Culture in Ecuador - Quito

Although beaten by Guayaquil on the population stakes and in economic clout, Quito is the political and cultural hub of Ecuador. In this highly centralized country, there's no mistaking that this is where the power is wielded - by an elite class of politicians, bankers and company directors, often from old, moneyed families.

It's not these sharp-suited business executives that grab your attention though, but the very visible presence of indígenas that form a large part of the city's population. While most other Latin American capitals have been stamped with the faceless imprint of imported US culture, Quito is still a place where Quichua-speaking women queue for buses in their traditional clothes, with metres of beads strung tightly around their necks, and where it's not uncommon to see children carried on their mothers' backs in securely wrapped blankets, as they are in the rural sierra. All this makes for a slightly exotic introduction to the country, though the proliferation of ragged shoe-shine boys and desperate hawkers trying to sell miracle products is a sobering reminder of the levels of poverty in the city, and of the social inequalities that exist here.

Eating and Drinking

Quito boasts by far the best and most varied choice of restaurants in the country, from humble canteens to classy, top-notch outfits, offering a wide range of international cuisines besides typical Ecuadorian food.

Quito's restaurants and cafés are markedly more expensive than those outside the capital, but even the priciest are far cheaper than their equivalents in Europe or North America. The vast majority of places to eat are in the new town , particularly on Avenida Amazonas and around José Calama. Many of these are specifically geared towards foreigners, and cover everything from Thai to Italian, and Mexican to Egyptian - a real treat when you've just come back from a stint in the sierra or Oriente. It's worth noting that though some of the best restaurants - those that cater to Quito's affluent middle classes - are outside the main tourist zone, they're well worth the taxi ride. Places in the old town are much thinner on the ground, and what there is tends to be very busy during the day but closed or totally dead by night. Some restaurants, particularly informal café-restaurants, are open all day, usually 8am-10pm, while more traditional ones - serving just lunch and dinner - are usually open noon-3pm and 6-10pm. Note that many restaurants close on Sunday afternoon, around 3pm.

Nightlife

The city's nightlife scene is not quite as cosmopolitan as its dining scene, with something of a small-town, provincial feel to many of its bars and discos. There are a couple of excellent cinemas in Quito, but theatre, dance and classical music are under-represented, with relatively few decent venues. To find out what's on, and where, read the "Chévere" section of Friday's El Comercio , available from all newspaper kiosks.

Cinema-going is very popular in Quito, with English-language films always shown in the original version with Spanish subtitles. There are two excellent cinema complexes in the city, both with seven screens and first-rate sound systems: Cinemark (tel 260303) at Plaza de las Américas on the corner of avenidas América and República; and Multicines (tel 265061) in the basement of the CCI complex at Amazonas and Naciones Unidas. Both show new-release US films, with the odd European or independent film thrown in. Cinemark has the edge, with its huge screens and very comfortable armchair-type seats, and there are several places to eat right next to it, including the very good Spaghetti . Tickets for both cinemas cost around $2, with half-price entry at Cinemark on Wednesdays. There are a number of other movie theatres dotted around town, but most are hopelessly antiquated with very poor sound and not worth going to. The exception is the Casa de la Cultura (tel 220966) at avenidas 6 de Diciembre and Patria , which regularly screens art-house films. All film listings are shown daily in section D of El Comercio .

The Casa de la Cultura is also the best venue in Quito for theatre, dance and classical music , attracting international performers as well as national artists. Other venues include Teatro Charlot (tel 545560) at Cordero 1200 and Reina Victoria, and El Patio de Comedias (tel 561902) at 18 de Septiembre and 9 de Octubre. Regular folk ballets , with costumed dancers representing different Ecuadorian cultural groups, are performed by Jacchigua on Wednesdays and Fridays at 7.30pm at the Teatro del Aeropuerto, opposite the airport on Avenida Paz (bookings through Metropolitan Touring on tel 464780); and by Humanizarte on Wednesdays at 7.30pm, at Leonidas Plaza N24-226 and Lizardo García (entrance tucked away on tiny street called Xaura off Lizardo García). The latter also stages innovative and invariably excellent experimental theatre and dance. The best way to find out what's on is to check the "Chévere" section of Friday's El Comercio . Note that most of the action takes place on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, with few performances of anything earlier in the week.

Learning Spanish

With more than sixty language schools dotted about the city, Quito is the most popular place in South America to learn Spanish. This is partly because rates are so cheap - an average of $5 per hour for one-to-one classes - but also because Spanish is spoken so much more clearly here than in many other countries, making it easier for beginners to pick it up. Unlike Chileans or Argentinians, for example, or even people from Guayaquil and along the coast, Ecuadorian serranos (highlanders) have a reputation for speaking slowly and pronouncing all the letters in each word (elsewhere, consonants are frequently dropped), making it simple to understand them.

