Cuenca, Ecuador


Santa Ana de los Cuatro Ríos de Cuenca, commonly referred as Cuenca is the capital and largest city of the Azuay Province of Ecuador. Cuenca is located in the highlands of Ecuador at about above sea level, with an urban population of approximately 329,928 and 661,685 inhabitants in the larger metropolitan area. The center of the city is listed as an UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its many historical buildings.

History

First inhabitants

According to studies and archeological discoveries, the origins of the first inhabitants go back to the year 8060 BC in the Cave of Chopsi. They were hunters, hunting everything the Páramo offered them, and nomads, following the animals and seasons. Their culture is represented by tools such as arrows and spears, which have been found throughout the Andean valley. The culture was most present about 5585 BC.
Later the early indigenous people used the stable climate, fertile soil and abundant water to develop agriculture. They grew potatoes, melloco, chocho, squash and quinoa. They also domesticated animals such as cuys and camelids: llamas and alpacas.
Their technology was also advanced. For example, they started creating ceramics. In fact, ceramics constitute the greatest number of artifacts which archeologists use to study their culture. The period from 5000 BCE to 2000 BCE is not represented well in the archeological record. Beginning around 2000 BCE, the people developed a more highly organized society, demonstrating delegated responsibilities, such as the managing of water and control of plagues. People were specialized as administrative and religious authorities. This occurred during the periods of Chaullabamba, Huayco, Pirincay, Monjas, Putushio, Huancarcucho and Jubones. From then until 500 AD began the periods of Tacalshapa III and the Cañari people, who were absorbed into the Incas in the 15th century.

Pre-Columbian society

Cuenca was originally a Cañari settlement called Guapondeleg. Archeologists believe Cuenca was founded around 500 AD. Guapondeleg translates into "land as big as heaven." Less than half a century before the conquistadors landed, the Incas, after a bitter struggle, conquered the Cañari and occupied Guapondeleg and the surrounding area. Though the Incas replaced the Cañari architecture with their own, they did not suppress the Cañari or their impressive achievements in astronomy and agriculture. As was customary for the Incas, they absorbed useful achievements into their culture. They renamed the city Tomebamba. The city became known as the second Cusco, a regional capital.
After the defeat of the Cañari, probably in the 1470s, the Inca emperor, Tupac Yupanqui, ordered the construction of a grand city to be called Pumapungo, "the door of the Puma". Its magnificence was said to have rivaled that of the Inca capital of Cuzco. Indians told stories to the Spanish chroniclers of golden temples and other such wonders, but by the time the Spaniards found the legendary city, all that remained were ruins. They wondered what happened to the fabled splendor and riches of the second Inca capital. After having been abandoned by the Cañari and then the Incas, Tomebamba was sparsely populated until the 1550s.
Tomebamba is considered a candidate for the mythical city of gold which the Spanish called El Dorado. The Spanish thought El Dorado was burned by the inhabitants after they heard of the Spanish conquests. Tomebamba's destruction by its inhabitants prior to the arrival of the Spanish suggests it may have been what the Spanish called El Dorado.

Spanish settlement

The Spanish settlement of Cuenca was founded on April 12, 1557 by the explorer Gil Ramírez Dávalos. Andrés Hurtado de Mendoza, then Viceroy of Peru had commissioned the founding and ordered the city named after his home town of Cuenca, Spain. It was founded decades after other major Spanish settlements in the region, such as Quito, Guayaquil, and Loja.
Cuenca's population and importance grew steadily during the colonial era.
Cuenca reached the peak of its importance in the first years of Ecuador's independence; Cuenca achieved its independence on November 3, 1820. It became the capital of one of the three provinces that made up the nascent republic. The other two capitals were Guayaquil and Quito.

Population

As per the last INEC estimate for 2015, the population of the Cuenca canton was 580,000 inhabitants, of which 400,000 constitute the urban population. The economic development is based on industry and agricultural development.
Cuenca Metropolitan Area includes the cities of Azogues, Biblian and Deleg in the cañar province and the cities of Paute and Gualaceo in the Azuay province with a population of 730,000 inhabitants, however, Cuenca's influence in the cultural, economic and educational areas extends to all the remaining cities around.

Economy

Cuenca is known for its textile making, as well as furniture and other crafts like hats and shoes. The straw hats known around the world as Panama hats are in fact made in Cuenca by local artisans. Cuenca also exports flowers to the United States and many countries in Europe. While farming has shrunk in the past years, it is still an important sector of the city's economy. Beekeeping has also become key for growing crops. Some of the typical crops grown here include wheat, barley, rye, oats, and corn. Since Cuenca is located in the Andes mountains surrounded by forested areas nearby, mining and logging are industries there. Some of the common mined resources are kaolin, plaster, limestone, sand, specialized rocks, and carbon. Cuenca is also known for making car tires.
The tourism industry continues to grow. Cuenca has many cathedrals that are a part of the cultural heritage of the city and some important national parks. Cuenca is also the home to its main university, La Universidad de Cuenca.
For the future, Ecuador has been working on producing electrolytic hydrogen to better use resources that are environmentally friendly.
At the turn of the century, the country's economy was affected by the change in currency, from sucre to USD.

