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JUNE 2012
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HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
WALK THE STREETS
of Quito, and you’ll find
the least-altered historical
center in Latin America,
with scores of dazzling
churches, colonial man-
sions and museums that
celebrate a culture going
back thousands of years—
from pre-Incan peoples
to Spanish colonists to
the present day. Head
north, and you’ll discover
sleek new development,
cosmopolitan restaurants
and cu ing-edge nightlife.
Talk to anyone, and you’ll
hear a similar refrain, “You
should have seen this
before,” u ered with a hint
of wonderment.
Quito is changing. Has
changed. Not long ago, the
city’s treasured colonial
district was inundated
with street vendors and
plagued by poverty, but
thanks to Ecuador’s vast
energy resources and
growing economy, as well
as an increased investment
in its heritage, things have
improved dramatically
for this city set high in the
Andes, ringed by volcanoes
and jungle. No longer
merely the gateway to the
Galápagos or the Amazon,
Quito today is safer, cleaner
and more vibrant, brim-
ming with cultural riches,
a place where history plays
out in real time every day.