National Curfew in Ecuador

We are not allowed to leave our flat today; the entire country is in lock-down. Only a select few are allowed outdoors. It’s not another coup attempt or other national emergency. Far more mundane, it’s census day in Ecuador.

To make sure that everybody is included, everybody has to stay at home and wait for the knock on the door. Considering how carefully the census organisers are being to ensure everybody is surveyed, it is strange that the actual data collection is entrusted to school children. That’s right, today every single household is being visited by school children. Anybody found outdoors today, not in either a police or school uniform is likely to be arrested or fined. To show that we have participated, we get a sticker on our front door. Presumably lacking this sticker also gets you in trouble.

Even stranger, to make sure nobody is drunk when surveyed, there is a complete nationwide ban on the consumption of alcohol. The prohibition period is much longer than the actual census period and has been in force since midnight on Friday 26th and lasts until midday on Monday 29th. So I have been in all day, and even if I went out all public transport is suspended and all shops are closed.

Being under house arrest has at least given me the opportunity to catch some Ecuadorian daytime TV, and take this photo. Bumble bee man isn’t just a character in the Simpsons. There really is such a person on Latin American TV.

This TV show is popular is shown across Latin America and always features this insectoid character

Working for the Yankee Dollar

Ecuador doesn’t really have a national currency anymore.  Since the year 2000 the US dollar has been the official currency. This has apparently brought economic stability, but presumably eroded cultural identity somewhat. The bank notes are identical to US dollar bills and they also use the one dollar coin extensively here, unlike in the USA itself. The coins of less than a dollar are minted specifically for Ecuador, and the minor unit is the centavos, not the cent.  Though they are the same size as US cent coins and are interchangeable here.


The main one dollar coin that is in circulation is a year 2000 mint bearing the image of an indigenous woman with child. This gives the coin an Ecuadorian feel. However, it is in fact still a USA coin and displays the words ‘In God We Trust’. The indigenous women pictured is Sacagawea  a North American Shoshone Indian guide who aided explorers in 1804.

The adoption of the US dollar has served to attract many estadounidenses* to live in Ecuador. Particularly, retirees who find that there US pension goes a long way here. The city of Cuenca is particularly popular with retirees from the USA.


At the time of writing one USA/Ecuador dollar is worth about 63pence in British money.  The cost of living is very low compared to Britain. Intercity bus travel costs about $1 per hour. A dollar will also buy you a taxi ride equivalent to a 25 minute walk, or a dozen oranges from a street vendor. You can easily rent a good apartment in the capital, as we did, for under $500 per month. In general things cost only about a half  to a third of what they would cost in Britain. Though some imported goods as just as expensive, brand name sports shoes for example still cost a minimum of $60 a pair.


Pay for teaching English varies tremendously, but the minimum is usually about $7 per hour. One job I had recently paid around $20 per hour. In addition, the tax rate is low. I pay only 8% and even this I can apparently claim back as a non-resident. This is a breath of financial fresh air. I was paying 40% of my pay as tax while working in the UK.
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* estadounidense is a Spanish word for somebody or something from the United States of America. English doesn’t have a word specifically for this, so most English speakers just say American. However, this grates with the majority of people who live on the American continent but are not from the USA. 

Day of the Dead

The day of the dead is a festival celebrated across Latin America. It isn’t as spooky as it sounds, at least not in Ecuador. The main activity of the day is visiting the cemetery to spend time at the graves of dead family members, but this is not just a flying visit to drop off some flowers as it might be in the UK. The whole family comes along, and they spend much of the day at the grave. They bring food and have a sort of picnic, they tend to the grave and add ornamental crosses or flowers. Of course as everybody in town is doing this on the same day, the graveyard becomes quite crowded. In addition, there may be market traders around (or in) the cemetery, supplying the crowds with food and religious wares. Overall, the festivities transform the graveyards into something you would rarely ever see in the UK. There may even be entertainment laid on.

Andean rock band Cocha Marka playing ive at Otavalo cemetery

The day of the dead is celebrated on November 2nd, which this year was a Tuesday, in Ecuador November 3rd is an Independence day. This year the government gave Monday as ‘bridge’ public holiday which means most people have had a five day weekend.  Consequently, everybody in Ecuador has gone away somewhere. We took the opportunity to come to Otavalo in the northern highlands. This town is famous for its indigenous textiles and its markets, but is also a good place to observe the customs of day of the dead.

The day that it is celebrated on is actually all souls day in the Catholic religion, and the day of the dead is likely an indigenous adaptation of this European religious custom. Christianity is big over here, and has been since the Spanish arrived with Columbus. However, it tends to be integrated with traditional local customs, particularly by the indigenous groups. An example of this is the Ecuadorian custom of eating guaguas de pan- little dolls made of bread, with colada morada-  a think fruity drink that looks like blood and guts. The combination is reminiscent of the Catholic bread and wine – body and blood symbolism. This is likely an example of syncretism, the merging of religious belief systems to avoid conflict. It isn’t at all uncommon, and is for example why Easter in the UK is celebrated with eggs and bunny rabbits; these native customs were syncretised with Christianity when Pagan Europeans adopted that Middle Eastern religion.

Guaguas de pan, these are from a supermarket, better ones are sold by street vendors

Guagua and colada morada

I visited the cemetery in Otavalo on the day of the dead, and it was a struggle to get through the crowds to get there. The last few hundred yards of the route were lined with traders selling guaguas, fruit and other food. When I arrived the cemetery was packed and there was a stage set up for an Andean rock band to play. I bought a CD. There was a balloon seller and hundreds of families spending time at the family graves. It is quite a scene, but I coudn’t stay long as it felt something of an invasion of privacy, and being the only gringo there, I stood out as a gawky tourist. Nevertheless, I wasn’t the only one there who took photographs. Locals were doing that too, and I didn’t encounter any hostility.