

Pues como veis ya estamos en Loja. Llueve, lo que hace que no podamos disfrutar de los parques de la ciudad, lo unico asi realmente bonito. La ciudad es muy alargada, más como un pueblo, y muy tranquila. Ah no!! miento, el domingo estuvimos escuchando a la banda municipal tocando cumbias o yo que sé que era. Para haberlo visto. Imaginaros lo entretenidos que estabamos que casi casi vamos a misa por hacer algo (pero solo casi casi!).

Saraguro (y su vinculo con Bilbao?!)

Between Cuenca and Loja city, the small village of Saraguro welcomed us with a gorgeous day.

Saraguro is the name of the main ethnic group in the South highlands of Ecuador. As with the rest of the indigenous groups in the Andes, clothing and hairdoes make the difference. Men (and this is the first indigenous group I´ve seen in which men keep up with clothes tradition more than women) wear short black trousers, black hats and long black ponchos. I know is silly but for me it is very funny the sight of grown men wearing short trousers.

Saraguros state that they are descendants of the Inca aristocracy that was moved from near Cuzco to this area in Ecuador. They are currently encouraging but they call 'communal tourism', for toursits to stay in private houses and share the daily routines of the community.

As usual, migration come into the conversation. This group has been migrating to rural Spain (Murcia, Almeria, etc.) where they can earn a living working in the huge green houses.

Por cierto, la foto de aqui debajo es de la plaza de Saraguro. Verídico

El azulejo Bilbao en Saraguro!!

Giron (where fiesta lasts for month and a half!!) and San Fernando

Somewhere close to Giron could also be another of my candidates. The fact that the annual fiesta lasts for 45 days could definitely help me to make my mind.




My experience in San Fernando was short but awful. In a misty, cold, pouring evening I got to know I just missed the last bus to get out of the village. Villagers were really amused with our experience. Luckily we managed to find a taxi, and got a lot of information from the driver!!

Despues de caminar un montón cuesta arriba llegamos a una cascada impresionante que llaman el chorro. La verdad, mereció la pena la caminata. Debido a la niebla no pudimos ir a la laguna de Busa, que según los lugareños de San Fernando es digna de verse. Igual otro día, aunque la experiencia en San Fernando no fue nada agradable (sin autobus de vuelta, sin casi dinero, con frio, lluvia, en fin un éxito de sitio).

Parque Nacional de Cajas

Gualaceo, Chordeleg, Sigsig (getting closer)

Gualaceo is a town with an incredible high rate of out migration (mainly to the US). It is called the Azuay´s garden (el jardín azuayo). Still working on that, but one of the parish (this is the smallest administrative division in Ecuador) in this canton could be my home for 6 months next year.

Chordeleg is a even smalled village than Gualaceo. It is well-know for its jewelery. As most of the Ecuadorian villages (a Spanish legacy) are located around a usually very nice square and a colourful church. However, contrary to Spain, houses are well spread, so even a village has very few inhabitants, the village owns quite a lot of space.

The last village of the day is Sigsig. Very quiet, and people still look at foreigners as aliens from a different country! Nonetheless, I must say in spite of their puzzlement they are extremely polite, saying us good morning whenever they see us.

In all the three villages, the effects of migration are easily noticeable. There are houses completely out of place, next to an old small rural house, stands a Miami-like house with dark glass in the windows. There are also all sorts of kinky stationery for graduations, birthdays... a new 'tradition' very likely to come from the US.

Ingapirca

Ingapirca es un yacimiento inca, con restos anteriores de la cultura cañari, en la provincia de Cañar. A la derecha lo que se cree un templo de adoración al sol, aunque se le denomina comunmente 'el castillo'. A la derecha la cabeza del Inca (aunque para mi que podria ser la cabeza del alemán, o el sueco, vamos). Lastima que lloviera.

