Craftspeople of Quito

Since time immemorial, the crafts created by dextrous and deft hands down the ages have been an essential component of what is often called a people’s “popular culture”. In Ecuador, this culturala manifestation reflects the traditions of the country: enigmatic, at-once pure and mixed, urban and rural, unique and yet commercial.

Since time immemorial, the crafts created by dextrous and deft hands down the ages have been an essential component of what is often called a people’s “popular culture”. In Ecuador, this culturala manifestation reflects the traditions of the country: enigmatic, at-once pure and mixed, urban and rural, unique and yet commercial.

Ecuador’s crafts in all their remarkable diversity are much more than a collection of folkloric objects. The objects safeguard the collective history of the country’s inhabitants, people who remember the techniques imported during colonial times or who breathe life into indigenous ancestral techniques using local materials, or else crafted completely original objects inspired by nothing more than the their fertile imaginations.

Over the last year, the city of Quito has carried out various projects with artisans living and working in the historic centre of the city. The fruit of this labour is that now travellers can visit the artisans in situ, meeting the people behind the crafts and learning more about their passion and their lives directly. It’s a wonderful opportunity to cross the tourist/host divide and step into a world of creativity.

A new guide, in Spanish (and published in English in 2008), The Artisan Wealth of Quito, Guide to the Artisans of Metropolitan District of Quito; covers such crafts as ceramics, wax working, wood-carving, mazapán (figures made from dough), metalwork, saddle-making, stonemasonry and textiles.

The guide highlights the work of 32 artisans working in the capital, all of whom have workshops that can be visited where their products are sold. This is a great way for travellers to come into contact with the people behind the crafts, as opposed to buying them off the shelf of a shop. With the help of a guide or a bit of Spanish, the stories of the artisans´ family history and their vision of their craft come alive. An object thus becomes far more than just the sum of its physical properties.

The guide also covers the various artisan centres in and around Quito where crafts are sold. These include the Centro Artesanal El Indio (Roca 750 and Amazonas), the Mercado Artesanal La Mariscal (Jorge Washington and Juan León Mera), the Centro de Exposiciones y Ferias Artesanales [CEFA] (12 de Octubre y Madrid), the Ciudad Mitad del Mundo (Middle of the World monument complex) and El Quinde, the Quito Visitors´ Bureau visitor centre and shop at Venezuela and Chile, on the ground floor of the Municipality´s offices, on the east side of Plaza de la Independencia (Grande).

The guide is available for sale in the Quito Visitors´ Bureau main visitor centre, on Plaza Grande (de la Independencia), price $3.