Traditions of Quito
A high Andean capital, with the Inti Raymi and Corpus Christi celebrations of its Kichwa neighbours and a colonial heart.
Quito sits at 2,850 metres, a UNESCO city of baroque churches. The Kichwa-speaking Indigenous people of the Andes hold the Inti Raymi, the festival of the sun, at the June solstice, with dances and songs. The old tradition of the Pase del Niño, a Christmas parade, and Day of the Dead's colada morada are widely observed.
Inti Raymi and the Day of the Dead
At the solstice, Kichwa communities dance in circles in the fields, in ponchos and hats, with songs and ritual bathing, offering thanks for the harvest. For the Day of the Dead on 2 November, families eat colada morada, a purple fruit drink, and guaguas de pan, bread dolls, at the cemetery. Panamá hats are woven in the coast and sold in Quito.
At the table
Locro de papa, a potato and cheese soup, fanesca, a Lent soup with twelve grains and salt cod, and hornado, roast pork with mote, are classic. Empanadas de viento and humitas, steamed corn cakes, are snacks. Canelazo, a hot cinnamon spirit, warms cold nights.
Signature traditions of Quito
Also part of it, and being written: Colada morada (The drink.), Panama hat (The hat.).
A trail idea for Quito
- Plaza Grande See the cathedral.
- Mercado Central Taste hornado.
- La Compañía de Jesús See the gold interior.
Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Opening hours, markets and festival dates change; check locally before travelling. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
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Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Inti Raymi: Cyntia Motta, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Fanesca: Agencia de Noticias ANDES, CC BY-SA 2.0, source