Category
Ecuador
22 articles
Ecuador's Año Viejo: The Myth and the Real History
Everyone repeats that Ecuador's Año Viejo burning began in an 1895 epidemic. The historical evidence tells a different and more curious story.
The Origin of the Word “Soroche”
Soroche, the altitude sickness of the Andes, owes its name not to the air but to a mineral: for centuries its vapours were blamed for sickening travellers.
The Baroness of Galápagos and the Floreana Mystery
In the 1930s, an Austrian baroness tried to rule over Floreana island in the Galápagos. Her disappearance remains an unsolved mystery to this day.
Atahualpa's Chess Game Is Legend; His Bat-Hair Cloak Is Not
Two stories from Atahualpa's captivity: the chess game everyone cites and a cloak woven from bat hair. Only one of them is documented.
The War of the Worlds Panic Never Happened
The night Orson Welles terrified America is a myth manufactured by the press. The real panic came eleven years later — in Quito, Ecuador.
Why Is the Panama Hat Called Panama If It Was Born in Ecuador?
The world's most famous hat is woven in Montecristi and Cuenca, yet it bears another country's name. The story of a stylish injustice.
Rescuing the Bardellini Tower
It stood on Guayaquil's Malecón for only four years before falling to a structural miscalculation. I rebuild in 3D the clock tower the city almost forgot.
The History and Origin of All the Tomalás
The Tomalá surname hides a saga of balsa rafts and defiant caciques: the chief of Puná Island who refused to bow to Huayna Cápac or the colonizers.
A Foolproof and Irresponsible Strategy for Governing and Being Loved
The oldest political trick for governing and being loved: spend lavishly today and quietly leave the bill for whoever comes next to pay.
The Story Behind the Name of Isla de la Plata and the Treasure It Still Hides
Why is it called Isla de la Plata? A real pirate's chronicle reveals the truth behind the name, once Drake's Island, and the treasure it may still hide.
The 1949 Ambato Earthquake: One of Ecuador's Most Devastating Disasters
On August 5, 1949, a 6.8 quake flattened Ambato and Pelileo, killing thousands and leaving cities in ruins in one of Ecuador's deadliest disasters.
An old book of Guayaquil in full color
A handpicked selection of colorized photos brings century-old Guayaquil back to life, from its trams and firemen to faces from a vanished era.
A window to Ecuador from a century ago. Photo restoration.
Restored and colorized photos open a vivid window onto Ecuador a century ago, from presidents and earthquakes to long-vanished railways.
Old Guayaquil in video
Old Guayaquil comes alive in 1920s footage restored and colorized with AI, revealing its tram, the Malecón and real people from a century ago.
Punta de Piedras and the Oyster Sauté
A pirate-era fort in the Guayas delta and a forgotten oyster sauté that once tempted river travelers, rediscovered through old chronicles and photos.
The before and after of a restoration of old photographs with artificial intelligence and Photoshop
Watch century-old photos of Guayaquil come back to life, colorized and repaired with artificial intelligence and Photoshop in striking before-and-afters.
The Volcano of San Vicente
A tiny mud volcano once spat geysers of salty water on Ecuador's coast, and forgotten 19th-century writings reveal the wild site before tourism erased it.
Hidden details in the photograph of a Guayaquil tram
A century-old photo of a Guayaquil tram hides clues that reveal its exact corner, its Belgian car and a surprising link to a famous soccer club.
The miraculous malaria cure that became a gin and tonic
The malaria cure born from Andean cinchona bark became quinine, then tonic water, and finally the gin and tonic we still raise in our glasses.
The Men Who Carried Cuenca's Light on Their Shoulders
Electric light, the first car and even a protest jeep all reached Cuenca carried on human shoulders. The most epic isolation story in the Andes.
Looking for the lost Eiffel bridge in Ecuador
A forgotten Eiffel bridge built in Ecuador in 1886 sparks a real-life hunt to find whether the lost railway structure still survives today.
Etymology of the Word YONI. Where Does This Term Come From?
In Ecuador, «yoni» means the United States, but where did the word come from? A linguistic trail leads to two rival, surprising explanations.