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JUNE 2012
•
HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
pork) marinated in amixture that includes
ground
achiote,
giving the dish its red color
as well as its name. You wolf it down.
A mile north in the village of
Peguche
,
you meet José Catacachi, an Otavaleño
who demonstrates a traditional loom-
weaving technique and shows you how
he makes dye from the blood of a cactus
worm. Around the corner, musician and
cra sman José Luis Pichamba plays from
his collection of handmade Andeanmusical
instruments, and lashes together a pitch-
perfect pan flute for you in five minutes.
You try to improvise a fewquick “melodies”;
it doesn’t go sowell. The look onPichamba’s
face confirms this, so you bid him farewell
and drive back to Quito.
Dinner tonight is at
Pim’s Panecillo
, where
the menu is almost as expansive as the res-
taurant’s view of the city from just below
LaVirgendeQuito
. You secure a counter seat
by the window and opt for shrimp ceviche
and
locrito
, a simple Ecuadorian potato-
and-cheese soup that goes well with sliced
avocado. Both dishes are served in typical
Andean fashion, with popcorn, roasted corn
and
ají
,
a hot sauce, on the side.
Dropping the car off at the hotel, you
stroll to nearby
La Ronda
, a narrow, sloping
pedestrian thoroughfare, where the strains
of live
corta vena
music (literally, “vein cut-
ting,” so named for itsmelancholymelodies
and lyrics) flow from bars and cafés that
seem hand- carved into the Spanish
architecture. One of colonial Quito’s most
privileged streets, it became a bohemian
center in the 1930s, then hit the skids in the
’70s before being reborn in recent years as
a nightlife hub.
It’s a brisk evening, so you pop into an
unassuming spot on the corner and order
amug of
canelazo
,
a hot, fruity herbal drink
o en spiked with
aguardiente
, a sugarcane
alcohol. Youdecide there’s probably nothing
be er in the world for shaking off a chill. As
the warmth washes over you, a Quiteña at
an adjacent table nods your way. “
Buenas
noches,
” she says, as revelers streampast on
the cobblestone streets. “Youhave foundone
of our
huecas
—one of our authentic places.”
Youwant to tell her that you hope it stays
this way, that authenticity can be a tricky
thing to hold on to in a city changing this
quickly. But you simply raise your glass and
smile. Quito seems to be on the right track.
From now on,
Hemispheres
executive editor
SAMPOLCER
is buying only dinnerware with
jaguars on it.
BOARDING PASS
Want to sample traditional and modern South American cuisine, browse for Andean handicrafts and explore Quito’s
wealth of colonial churches and fascinating museums? United can take you straight to Ecuador’s vibrant capital, with daily nonstop service
on a Boeing 737 from Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport.
Go to united.com to book your flight and get detailed schedule information.
ONWINGS
ANDPRAYERS
Quito’s guardian is
a true original
The 148-foot-tall aluminum
statue
La Virgen de Quito
has
watched over colonial Quito
from the top of El Panecillo—
a hill that was once an Incan
sun-worshipping site—since
1976. Spanish artist Agustín
de la Herrán modeled the
statue after a much smaller
version in the Iglesia de San
Francisco by 18th-century
Ecuadorian sculptor Ber-
nardo de Legarda. Quito’s
Madonna stands atop a
globe and is, like many
classic representations of
the Madonna, stepping on a
snake. Her wings, however,
set her apart; it is said that
there are no other Madonnas
this size anywhere in the
world with them. A plaque on
the monument explains that
she represents the “Woman
of the Apocalypse”—Mary as
an angel—from the Book of
Revelation. Which makes her
heavy metal in more ways
than one.
TALK OF THE TOWN
Old-timers gather at the Plaza de la Independencia to shoot the breeze