Guayaquil
Pierre Virot
The first inhabitors to Guayaquil occurred
over 5,000 years back when the Valdivia
Culture moved in producing the continents
first ceramics. The city was actually founded
in 1537 by Captain Francisco de Orellana and officially
named “Santiago de Guayaquil” in the
Santa Ana hills.
The name Guayaquil originates from an old
legend about an Indian chief Guayas who had
an Indian wife called Quil who according to folklore
both killed themselves through pride in preference
to surrendering to the Spaniards.
Today, with a population of over 2 million
coupled with the coastal geographical advantage
that converges into the Babahoyo and
Daule rivers, Guayaquil has become the pivotal
commercial center for the country’s economic
progress.
http://www.thebestofecuador.com/guayaquil. htm#
Las Peñas.- At the Northern end of the
Malecón 2000, you will find an old colonial
area of the city with wooden constructed houses
and cobbled streets (Numa Pompillo Llona)
spread through intermittent elevated levels of
stairs and steps. This narrow corridor style
street was named after the composer of the
country’s national anthem.
The old district of Las Penas is the only part
of the city where the wooden houses were not
destroyed by fire and you can get an impression
of the old, picturesque colonial
Guayaquil.Guayaquil is Ecuador´s largest
city with about 3,000,000 inhabitants.
© 2006 UN Special |