A Vivacious Celebration in the Highlands

     The festival of "La Mama Negra" is a colorful and energetic cultural event that embraces the widely different traditions and cultures of the local inhabitants’ origins – Spanish, Incan, African (among others) in the town of Latacunga in Ecuador. The origins of the festival are a little vague with one highly believed theory stating that the festival celebrates the independence of Latacunga from Spanish rule. Although, the most common consensus is that the festival established when the Cotopaxi volcano erupted in 1742 and the locals petitioned the Virgin of Mercy to spare the town of Latacunga. When the town escaped the disaster, an annual celebration was set in place to honor her. At around this same time, African slaves were brought into the area to work in the mines. These slaves made a huge impression on the locals, who then incorporated their arrival into their honorary festival and thus La Mama Negra, (The Black Mother) became the principal and most important representation of the festival appearing at the culmination of each parade.

     In a passionate effort to capture the essence of this festivity, I found my eyes captivated by the swirling parade of a colorful delight that came with every group of excited and proud participants. Here are a few photographic excerpts from the festival which have been edited to emphasis the wonderfully hand embroider skirts, shawls, shoes, belts, and shirts which could easily be considered artful fashion pieces! Enjoy!

Information on this event is quite random but if you are curious to learn a little more, a good site to visit is: http://www.vivatravelguides.com/south-america/ecuador/ecuador-overview/holidays/fiesta-de-la-mama-negra/