Otavalo

Otavalo is a town of Ecuador located at the north of the Andean area (Sierra) in the province of Imbabura (altitude: 2 530 meters). Its population is roughly of 25 000 inhabitants.

The colonial city of San Luis of Otavalo was founded in year 1.534 by Spanish. It then obtained to the statute of city in 1829 by a decree of Simon Bolivar president of Grande Colombia.

Otavalo is also the name of the one of the native-born people of Ecuador pertaining to Kichwa nationality (Quechuas) and counting approximately 65 000 members in the province.

The usual languages are the runasimi (Quechua) and Spanish.

Economic activities

The economy of Otavalos is based mainly on the trade of the artisanal products, the music, tourism and in a less proportion the breeding and agriculture. The Otavaleños were devoted to the national and international trade as authentic ambassadors of their people and Ecuador. One meets them in the various continents.

Weaving is the principal artisanal production. There have existed many artisanal workshops, but also for a few decades of the modern factories created by certain families, which has as a consequence the increase in the productivity and the synthetic fiber introduction to replace wool of ewe as well as the abandonment of original creations for models carried out in series especially intended for the marché.
The other artisanal activities of the area of Otavalo are the embroidery, ceramics, the woodcarving and basket making.

The notoriety of the local craftsmen is one of the reasons which makes city one of the most attended tourist sites country. The large market of Saturday attracts large crowd. Combined with the colonial charm of the center town and the beauty of the neighborhoods, these assets made it possible Otavaleños to reach a level of economic development higher than that of the other indigenous populations of Ecuador.

Cultural activities

In all the Kichwas communities of the mountain and especially in Otavalo, the festival of Inti Raymi (festival of the sun) or harvests takes place starting from June 21st and represents the principal annual festivity. This pre-Hispanic tradition is coupled with the Christian festival of San Juan. On this occasion, the men bathe in the rivers or under the cascades at midnight or at dawn in a ritual ceremony intended to obtain forces for the dance. Are formed then in each community of the groups of disguised and masked dancers who move towards Otavalo where they “conquer” the streets and the places. Each community thus gains the right to dance there for then going to the church of San Juan.

The Otavalos communities, are organized in councils, agricultural and artisanal associations and co-operatives of economy and credit. The two organizations representative of the Kichwa-Otavalo people within the national confederations are the FICI (member of CONAIE) and Unorcac. Otavalos, continue a process of reaffirmation of their cultural identity.

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