Quito Club Hours and Ecuadorian Festivals and Holidays

SAE Quito will be closed, due to National Holidays on...

Holidays and Festivals in Ecuador

JANUARY

1

National holiday Vacation all over the Country. New Year’s festivity. Costume parties, dances, masquerades.

6

AMBATO (Tungurahua) Epiphany. The “Niño” mass (baby Jesus), Christmas carols, processions.

CUENCA (Azuay) Epiphany. The “Niño” mass (baby Jesus), Christmas carols.

GATAZO GRANDE (Chimborazo) Epiphany, fireworks, praises, election of stewards and other typical characters of the parade.

LICÁN (Chimborazo) Epiphany, praises, processions, stewards and kings.

MONTECRISTI (Manabí) Epiphany, popular bands and dances.

TISALEO (Tungurahua) Festivity mass, strip weaving, “Niño” (baby Jesus) vigil.

CHILLOGALLO (Quito-Pichincha) Masquerade.

CALPI (Chimborazo) Epiphany, praises, popular bands.

PUJILÍ (Cotopaxi) Isinche Grande Hacienda. “Niño de Isinche” worship. (Baby Jesus from Isinche). Epiphany, clowns, praises, chief cowboys.

FEBRUARY

1

MIRA (Carchi) Charity Virgin Festivity, dances, ball games, fireworks, jump of the bonfire.

12

National Holiday Amazon & Galapagos Day. Amazon´s River discovery anniversary. Civic events.

27

National Holiday Civicism & National Unity Day. Remembrance of the Tarqui Battle. Honors to the flag from all the sixth and twelve grade students. Civic activities.

MARCH

3

ATUNTAQUI (Imbabura) Representation of the Via Crucis (Calvary) in the Good Friday’s night.

4

GUALACEO (Azuay) The Peach Festival , fruit and flower exposition, raft in the Santa Barbara river.

30

SARAGURO (Loja) Fruit festivity.

APRIL

19-21

RIOBAMBA (Chimborazo) Folk dances, parades, vervains, agricultural, industrial, artisan and cattle fairs. Folk parades, popular bullfights.

22-26

IBARRA (Imbabura) Latinamerican Artisan Exposition and Popular Fair

28

IBARRA (Imbabura) In 1872 the city of Ibarra is victim of a huge earthquake, leaving in ruins the whole city. Four years later, people from Ibarra return to the same spot, and with a thanksgiving mass celebrate the day of the “return”

MAY

2

CUENCA (Azuay) Special mistic programs will be held at the “Cruz del Vado” neighborhood. Mass, fireworks, folk concerts.

OÑA (Azuay) The Cross festivity. Dance, popular bands, masquerade.

3 CHECA (Pichincha) Lord of the Good Hope. Religious festivity. Typical games, balloons, popular bands, card games.

11-14

EL PUYO (Pastaza) Agricultural, poultry and industrial fair from the amazonic provinces.

24

National Holiday Pichincha Battle anniversary. Parades, cultural activity. JUNE

22

OTAVALO-COTACACHI (Imbabura) Saint John’s festivity. Branch ceremony. Popular bullfights, costumes, Saint John’s dance, jump of the bonfire.

SANGOLQUÍ (Pichincha) Festivity of the corn. Parades, chorus, artisan’s expositions, popular bullfights.

CALPI(Chimborazo) Party of the “Gallo compadre” ( The friend rooster). Traditionally, the rooster gets drunk and then buried. The best horse rider is the one that pull out the animal. Fireworks, fire castles.

28 – 29

CAYAMBE, ALAUSÍ, TABACUNDO, CHECA, LICÁN, LA MAGDALENA, PIMAMPIRO Y POMASQUI Saint Peter’s and Paul festivity. Fireworks, popular bands, popular bullfights, jump of the bonfire, costumes, typical food.

JULY

3-29

SANTO DOMINGO DE LOS COLORADOS (Pichincha) Santo Domingo’s Canton anniversary, parades, dances, agricultural and poultry expositions.

16

IBARRA (Imbabura) Procession for the “Virgen del Carmen” (religious figure), popular bands, fireworks

22

PELILEO (Tungurahua) Pelileo’s Canton anniversary, civic parades, morning announcement.

23

MACHACHI (Pichincha) “Chagra” (andean cowboy) feast. Horse paredes, popular bullfights, popular bands, cattle exposition, typical food, dances.

23 - 25

GUAYAQUIL (Guayas) City’s foundation anniversary. Parades, dances, art expositions and several cultural events. International beauty contest “Perla del Pacífico”.

29

PÍLLARO (Tungurahua) Saint James the Apostle classic day. Popular bullfights, dances.

AUGUST

5

ESMERALDAS(Esmeraldas) Celebration of the city’s independence day. Agricultural, artisan and poultry fair, typical dances and music, parades.

