There is a week well-known and celebrated here in Ecuador that forms part of the cultural and religious heritage of the country, the Holy Week. There are a lot of special activities that will let you know more about our traditions and religious beliefs. In Ecuador, most of the population is catholic and the other half confessed that is protestant or don´t have any religious affiliation. The catholic population organize every year a huge procession between 7 churches, where they remember the holy sacrifice of Jesus Christ, make penitence and ask for forgiveness. The tour of «The 7 churches» is a tradition here in my city Guayaquil! In the photos below you can see three of the most emblematic churches:
«La Merced» church credits: André Loor @simpolei
In front of the «San Francisco» church… credits: André Loor @simpolei
In front of the Guayaquil Metropolitan Cathedral… credits: André Loor @simpolei
The Ecuadorian families are very concern not only of the religious activities but also about implementing some beliefs even in their food! As a child I remembered the picture of my grandma Zoila and father grinding the corn, while we wait to receive in our hands the final meal named “humita” (one of the traditional Ecuadorian foods during the Easter, they are made of steamed savory corn and inside of them you can find cheese, they are later wrapped in corn husks)
Another memory I have is that I started to eat “fanesca” because of my grandma Margarita (the mother of my mom), even though she is no longer catholic she kept that habit! In my city there are plenty of places for eating this popular meal, but I choose the Palace Hotel located in the very center of Guayaquil, because they have not only one of the best fanesca soups but also my beloved coconut lemonade, my top drink in the city!
Definitely the most significant dish is the fanesca matted soup. I found the perfect definition and summary of the recipe at the blog of another Ecuadorian food blogger named Laylita: Fanesca is made with salt cod, many different types of beans and grains – both fresh and dry, squash, spices, and many other ingredients. This soup requires a lot of prep work: the fresh grains needs to shucked and cleaned, the salt cod needs to soak for 24 hours, the grains and vegetables are cooked separately. (Source: https://www.laylita.com/recipes/2012/04/01/easter-in-ecuador/)
I only wanted to eat, but the photo needed to be taken! The delicious dish you see is the traditional fanesca. credits: André Loor @simpolei
For this occasion I was in a more classic mood! The weather in Guayaquil changed a lot; we are now in the rainy season, so at the beginning I had a bright sun and then the sky turned out to gray and start to rain. So my boyfriend took very quickly some photos, I really hope you enjoy it! He is a very talented photographer but I am a really shy model, you will notice that in the picture…l decided to match a bicolor dress (the flag of my city has both colors : white and light blue) with sandals of a blue color, a white Dumont hat and a brown leather bag. And then I stand in front of the three most emblematic churches in my city!
credits: André Loor @simpolei