Cultural Identity
Ecuador is full of beautiful, unique, and special memories. Growing up in a world of culture and tradition and enjoying that atmosphere brought me much interest. And when traveling to New York City at the age of 10, It was surprising how diverse it was. There are many different cultures, traditions, languages, food, and religious practices here. Some events here are like Ecuador, so I applied to participate in events and dance competitions. Also, despite being away from Ecuador and having an opportunity to do something to represent it. I remember participating in a contest a few months after arriving. My passion guided the excitement. Moreover, the dedication that went into that event, in which I was declared the winner and came in the first place.
As the winners, they allow my family to make decisions, decorate the venue and the parade, and lead it with flags and decorations with the other three winners, as well as hand out prizes to the following competitors with the financial help of my godmother. Organizing and being able to distribute gifts for children at Christmas time and due to the parade was a dream come true. It was fun even before I won the dance. The choreography of the tradition is all I wanted to share and perform. Nevertheless, a suggested concern had arisen about the event competition goals of the other participants. They seemed so upset because they wanted the first prize, a new Microsoft Surface laptop, which had just come out at the time. The other participants’ only purpose in competing was to win to obtain the prizes and to please their families, seeing how they were not appreciated for what we did for our tradition. That raised a question of whether it was worth showing people dances they did not enjoy. It was just a spectacle for the contest, but with time I understood that even if their family members were from Ecuador, they had been raised in a different environment with other beliefs. And everyone embraces their own cultural identity, which is something with the time I had lost but is a need to find a person’s identity.
Native Ecuadorian Languages
Growing up in a place, developing a sense of its smells, sounds, and people, remembering that place, and exploring and learning about the culture that was once part of a captivating childhood. Sometimes things are bright and happy, but other times there are places where it is dark and mysterious. Prophecy is being whispered, telling the masters of knowledge with their years of experience what is coming. Thus, as my grandmother says, Ecuador will not die from war or any natural disaster but will disappear because of the bad decisions of its leaders (Dominguez 12). In recent years, Ecuador has gone through many difficult times. Due to several factors, including economic decline, corruption, leadership, and other systemic problems. By learning more about our family’s history, it has become easier to understand how some previous leaders and colonizers affected our country, as well as the enormous impact of the Spanish conquest and the taking of the Incas.
Before the conquest, the indigenous language spoken by most of the population was Quecha, which the Incas spoke, as my grandmother explains how Spanish had become the official language when she was born and raised. However, since she had lived with his grandparents, who spoke Quechua, she learned to communicate over time (Dominguez 13). From time to time, I would hear her talking to some of our neighbors in Ecuador, speaking in Quechua. They would laugh and be surprised that they still remembered the language. She spoke that language back then even though Spanish was declared the official language of Ecuador. She is also able to tell the stories transmitted from her grandfather, who worked for the descendants of the Spaniards. He and other indigenous people who had needs were being mistreated and beaten by them. However, he spoke with admiration of the Savior Eloy Alfaro, who freed thousands of Ecuadorians from slavery, mistreatment, and oppression. Even though he had experienced mistreatment after the war of Eloy Alfaro, he didn’t experience the harsher human inequality as his past ancestors. (Dominguez 6-8). While learning about my subculture, there is historical information that I find hard to believe happened to our ancestors. When researching the Incas and their tradition, which included human sacrifice, and while learning about the many killings of indigenous people by the Spanish, it took much work to understand their point of view. The concern that arose was overwhelming but having an open mind and not having biased arguments helped me learn about each colonizer and their effect on them. In Ecuador, the official language is Spanish. But many indigenous people here speak Quechua, which was the language of the Inca Empire. Additionally, nine other indigenous languages are spoken in Ecuador.