Choosing a school can seem like a daunting task, as the choice is so large. If you're trying to book lessons in advance, you could email or fax a few of those listed below to request brochures or ask questions. If you're sorting them out after you've arrived, the best thing to do is pop in and visit a few schools, look at their classrooms and ask them about their facilities and methods - you could even ask to sit in on part of a lesson. Nearly all schools offer one-to-one lessons, but not all use books or visual aids. It's a good idea to ask if you can rotate your teacher , as this keeps the lessons fresher and allows you to compare techniques and work out what suits you. Some schools will try to encourage you to sign up for seven hours a day, but most students find it exhausting trying to concentrate for this length of time - four hours a day is about the maximum people can cope with comfortably, whether studying for just a few days or several weeks. The majority of schools offer you the option of staying with a family , usually for $10-15 a day, with all meals included. Activities such as cookery classes, dancing lessons or day-trips are also offered by many schools, which can be good ways to meet other students. The following schools are established and reputable; South American Explorers and many embassies also supply lists of language schools.

Although beaten by Guayaquil on the population stakes and in economic clout, Quito is the political and cultural hub of Ecuador. In this highly centralized country, there's no mistaking that this is where the power is wielded - by an elite class of politicians, bankers and company directors, often from old, moneyed families.

It's not these sharp-suited business executives that grab your attention though, but the very visible presence of indígenas that form a large part of the city's population. While most other Latin American capitals have been stamped with the faceless imprint of imported US culture, Quito is still a place where Quichua-speaking women queue for buses in their traditional clothes, with metres of beads strung tightly around their necks, and where it's not uncommon to see children carried on their mothers' backs in securely wrapped blankets, as they are in the rural sierra. All this makes for a slightly exotic introduction to the country, though the proliferation of ragged shoe-shine boys and desperate hawkers trying to sell miracle products is a sobering reminder of the levels of poverty in the city, and of the social inequalities that exist here.

Eating and Drinking

Quito boasts by far the best and most varied choice of restaurants in the country, from humble canteens to classy, top-notch outfits, offering a wide range of international cuisines besides typical Ecuadorian food.

Quito's restaurants and cafés are markedly more expensive than those outside the capital, but even the priciest are far cheaper than their equivalents in Europe or North America. The vast majority of places to eat are in the new town , particularly on Avenida Amazonas and around José Calama. Many of these are specifically geared towards foreigners, and cover everything from Thai to Italian, and Mexican to Egyptian - a real treat when you've just come back from a stint in the sierra or Oriente. It's worth noting that though some of the best restaurants - those that cater to Quito's affluent middle classes - are outside the main tourist zone, they're well worth the taxi ride. Places in the old town are much thinner on the ground, and what there is tends to be very busy during the day but closed or totally dead by night. Some restaurants, particularly informal café-restaurants, are open all day, usually 8am-10pm, while more traditional ones - serving just lunch and dinner - are usually open noon-3pm and 6-10pm. Note that many restaurants close on Sunday afternoon, around 3pm.

Nightlife

The city's nightlife scene is not quite as cosmopolitan as its dining scene, with something of a small-town, provincial feel to many of its bars and discos. There are a couple of excellent cinemas in Quito, but theatre, dance and classical music are under-represented, with relatively few decent venues. To find out what's on, and where, read the "Chévere" section of Friday's El Comercio , available from all newspaper kiosks.

Cinema-going is very popular in Quito, with English-language films always shown in the original version with Spanish subtitles. There are two excellent cinema complexes in the city, both with seven screens and first-rate sound systems: Cinemark (tel 260303) at Plaza de las Américas on the corner of avenidas América and República; and Multicines (tel 265061) in the basement of the CCI complex at Amazonas and Naciones Unidas. Both show new-release US films, with the odd European or independent film thrown in. Cinemark has the edge, with its huge screens and very comfortable armchair-type seats, and there are several places to eat right next to it, including the very good Spaghetti . Tickets for both cinemas cost around $2, with half-price entry at Cinemark on Wednesdays. There are a number of other movie theatres dotted around town, but most are hopelessly antiquated with very poor sound and not worth going to. The exception is the Casa de la Cultura (tel 220966) at avenidas 6 de Diciembre and Patria , which regularly screens art-house films. All film listings are shown daily in section D of El Comercio .

The Casa de la Cultura is also the best venue in Quito for theatre, dance and classical music , attracting international performers as well as national artists. Other venues include Teatro Charlot (tel 545560) at Cordero 1200 and Reina Victoria, and El Patio de Comedias (tel 561902) at 18 de Septiembre and 9 de Octubre. Regular folk ballets , with costumed dancers representing different Ecuadorian cultural groups, are performed by Jacchigua on Wednesdays and Fridays at 7.30pm at the Teatro del Aeropuerto, opposite the airport on Avenida Paz (bookings through Metropolitan Touring on tel 464780); and by Humanizarte on Wednesdays at 7.30pm, at Leonidas Plaza N24-226 and Lizardo García (entrance tucked away on tiny street called Xaura off Lizardo García). The latter also stages innovative and invariably excellent experimental theatre and dance. The best way to find out what's on is to check the "Chévere" section of Friday's El Comercio . Note that most of the action takes place on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, with few performances of anything earlier in the week.

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