Geography and location economy

Cuenca, capital of the province of Azuay, is located in the sierra of the Andes in the Austro or southern region of Ecuador. It is approximately nine hours south of Quito and four hours east of Guayaquil. The city ranges from above sea level.
The dominant features of the city's geography are also the source of its name in Spanish: the four rivers of Cuenca. These rivers are the Tomebamba, Yanuncay, Tarqui and Machangara, in order of importance. The first three of these rivers originate in the Páramo of Parque Nacional Cajas to the west of the city.

Parishes

Cuenca Canton contains the following parishes:
Cuenca features a subtropical highland climate under the Köppen climate classification. Like the rest of the Ecuadorian Andes, Cuenca enjoys a mild climate year-round. Days are generally warm and nights are cool enough that sweaters or jackets are usually desired. The average daily temperature is 14.7 °C. There are two seasons: rainy and dry. The dry season, with some variation, falls between June and December. The rainy season, which is characterized by bright sunny mornings and afternoon showers, falls between January and May. The heaviest rains come in the invierno of March, April and May.

Education

Universities

The first university in the city was established in 1867 and is the Universidad de Cuenca. It is considered the third oldest university of the country, right after the Universidad Central del Ecuador and the Universidad Nacional de Loja. Ever since, the city has been growing and more universities were created with new careers. This led to the declaration of Cuenca as the City of Universities by the National Assembly of Ecuador on January 4, 2011.
The city has the following Universities:
The first one is classified as an A category university the next two are B category and the last one is D category. This was stated by the

Primary and secondary schools

International schools:
Most tourists visit the historic area, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, between the river Tomebamba and the street Gran Colombia to the north, General Torres to the west, and Hermano Miguel to the east. This area's compactness, grid-like layout, and numerous readily identifiable monuments make it easy to navigate. Outside this area the city can be confusing, as there are dozens of narrow colonial streets with similar buildings.
Major fiestas of Cuenca come at the time of the "Mass of Children" that is carried out the day of the Arrival of Kings, or in the commemoration of the independence of the city, during which processions, cultural acts and dances are organized.
The nearby Cañar plantation features the biggest Inca ruins in Ecuador.

Landmarks

Surroundings

Festivities

One of the festivities celebrated in Cuenca and in other parts of Ecuador is "El Carnaval". This is celebrated three days prior to Ash Wednesday. Families get together to celebrate what started as a "pagan ritual". Now it is celebrated by wetting friends and random people with water balloons and spraying "Carioca" a nonstaining foam.
Additionally, Cuenca's Independence Day is celebrated at the beginning of November. The festivities span a number of days and consist of various parades, concerts, cultural events, and artisan fairs.

Gastronomy

The gastronomy of Cuenca shares characteristics with other mountainous parts of Ecuador. As in other regions of Ecuador, cuy and hornado are popular traditional dishes. Additionally, dishes made from potatoes and corn such as Llapingachos, mote pillo, mote pata, and morocho are popular. Trout, which can be caught in nearby El Cajas National Park, is another popular dish.
In Cuenca, lunch is the largest meal of the day and is typically served in two courses. The first course is soup which is followed by a plate of stewed or grilled meat and rice.

Transport

Bus station

Cuenca's inter-provincial bus station, called the Terminal Terrestre as it is in most cities, is well organized and clean. It is located on Avenida España in the northeastern corner of the city, a twenty-minute walk or a brief taxi ride from the historic center. Also, many City buses provide frequent service as indicated by the "Terminal Terrestre" placard on the windshield.
Buses arrive and depart throughout the day. Service is available to major cities, such as Guayaquil and Quito and also to nearby cities such as Loja, Riobamba, or Machala. The distance to Guayaquil is 243 km. and the bus takes nearly 4 hours on the highway Durán-Pto.Inca-Molleturo, a scenic ride through the Cajas National Park. Quito is 497 km from Cuenca and the trip takes around 10 hours on the Road Pan-American Highway. Many prefer to travel by bus at night. Those who choose to travel overnight should exercise caution due to reported bus hijacks which have resulted in armed robbery.

Airport

The airport, named Aeropuerto Mariscal Lamar, is due east of the Terminal Terrestre on Avenida España. It's a five-minute walk from the bus station. Two airlines currently serve Cuenca; AeroGal, LAN Ecuador fly to Quito. It is Ecuador's third-busiest airport. Over 1,400,000 passengers a year pass through its gates.

Tram

A tram/light rail line is currently under construction and was due to open in 2019. Completed in early 2019, the tram opened May 25 2020

Cuenca public transportation statistics

According to the Moovit Public Transport Index, Cuenca's bus system compares extremely favourably with other cities in Latin America. The average amount of time people spend commuting with public transit in Cuenca, for example to and from work, on a weekday is 51 minutes, with only 7% of public transit riders riding for more than 2 hours every day. The average amount of time people wait at a bus stop or bus station for public transit is 11 minutes, while a mere 9% of riders wait for over 20 minutes on average every day. The average distance people usually ride in a single trip with public transit is 3.8 km, while 0% travel for over 12 km in a single direction. In 2018, the flat-rate bus fare is 30 US cents, 15 cents for children, students, seniors, and the disabled.

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Cuenca is twinned with: