Guayaquil

This article is about the city of Guayaquil. For the canton named after this city, see Guayaquil (canton).

Guayaquil
Flag Seal
Nickname(s):  La Perla del Pacífico English: The Pearl of the Pacific
Motto:  Por Guayaquil Independiente
Location in the Guayas province
Country	Ecuador
Province	Guayas
Canton	Guayaquil
Settled	1547
Independence	1820
Government
• Mayor	Jaime Nebot
• Vice-Mayor	Guillermo Chang
Area
• City	468.9 sq mi (1,214.4 km2)
• Land	303.3 sq mi (785.6 km2)
• Water	165.6 sq mi (428.8 km2)
Elevation	13.2 ft (4 m)
Population  (2001)
• City	1,985,379
• Density	4,668/sq mi (1,634.8/km2)
• Metro	2,159,911
Time zone	UTC-5 (ECT)
Website	www.guayaquil.gov.ec

Guayaquil (Spanish pronunciation: [waʝaˈkil]), officially Santiago de Guayaquil, is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador, as well as that nation's main port. The city is the capital of the Ecuadorian province of Guayas and the seat of the namesake canton.

Guayaquil is located on the western bank of the Guayas River, which flows into the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Guayaquil. Because of its location, the city is the center of Ecuador's fishing and manufacturing industries.

History

Guayaquil's waterfront around 1920.

Guayaquil was founded on July 25, 1538 with the name Muy Noble y Muy Ciudad de Santiago de Guayaquil by Spanish Conquistador Francisco de Orellana. Even before it was founded by the Spanish, it already existed as a native village.

In 1600 Guayaquil had a population of about 2,000 people; by 1700 the city had a population of over 10,000.

In 1687, Guayaquil was attacked and looted by English and French pirates under the command of George d'Hout (English) and Picard and Groniet (Frenchmen). Of the more than 260 pirates, 35 died and 46 were wounded; 75 defenders of the city died and more than 100 were wounded. The pirates took local women as concubines. Quito paid the ransom demanded by the pirates with the condition they release the hostages and not burn Guayaquil.

Monument depicting the meeting between Simón Bolívar and José de San Martín.

In 1709, the English captains Woodes Rogers, Etienne Courtney, and William Dampier along with 110 other pirates, looted Guayaquil and demanded ransom; however, they suddenly departed without collecting the ransom after an epidemic of yellow fever broke out.

In October 9, 1820, almost without bloodshed, a group of civilians supported by soldiers from the "Granaderos de Reserva", a battalion quartered in Guayaquil, overwhelmed the resistance of the Royalist guards and arrested the Spanish authorities. Guayaquil declared independence from Spain, becoming Provincia Libre de Guayaquil, and José Joaquín de Olmedo was named Jefe Civil (Civil Chief) of Guayaquil. This would prove to be a key victory for the Ecuadorian War of Independence.

On July 26, 1822, José de San Martín and Simón Bolívar held a famous conference in Guayaquil to plan for the independence of Spanish South America.

The city suffered from a major fire in 1896 which destroyed large portions of the city.

The city has been invaded by the Peruvian Military on two occasions: in 1829 and 1860, the latter of which is referred to as the Battle of Guayaquil.

Guayaquil at present

Present-day Guayaquil continues its tradition of trade, although the city is expanding its tourism base, by beautifying the city and an improvement in the citizens' self-esteem . This process has taken years, comprising the last two municipal administrations. Despite having few historic buildings, renovations and expansions of levees, squares, parks, and some districts have turned Guayaquil into a national and international tourist destination. It is now a headquarters for fairs and international events.

Economy

Guayaquileños main source of income are: formal and informal trade, business, agriculture and aquaculture; trade in the vast majority of the population consists of SMB, adding an important informal economy occupation that gives thousands of guayaquileños employment. Despite this, Guayaquil is the city with the highest rate of underemployment (about 40% of the economically active population) and unemployment (about 11% of the economically active population) of Ecuador.

Guayaquil maintains an infrastructure for import and export of products with international standards. Among its major trading points are the Seaport, the largest in Ecuador and one of the biggest influx of shipping on the shores of the Pacific and José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport. Additionally, it has an infrastructure of roads to other cities and provinces, which are considered the best in the country.