Cuenca (at last). This is where real work starts

Cuenca is the third biggest city in Ecuador. However, it has a quiet colonial spirit. There is money, that is very easy to realise, as well as the strong links with the US. There is one ad board that fascinates me. It is a box with cooked cuy ( a kind of rabbit which is eaten here in special days) about to be sent to Queens in NY. Surprisingly it is cheaper to call to the US than an Ecuadorian mobile. The strong US improntus is noticeable everywhere. The city is clean, the most European-like we have seen so far in Ecuador.

I am really intersting in the arquitecture colonial legacy. Contrary to the North highlands where the colonial houses are exactly the ones one could find in Extremadura, here in Cuenca, the colonial buildings reminds me of the arquitecture in the North of Spain.

The indigenous landscape becomes more and more complex as time goes by, what allures me more and more. Although in Europe we tend to think about the Inca history of Ecuador, in fact the Incas stayed for less than a century in this area. Thanks to the hairdoes and the clothes it is still possible nowadays to notice the pre-inca groups legacy. The group par excellance in Azuay (the province Cuenca is capital of) is called Cañaris. They speak kitchwa (different from the quechua spoken in Peru) and wear bombin-shaped hats. Cañari women wear colourful skirts and ponchos. And it is not a touristic thing. They do wear those same beautiful clothes wherever they are, even working at their small land plots.

Baños

Baños is probably one of the most beautiful places I have seen in Ecuador so far. Taking a warm bath outdoors while raining and seing the gorgeous landscape (with an active volcano, Tunguragua) is, completely unrelated with the research of course, but so nice!

Quito (again): surviving at 4,100 m

Am I in the Caribbean? Let´s drink another cocktaill while I think about it (Esmeraldas, Atacame and Sua)

Not far away from the region in the previous post, there is the most touristic beaches in Ecuador. The province of Esmeraldas, with an Afro-ecuadorian population (it is so tiring being to different one and people staring at you all the time) is famous for its music, its camarones (small prawns) and its Caribbean-like beaches. I wonder about the migratory patterns of the population in this province (US, Europe, no migration?).

How can anyone live like that? (San Lorenzo)

North coast of Ecuador, close to the Colombian border, a region with FARC guerrilla movement and unbelievable poverty. This is the first time in my life I am face with such an unlivable environment. Dusty paths, muddy puddles, dirty bare-food kids, and wooden hand-made houses with no windows. And the region is incredible fertile. Banana trees and palms everywhere, nature seems to have gone wild in here. And human being seem to have gone crazy somewhere else as well to allow other human being living like this.

Inty Raymi in Imbabura (Otavalo and Ibarra)

The last week has been really interesting for the research. I have met a couple of people with exciting and complex migratory stories. And I didn´t even have to ask them, they gave me all the information!

In the touristic town of Otavalo (world wide famous for its handicrafts) a couple of young kitchua otavaleños (a brother and his sister) we shared the pick-up with and their elder parents. They have two brothers living in the Big Apple selling handicrafts in the streets. He was so willing to go to the US (which he kept on confusing with New York) in spite of his almost lack of geographical knowledge of the country. However he did know quite a lot about visa procedures, deadlines and fees, how can anyone do not know about the Twin Towers collapsing and have such a fine knowledge about tiring official paperwork?!

June 23th, in the town of Ibarra, capital of the province of Imbabura, I met a woman in the bus with an exciting migratory story to tell. I spent the night in her house with she and her teenager dauthger. Fifteen years ago she migrated to Belgium. The story is so long and intriguing that I will write about it somewhere else. The time I spent with her also made me realise of several ethical and methodological issues I must take into account as soon as possible before carrying out any further fieldwork.

