Festivals
Ecuador has a long tradition of festivals and fiestas, dating from well before the arrival of the Spanish. Many of the indigenous festivals, celebrating, for example, the sun, the movements of the stars or the harvests, became incorporated into the Christian tradition, often resulting in an interesting syncretism of Catholic religious imagery imposed over older indigenous beliefs. Most national holidays , however, mark famous events in post-conquest history and the standard festivals of the Catholic church. Carnaval is one of the more boisterous national festivals, climaxing in an orgy of water fights. No one is safe as children fill streets and balconies, hurling water balloons, squirting water pistols and chucking buckets of water at open bus windows. Local fiestas can also be good fun, and are reasonably frequent, with even small places having two or three a year. Most towns and villages have a foundation day or a saint day festival, and then maybe another for being the capital of the canton (each province is divided into several cantons). Provincial capitals enjoy similar festivals. You can expect anything at these celebrations: music, dance, food, drink, parades, beauty pageants, bullfights, tournaments and markets. In the remoter highland communities, they can be very local, almost private, affairs, yet they'll usually always welcome the odd outsider who stumbles in with a few swigs from the chicha bucket. They'll be much more wary of ogling, snap-happy tourists, who help themselves to food and drink - sensitivity is the key.
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