Ongoing projects seek urban regeneration as a principal objective to the growth of the city's commercial districts, as the increase of capital produces income. These projects in the city driven by the recent mayors have achieved this goal after investing large sums of money. The current municipal administration aims to convert Guayaquil into a place for first-class international tourism and business multinationals.

Climate

The climate is hot and generally humid. During El Niño years rainfall is very heavy between January and April and flooding usually occurs. Typically however, rainfall is minimal due to the influence of the Humboldt Current.

Climate data for Guayaquil
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Source: Guayaquil climate and weather

Government

Guayaquil's current mayor is Jaime Nebot [ˈxaime neˈβot], a well-known member of the political party Partido Social Cristiano. Jaime Nebot began a campaign of construction projects for the city in the late 1990s to attract tourism, that included the "urban regeneration", which reconstructed the city in all levels including sidewalks, parks, sewer system, it took the power and telephone lines underground, it saw a lot of reconstruction of the city's chaotic transit system with the construction of multiple infrastructures (streets, speedways, overhead passages, tunnels, etc.).

In August 2006, the city's first bus rapid transit system, Metrovia, opened to provide a quicker, high-capacity service. One of the main projects was called Malecón 2000 [maleˈkon doz ˈmil], the renovation of the promenade (malecón) along the Guayas River with the addition of a boardwalk in 2000. Another project was the creation of the Nuevo Parque Histórico, a park in a housing development area that is called Entre Ríos because it lies between the Daule and Babahoyo rivers (which confluence to form the Guayas river), in a mangrove wetland area. The park cost the city about 7 million dollars. It is a refuge for fauna and a zone of historical-architecture preservation, and has a traditions-and-history exhibition centre. The idea of the creation of this park came from Ecuador's central bank in 1982, as part of their "Rescate Arquitectónico" ("Architectural Rescue") programme. .

Demographics

According to the most recent census (2001), its population was 1.985.379.

Food

Typical Guayaquil cuisine includes encebollado (one of many typical seafood soups), ceviche, arroz con menestra y carne (rice and beans with grilled or fried beef)[1], patacones (twice-fried plantain slices) and pan de yuca (bread made from cassava).

Notable people

Artists

Ecuador is known for its artists and its place in art history. Many of them were born in Guayaquil, such as:

Museum of Anthropology and Contemporary Art (MAAC), near the breakwater (photo taken in 2000).

• Félix Arauz (b. 1935, Guayaquil)
• Xavier Blum Pinto (b. 1957, Guayaquil)
• Theo Constanté (b.1934, Guayaquil)
• Araceli Gilbert (b. 1913, Guayaquil - d. 1993, Quito)
• Julio Jaramillo (b. 1935, Guayaquil - d. 1978, Guayaquil)
• Luis Lara (b. 1945, Guayaquil)
• Luis Miranda (b. 1932, Guayaquil)
• Luis Molinari (b. 1929, Guayaquil)
• Enrique Tábara (b. 1930, Guayaquil)
• Jorge Velarde (b. 1960, Guayaquil)
• Rony Vera (b. 1965, Guayaquil)
• Juan Villafuerte (b. 1945, Guayaquil; d. 1977, Barcelona, Spain)
• Montserrat Serra (b. 1967, Guayaquil)

Branch of the Ecuadorian Central Bank (Banco Central del Ecuador or BCE) in Guayaquil (December 8, 2004).

Others

Other notable people from Guayaquil include:

• animator Mike Judge
• poets José Joaquín de Olmedo and Adalberto Ortiz
• Hugo Savinovich former professional wrestler and currently one half of the WWE Spanish announce team
• Frederick Ashton, dancer and choreographer
• pioneer of theater/radio/film and famous actor and director Paco Villar
• scholar Benjamín Urrutia
• former world's oldest person María Capovilla
• violinist Jorge Saade
• former actor Albert Paulsen
• operatic soprano Beatriz Parra Durango,
• rapper Gerardo Mejia, made famous during the early 90s for his song "Rico Suave"
• tennis player Pancho Segura who in 1950 and 1952 was the world's Co-No. 1 player
• Andrés Gómez, who won the ATP Championship of Roland Garros in Paris, France in 1990

Religious buildings

File:Catedral de Guayaquil.JPG

Cathedral Metropolitana de Guayaquil

Guayaquil has a cathedral and many other Roman Catholic churches. There is a Temple and many chapels of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Many other faiths and religions are represented throughout the city.

