Ecuadorians are mostly mestizo, being a mixture of Europeans and Amerindians ancestry, and also are blended with the influences of slaves from Africa. Ecuador is Roman Catholic although their Christian beliefs are mixed with ancient indigenous customs.
Ecuador can be divided into three sections:
- Costa(coast)
- Sierra(highlands)
- Oriente(east side, which includes the Amazon region)
* The Galapagos islands are also part of Ecuador
There is tension and dislike between the residents of Quito and Guayaquil. Additionally, there is centralism in these two cities, so people from other provinces also tend to dislike its residents.
Music:
Music is very important in Ecuador, with differences between Coast and Highlands. Generally, pan pipes, flutes of bamboo, violins, drums and charangos all played often, but with different purposes. For instance, in the Sierra popular tunes played at fiestas include "Rosa Maria" and "El Condor Pasa", with sanjuanito being an easily recognizable genre. In the Costa, the instruments are played mostly for cumbia, salsa, and pasillos. Costeños have two kinds of purposes for music, the rhythm-filled one which is played in most places, be it in public like in the bus or in parties, and the slow, moarnful pasillos and rocolas, which are exclusive to old bars. The slow tunes are humoristically known as cortavenísticos ("vein-cutting") because of their overall sadness.
Clothing:
The Panama hat is of Ecuadorian origin, and is known there as "Sombrero de paja toquilla", or a Jipijapa. It is made principally in Montecristi in the Province of Manabì. Its manufacture (particularly that of the Montecristi superfino) is considered a great craft.
Language:
Costeños tend to speak more quickly and louder than serranos, and most of them do so in a very informal way. A common term costeños use to call each other is mijo, a blend of two words to form one of sorts for "my son" (mi hijo). Several such terms originate from their fast speech, and they have intrincate language humor and jokes, difficult to translate or even understand in other regions. Also, each coaprovince has a different variety of accent with specific different terms.
Serranos usually speak softly, and very respectfully. Traditionally they are seen as more conservative, and use a number of Kichwa-originated terms in their everyday speech, often puzzling to other regions. A widely known example is the word guagua, which means child in Kichwa. Their speech comes from their Incan amerindian roots and can be seen as a variation of other Andean accents.
Whistling, yelling or yawning to get someone's attention is considered rude, yet informally done.
Traditions:
- New Year's is also celebrated in Ecuador but in a different way than in other countries. The ecuadorian tradition is that in the New Year, they make dummy that is stuffed with old clothing and then is burned to celebrate the ending of the old year and the coming of the New Year. Ecuadorians also dress themselves as clowns to recieve the coming of the New Year in a happy and enjoyable way.
Art:
Art of Tigua, paintings usually paint about rural life and the daily lifes of Ecuadorian people. Wether it is planting, or any agricultural thing or rural work.
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