5-7

SICALPA (Chimborazo) “Virgen de las Nieves” (Virgin of the Snow) festivity, fire castles, clowns, traditional characters, typical food.

10 FIESTA CIVICA NACIONAL Conmemoration of the first proclamation of Independence. Military parades, civic and artistic events.

YAGUACHI (Guayas) San Jacinto festivity. Religious feast, Massive peregrination.

15-20

EL CISNE (Loja) Festivity in honor of the Virgin of “El Cisne”, Three-day .massive peregrination through 200 kilometers. Cultural events, fireworks .

SEPTEMBER

LOJA (Loja) Festivity from “El Cisne” continues, fairs, typical dances, masquerades, horse races, cockfights, popular songs.

2-15

OTAVALO (Imbabura) “Yamor” festivities. Indigenous beauty contest, popular dances, typical foods and beverages offer. Folk music.

EL CINTO (Pichincha) Festivity in honor of the “El Cinto” Virgin, stewards, fireworks, processions. 6-14

COTACACHI (Imbabura) Festivity of the “Jora”. Folk dances, typical food and cultural events.

8-9

MACARÁ (Loja) Agricultural and cattle fairs, traditional shows and spectacles.

SANGOLQUÍ (Pichincha) Popular bullfights, dances and parades.

11-16

MILAGRO (Guayas) Agricultural and cattle fairs, car races, shows and cultural events.

20-26

MACHALA (El Oro) The Banana World Fair. Artisan exposition, beauty contest.

LATACUNGA (Cotopaxi) Festivity in honor of the “Mercedes” Virgin. Mass, processions.

23-24

LATACUNGA (Cotopaxi) Masquerades, typical bands, fireworks, Midnight Mass. The “Mama Negra” (Black Mother) parade. Characters of the festivity: the captain, clowns, sheperds, musicians, military, typical songs, praises, typical food.

QUITO (Pichincha) Festivity in honor of the “Mercedes” Virgin, vigil, bands, fireworks, fire castles, midnight mass. Procession near the Merced church.

PIÑAS (El Oro) Production fair. Shows and events

24-28

IBARRA (Imbabura) Festivity of the lakes. Car races in the Yahuarcocha lagoon, verbains, beauty contests, industrial, agricultural and cattle fairs.

OCTOBER

9

National Holiday Guayaquil’s independence anniveresary. Concerts, sport events, parades, regattas, and many artistic shows.

NOVEMBER

2

National Holiday All-souls Day. Great concurrency to cemeteries. People furnish the graveyards with flowers and cards. They stay all day near the graveyard and “share” the food with the defunct. Typical food is the “Colada Morada” (Purple Porridge), beverage made of fruits and aromatic herbs, and the “Guaguas de Pan” (bread babies), which is bread in the form of a human body.

3

CUENCA (Azuay) National Holiday. Cuenca’s independence anniversary, parades, artistic expositions, cultural events and artisan fairs.

4

MANTA (Manabí) Manta Canton’s anniversary, parades and festivities.

21

EL QUINCHE (Pichincha) Festivity in honor of the “El Quinche” Virgin. Thousands of devoted people go to the church ipraying for miracles and favors from the image of the Virgin.Commercial fair.

DECEMBER

1-6

QUITO (Pichincha) Quito’s spanish foundation anniversary. Parties in all the city. Bullfights, parades, sports events, wooden car races, tournaments. Beauty contest, dances and celebrations in the streets and parks.

8

GUANO (Chimborazo) Festivity in honor of the Guano Virgin. Stewards, bands, typical food

24

National Holiday Christmas. Representation of the Holy Family, Christmas carols, midnight mass. Religious festivity. “Pase del Niño" (Baby Jesus parade) in every city.

31

National Holiday New Year’s Eve. Burning of the “Año Viejo”, (Old Year), a doll that symbolizes this date. Dances, “widows”.

OTHER HOLIDAYS (no specific date)

GOOD FRIDAY (MARCH-APRIL)

QUITO (Pichincha) Procession in honor of “Jesús del Gran Poder”. Religious parade.

COTACACHI (Imbabura) Representation of the Calvary and the Crucifixión with the participation of natives.

RIOBAMBA-CHAMBO (Chimborazo) Night procession in honor of the “Señor del Buen Suceso”

GUAYAQUIL (Guayas) Procession in honor of the “Señor del Buen Suceso”

CARNIVAL (FEBRUARY MARCH)

AMBATO (Tungurahua)

Fruits and Flowers festivity. Folk parade. Folk parade. Art and artisans expositions. Bullfights.

GUARANDA (Bolívar) Traditional three-day carnival, folk parades, dances, typical food (the “Blue Bird”, typical alcoholic beverage), games with water an flour.

ESMERALDAS (Esmeraldas) Party of the King

CORPUS CRISTI (JUNE)

CUENCA (Azuay) Candy fair, fire castles, fireworks.

PUJILI (Cotopaxi) Folk masquerades with dancers. Popular games, popular festivities.