Education

Biblioteca Municipal de Guayaquil

Biblioteca Municipal de Guayaquil (Municipal Library of Guayaquil) serves as the public library of Guayaquil.

Sports

Barcelona's Stadium Estadio Monumental, the second largest stadium in South America.

There are two major soccer clubs. The Barcelona Sporting Club and the Club Sport Emelec. Both clubs have their own stadiums, The Estadio Monumental Banco del Pichincha is the home of the "Barcelonistas" while the Estadio George Capwell is the home of the "Emeleccistas". These two teams have a long history of rivalry in Guayaquil and when these two teams play against each other the game is called "El Clásico del Astillero". (Emelec is short for "Empresa Electrica del Ecuador" - the team was sponsored by the electric power company when founded.)

The city is also the home of Nicolas Lapentti, an active tennis player that is top 100 at the Current ATP Race.

The "Abierto de Tenis Ciudad de Guayaquil" is a tennis tournament organised in Guayaquil every year by Andrés Gómez and Luis Morejon in November of every year.

Another major event in the city is the Guayaquil Marathon, organised by DM3, which is held every year on the first weekend of October since 2005. These race is certified by the (AIMS) Association of International Marathons and Distance Races.

Universities

Some of Guayaquil's main universities are:

• Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral
• Universidad de Especialidades Espíritu Santo UEES
• Universidad de Guayaquil
• Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil
• Universidad Laica Vicente Rocafuerte
• Universidad Casa Grande
• Universidad Santa Maria
• Blue Hill College
• Brookdale Community College
• Universidad Del Pacífico UPACIFICO
• IGACD-Institute of Graphics Arts and Digital Science

Notable places

Las Peñas Neighborhood.

Imax at Malecon 2000

Malecon 2000

The Malecón 2000 is a restoration project of the historic Simon Bolivar Pier. It will be a symbolic centre of the city, a mix of green areas and shopping. The tall ship Guayas has its home base here.

The Palacio Municipal is located in front of the Malecón and holds the political offices of city and provincial officials. Built in a neoclassical style, it is considered one of the most important architectural works in the country.

Las Peñas is a neighbourhood in the northeast corner of the city centre; is the artistic centre of the city. Many of the area's 400-year-old houses have been converted into art galleries and several notable artists have studios in the area.

The Mercado Artesanal is the largest artisan market in the city. The market is housed in a 240-shop building that takes up the entire block of Baquerizo Avenue, between Loja and Juan Montalvo streets. Its many vendors sell indigenous crafts, jewellery, and paintings.

Parque Centenario is located on 9 de Octubre street, between Lorenzo de Garaycoa and Quito. This is the largest park in the town centre, occupying four city blocks. It offers shady refuge from the equatorial sun, with large trees arching over the walkways and lawns. A large Statue of Liberty dominates the central area of the park.

Parque Seminario (also known as Parque de Las Iguanas or Iguana Park) located on 10 de Agosto Avenue and Chile Avenue, is home to many iguanas, some of which approach 5 feet in length. Tourists and locals alike often feed the iguanas mango slices from park vendors. There is also a pond filled with colourful Japanese Tilapia. An equestrian statue of Simón Bolívar is located in the centre of the park.

Urdesa is a traditional neighborhood, for restaurants, stores.

Bahia is a popular marketplace for toys, clothing, electronic goods, DVDs, and CDs.

The city's new airport, José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport (IATA airport code: GYE), though using the same runways, had its passenger terminal completely rebuilt in 2006 and was renamed. The old passenger terminal is now a convention centre.

Sister cities

Guayaquil has city partnerships with the following cities and/or regions:

• Since 2001: Shanghai, People's Republic of China
• Santiago, Chile
• Concepción, Chile
• Houston, Texas, USA (1987)
• Genoa, Italy
• Barcelona, Spain
• Bogotá, Colombia

See also

• List of urban parishes in Guayaquil
• José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport

External links

• Guayaquil Travel Guide and Holiday Schedule
• Municipalidad de Guayaquil
• Guayaquil at Google Maps
• The Tramways of Guayaquil
• Barrio De Paz - A documentary about gang culture in Guayaquil on OneWorldTV