Indigenous Tribes
On the other hand, while learning about my subculture. Coming across other stories about different beliefs which other native people of Ecuador followed was delightful as well; as my grandmother explained that about 20 years ago, she also encountered another indigenous tribe, the Achuar, who lived in the jungle, guarding the riches of the East in the Amazon. They arrived in canoes to the community to get the resources they occasionally needed. Wearing a tunic and speaking in another language. But currently, they are already civilized. They have already become doctors, engineers, and political leaders; even if they travel, they still follow their beliefs and fight for their rights for the Amazon in which they live. Our past President, Rafael Correa, left them very well protected by providing information for many laws and benefits they qualify for and require (Dominguez 11). Acknowledging that there were many more tribes at the time is also essential. Most of the native tribes don’t forget about their ancestors and tradition. They did just try adapting new ideas and languages besides their beliefs. To be able to integrate with the rest. Moreover, as many indigenous groups, there is currently about “7% of Ecuador’s Amerindian population represents much of Ecuador’s rich indigenous heritage, and many indigenous groups with distinct cultural backgrounds comprise that seemingly small percentage. Recent census data represented 13 different indigenous peoples. When considering minority groups, Afro-Ecuadorians are also included in this list, bringing the number to 14” (“Indigenous Cultural Heritage Of Ecuador”). They are found in specific places, especially the Amazon rainforest, and practice the printed ideologies of our ancestors. Although they are well integrated into society, there are current cases of indigenous groups fighting for their rights since they are poorer than other people in the population. This is partly because their societies have been destroyed by colonialism, making it challenging to obtain the same benefits as other people.
As a result, colonization continues to harm Ecuador’s natives. Colonization was a time of sadness and domination for Ecuadorians, where the Spanish murdered many native Ecuadorians. But over time, we have learned to appreciate all the cultures found in Ecuador and religions. As my grandmother explained, our family is incorporated. With community events, we practiced demonstrating our support for our belief background and accepting the new religion presented to us years ago. Although my grandmother considers herself more involved in the religion of being Catholic, she is not ignorant of our traditions (Dominguez 5-7). Both colonizers have brought many new ideas, which has made today’s Ecuador have a balance of both shared ideologies and other indigenous cultures as well. Colonization helped invest in infrastructure and trade and encouraged the spread of medical and technological knowledge.
National Team Creating Unity
Even though many have migrated to other countries, we always carry the colors and memories of our flag in our hearts and minds; as the three tones represent something, yellow is the gold that shows Ecuador’s wealth. The blue represents the Pacific Ocean and the Ecuadorian sky. Red represents the blood spilled throughout history in libertarian struggles. No matter how far away we are or where we go, the values of history follow us and unite us around the world just as our flag unites us. So also, the sport of soccer is being presented by our Equatorial people. Nevertheless, although traveling abroad, the meaning is much more significant; soccer unites people and shows pride and national Unity.
In international events such as the World Cup, Ecuador had its first match on November 20 in the morning. And being able to attend one of the most popular restaurants to watch the game. However, at the restaurant, there was a one-block line to enter. I had to go to another place because it was packed and after going to two other restaurants nearby were also full. So, I had to search for another one where there was space, and they let more people in. And after passing from street to street and seeing so many people with the flags and shirts of the Ecuador team. Within a few minutes, you can finally find a place. I could not believe a game could cause excitement and Unity, observing the people’s joy in having a team representing our country in that place. People were full of excitement and life. They were celebrating for the game to begin, and many people with their partners, families, and children were prepared to watch the game and support the team as everyone watched the screen intently as we prepared to witness the players score the first goal. In the first 18 minutes, we saw how the Ecuadorian team scored the first goal.People celebrated by shouting, clapping, and cheering on the team.
What was most astonishing was that they celebrated without shame by shouting, commenting, and banging on the tables, seeing how the team scored the first GOAL. I suddenly realized that this joy is contagious. Even though years ago, the excitement and interest in my culture had disappeared. At that moment, the emotion that others felt caused an effect, making him feel the same emotion little by little, although as much as I wanted to hide that happiness, it was impossible. From one moment to the next after the game, I watched the match with the same intensity as the others.
The Power of Culture
The Power of being Ecuadorian means having a cultural identity reflected in the knowledge, beliefs, art, law, morals, customs, and other habits, skills, and qualities that people acquire as active members of society. Furthermore, assimilating that the beliefs of the Incas were opposed to the culture and religion of the Spaniards. Since the Incas and their descendants were forced to assimilate into Spanish culture and religion, their pride and faith in their religion could not be altered. Instead of succumbing to Spanish rule, the Inca people incorporated their beliefs into Catholicism and made them their own. This speaks to the resistance of indigenous peoples and Inca culture. They still practiced ancient festivals and worshiped their ancestors, and Catholicism also became important. In addition, both faiths are equally crucial to most of the Ecuadorian population. Although the historical context contains many tragedies, we now live in a newly developing country with unique beliefs.
References
Interview Dominguez, Alicia. Personal interview. November 19
