The Embassy of the Republic of Ecuador is inviting you at the Horticulture Building this Friday, August 11th to dive into a unique Ecuadorian atmosphere with food tasting, musical celebrations, artistic performances and more!
Ecuador is a representative democratic republic located in the northwestern of South America. Ecuador was so named because of the equatorial line, which delimits the northern hemisphere and the southern hemisphere, crosses the country from east to west.
It is the country with the highest concentration of rivers per square kilometer in the world. Ecuador has a developing economy which is highly dependent on commodities, petroleum and agricultural products. Ecuador has oil reserves but not refineries that process it and turn it into fuel. Therefore, the Ecuadorian governments have sold oil exploitation to foreign oil companies. The country is classified as a medium-income country.
Ecuador is famous for the Galápagos Islands which have a vast number of endemic species studied by Charles Darwin, a celebrated English naturalist who developed his theory of the evolution of the species by natural selection.
Ecuador achieved its independence from Spain in 1822, and from the Gran Colombia in 1830. Its population is descended from Amerindian groups, which were incorporated into the Inca Empire, as well as Mestizos and Europeans.
There are approximately seventeen indigenous languages which can be heard throughout the country. Quichua is the most common of those national languages and continues to be taught in some schools in rural areas. Even so, Spanish is the official language and is spoken by a majority of the population.
Ecuador has beautiful and important cities. Its capital city is Quito, whose historic center was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978. It is about 3000 meters high, in the Andes mountain range reason why the whole city is in the middle of huge mountains.
Although Quito is the capital, Guayaquil is considered the largest city in all Ecuador, not to mention that Cuenca, the third-largest city, is considered the best example of the Spanish-style colonial not only in Ecuador but also throughout the American continent.
In Ecuador, there are 84 volcanoes of which 25 of them are still active. This means they could erupt at any time. One of the most famous is the Pichincha volcano. The inactive volcano Chimborazo is the highest point in Ecuador with 6313 meters. Due to its position next to Ecuador, it can be said that it is the point of the Earth closest to the Sun.
Ecuador is famous for the cultivation of orchids. There are more than 4000 varieties of this plant. At the same time, hummingbirds are also common in Ecuador. There are 150 different species of them, which you can see in the metropolitan areas. Ecuador also has the original and beautiful Ecuadorian hats, also called “panama hat” which is made with Toquilla straw.
Ecuador is the first country in the world to export bananas. Almost 30% of world consumption comes from this country, and Canada is included in this percentage. As if it were not enough, due to its climate, Ecuador is the country that has the best quality roses, with approximately 60 varieties of them.
In terms of its relationship with Canada, the Embassy of Ecuador in Ottawa points out that “Ecuador and Canada have a long tradition of friendship and cooperation, inspired by values and shared principles, including the maintenance of peace, promoting democracy, respect for human rights, sustainable development with equity and social inclusion, protection of the environment, defense of the rule of law, which are fundamental pillars to ensure progress and achieve well-being for our peoples in a framework of freedom and security.”
“Canada is home to a large number of Ecuadorian citizens who, with their efforts, tenacity, dedication, and intelligence, are fully integrated and contribute to the prosperity of this country.”