Pasamos las fiestas de San Juan, la festividad del Sol para los indígenas otavaleños, en la ciudad de Ibarra. Asistimos al Zapateado, donde las comunidades (una especie de entidad geografica pequeñita, más pequeña que las parroquias, pero con connotaciones étnicas) de toda la provincia se reunian en Ibarra y bajaban zapateando la avenida principal vestidos con una especie de pellizas en las piernas ellos y el traje típico ellas (con una blusa preciosa, con bordados, una falda recta azul, y una especie de sandalias ibicencas). Dormimos en casa de una chica de allí, la casa que se habia construido con el dinero que reunio de su migracion a Europa.

Quito (feliz entre jugos y chifles)

Ecuador is an amazing country! I am crazily in love with the food. People is very kind and very willing to talk about their friends/family in Spain. At last I have a kind of idea of what the research context will be. For the time being I´ve only been in Quito. Tomorrow I´ll head towards the North, to the indigenuos (and touristic) town of Otavalo for the quichua festival called Inty Raymi. It´s the most important pre-catholic festival and the kiwchua-otavaleños (the indifenous group of the region) do know how to celebrate the solstice.


Aqui estamos en Ecuador por fin. Despues de un accidentado viaje (bueno, llamo accidentado a dormir en un hotel de 4 estrellas con cena y desayuno incluido, ¿quien dijo que los retrasos eran malos?). Me encanta. Todos los días empezamos la mañana a la ecuatoriana con un desayuno mmmmmmmm patacones, huevos fritos, tortillas de verde, arroz, humitas (y café, aunque este deja bastante que desear). Y no os podeis creer lo barato y lo maja que es la gente. Bueno, al menos en los sitios a los que vamos, ya sabeis como somos. Se llaman comedores y parece que aqui nadie come en casa. Claro por un dolar y medio tienes una comida (almuerzo que dicen ellos) de rechupete, con zumos de frutas que no habia visto nunca antes (de momento mi favorito es el de tomate de arbol, bueno y el de mora y papaya tambien me gustan mucho). Los jugos (como llaman a los zumos) es como beber agua alli. Pero voy a parar con la comida y contaros un poco del casco historico que es donde nos quedamos. La ciudad de Quito es un chorrizo alargado de 36 km!! que se extiende entre montañas altíiiiiiiisimas, entre ellas el volcán Pinchincha a 4500m (a que todavia no hemos subido, pero todo se andará). Quito está a 2800m y se nota cuando llegas. El primer dia no podia subir ni dos pisos sin que se me saliera el corazon por la boca, y dormi no se cuantas horas de lo cansada que estaba). Hemos ido a la Mitad del Mundo, sin más. El casco historico es preciosos, recien rehabilitado, y muy bien iluminado. Hay muchiiiiiiiiiiiiiiisima seguridad, privada y policias, por todos los lados asi que no sientes sensacion de inseguridad (bueno esta noche mientras dormiamos a eso de las 5 de la mañana Arnau decia que habia oido tiros, pero yo estoy segura que eran petardos). Hoy hemos estado en la ´Capilla del Hombre´ la gran obra de Guayasamin, pintor indigena ecuatoriano (y si, hemos pagado entrada, aclaro para alguna petarda). Impresionante. Ya os enseñare las fotos. Hoy he quedado con uno de mis contactos, un señor muy majo que me ha aclarado muchas cosas sobre Ecuador.

Mañana nos iremos hacia el Norte, a Otavalo por San Juan que es su fiesta grande. Os mantendré informados.

Pre-journey arrangements

In ten days I will be flying to Ecuador (via Colombia as a result of buying cheap tickets, of course). This is the materialisation of a long existing dream. I have been dreaming of getting into the other side of the Atlantic (el charco, the puddle, as it is lovingly referred in Spanish) for I don´t remember how long. Forever, probably.

This flight will also take me to my future 'home' in Ecuador.

I can´t wait to be there, but for the time being I have to content myself with the pre-journey arrangements.


En diez días estaré cruzando el charco. Antes de eso todavía tengo que coger otro avión y terminar todos los ensayos para Inglaterra. Espera que a nadie se le ocurra pensar a estas alturas que investigar equivale a rascarse la barriga ;).