Ecuador

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Universities and Colleges

The main institutions of higher education in Ecuador include the Central University of Ecuador (1826) and the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador (1946), both in Quito; the University of Cuenca (1868); and the University of Guayaquil (1867).

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Culture

Because the inhabited regions vary greatly in their ethnic makeup, Ecuador is a country of contrasting cultural patterns. The Native Americans of the highlands, the descendants of tribes conquered by the Inca, still play traditional Native American songs on ancient-style flutes and panpipes. The Oriente is populated almost entirely by Native Americans whose ancestors escaped both Inca and Spanish rule and whose customs resemble those of Native Americans of the Amazon Basin. Along the coast, descendants of Spanish settlers and black African slaves have intermingled to produce a culture that is a combination of Spanish and African characteristics.

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Painting and Sculpture

Ecuador was a famous art center during the colonial period. The first of a long line of colonial painters was Adrián Sánchez Galque. He taught Miguel de Santiago, the most famous of all the Ecuadorian colonial artists. Santiago, in turn, taught Nicolás Javier de Goríbar. These three artists formed the “glorious trinity” of colonial Ecuadorian painting. In 18th-century Quito, sculpture flourished through the works of Manuel Chil Caspicara and Bernardo de Legarda. In the 20th century, a generation of talented artists inspired by contemporary Mexican painters arose in Ecuador, including Camilo Egas and Eduardo Kingman, both of whom are muralists, engravers, and oil painters, and Oswaldo Guayasamín, a painter, sculptor, and graphic artist. The works of these artists reflect a sense of Ecuadorian history and a desire for social justice.

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Literature

Colonial literature in Ecuador, like painting of the colonial period, was baroque in style. Baroque literature is characterized by exuberant and often somber emotion presented in an elaborate style rich in imagination and metaphorical imagery. By 1800 Ecuadorian literature came under the influence of neoclassicism and later romanticism. The neoclassical style emphasized common sense, moderation, reason over emotion, and elegance over brevity. Romanticism stressed reliance on the imagination and subjectivity of approach, freedom of thought and expression, and an idealization of nature. José Joaquín de Olmedo, one of the first neoclassic poets of Latin America, was also active in Ecuador's struggle for independence. Juan Montalvo, perhaps the most respected of all Ecuadorian authors, is known for his political essays.

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The best-known Ecuadorian writers of the 20th century include Jorge Icaza Coronel, a scathing novelist with a leftist political slant, whose most famous novel is Huasipungo (1934; translated 1962); José de la Cuadra, a short-story writer; and Alfredo Pareja Díez-Canseco, Demetrio Aguilera Malta, Enrique Gilbert, and Humberto Salvador, all of whom were writers preoccupied with the struggle for social justice.

Quito, the least changed of any of the old colonial capitals of South America, is a fine example of early Spanish architecture. All the arts in colonial days were inspired by the church and reflected the baroque style prevalent in Europe. Many of the churches of Quito are now art galleries as well as places of worship; they contain priceless paintings, altarpieces, woodcarvings, statues, and adornments.

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Libraries

The National Library, founded in Quito in 1792, is one of the oldest in the country and contains about 70,000 volumes. The university libraries in Quito and Cuenca have less extensive collections. Other libraries are maintained in the larger cities.

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