Guayaquil

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

Santiago de Guayaquil
Flag Seal
Nickname: La Perla del Paficico
Country	Ecuador
Province	Guayas
Canton	Guayaquil (canton)
Government
- Mayor	Jaime Nebot Saadi (PSC)
Area
- City	1,214.4 km²  (468.9 sq mi)
- Land	785.6 km² (303.3 sq mi)
- Water	428.8 km² (165.6 sq mi)
Population (2004)
- City	2,189,865
- Density	1,803/km² (4,668/sq mi)
- Metro	2,908,338
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Website: http://www.visitaguayaquil.com

Santiago de Guayaquil, or just Guayaquil (IPA: [guaʏakʊʟ]; Spanish: Guayaquil, IPA: [uaʏakiʟ]) , is the largest and the most populous city in Ecuador, as well as that nation's main port. Guayaquil is on the west margin of the Guayas River, which flows into the Gulf of Guayaquil in the Pacific Ocean. Guayaquil is at 2.21°S 79.90°W, about 250 km south-southwest of the capital of Ecuador, Quito. According to the most recent census (2001), its population was 2,189,865. However, the estimated metropolitan population was 2,908,338.

Guayaquil is the capital of the Ecuadorian province of Guayas and the seat of the namesake canton. (In Ecuador, a cantón (canton) is a second-order subnational entity below a first-order province.)

The city is the center of Ecuador's fishing and manufacturing industries.

The city's airport, Jose Joaquin de Olmedo International Airport (IATA abbr.: GYE), has undergone renovations in the past year.

Contents 1 History 2 Food and Restaurants 3 Artists 4 Religious Structures 5 Universities 6 Places to Visit 7 Night Life 8 Trivia 9 See also 10 References 11 External links

[edit] History

Guayaquil was founded on July 25 (see note below), 1538 with the name Muy Noble y Muy Leal 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.

Note - July 25 is the legal holiday in Guayaquil. Historians have not yet reached a consensus about the date of Guayaquil's foundation or founder. The city might have been founded more than once. Another possible founder might be Diego de Almagro.

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.

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 Peruvian battalion quartered in Guayaquil, overwhelmed the resistance of the Royalist guards and arrested the Spanish authorities. Guayaquil declared independence from Spain. José Joaquín de Olmedo was named "Jefe Civil" of Guayaquil.

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.

Guayaquil's current mayor (alcalde) is Jaime Nebot [ˈxai.me ne.ˈβot], 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 recontructed the city in all levels including sidewalks, parks, sewer system, it took the power and telephone lines underground, it saw a lot of recontruction 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 [ma.le.ˈkon ðoz ˈmil], the renovation of the breakwater (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 center. The idea of the creation of this park came from Ecuador's central bank in 1982, as part of their "Rescate Arquitectónico" ("Architectural Rescue") program.

[edit] Food and Restaurants

Guayaquil food is very popular among tourists, people enjoy eating the great variety of dishes that the city offers. Some famous recipes are "Guatita," which is made with peanuts, "Encebollado" which is a seafood soup, "Arroz con Menestra y carne" (rice and beans with grilled or fried beef), "Fritada" (fried pork), pan de yuca (bread made from yucca). Some restaurants where these foods, and other ones from fast food to Asian, Mexico, Uruguay and the USA can be found are:

• "Lo Nuestro"
• "La Parrilla del Nato"
• "Yogur Persa"
• "Gran Chef"
• "Fridays"
• "Matsuri Sushi"
• "Chifa Amoi"
• "Cantones"
• "Chifa Jumbo"
• "Helados Fragola"
• "Parrillada del Este"
• "El Capi"
• "Al Malek Shawarma"

[edit] Artists

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

• Julio Jaramillo (b. 1935, Guayaquil - d. 1978, Guayaquil)
• Félix Arauz (b. 1935, Guayaquil)
• Xavier Blum Pinto (b. 1957, Guayaquil)
• Theo Constanté (b.1934, Guayaquil)
• Araceli Gilbert (b. 1913, Guayaquil - d. 1993, Quito)
• 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)
• Jaime Villa (b. 1934, Guayaquil)

In addition to the Master Artists above, other famous people from Guayaquil include animator Mike Judge; poets José Joaquín de Olmedo and Adalberto Ortiz, scholar Benjamín Urrutia, former world's oldest person Maria Capovilla, violinist Jorge Saade, operatic soprano Beatriz Parra Durango, singers Julio Jaramillo, Gerardo Mejia, who famous during the early 90s for his song "Rico, Suave", and tennis players Pancho Segura, That in 1950 and 1952, as a professional, he was the World Co-No. 1 player, and Andres Gomez, who won the ATP Championship of Roland Garros in Paris, France in 1990.

[edit] Religious Structures

Guayaquil has a Cathedral and many other Roman Catholic churches. It also has a Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints [1] and many other religious structures of that denomination. There are many faiths and religions represented throughout the city.

[edit] Universities

Some of Guayaquil's main universities are:

• Universidad de Guayaquil
• Escuela Superior Politécnica del Litoral
• Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil
• Universidad Laica Vicente Rocafuerte
• Universidad de Especialidades Espíritu Santo
• Universidad Casa Grande
• Universidad Santa Maria
• Brookdale Community College
• Blue Hill College

[edit] Places to Visit

El Malecón 2000 - Is a project of restoration of the historic Simon Bolivar Pier. It will be a symbolic center of the city, a mix of green areas and shopping, and is expected to become a major tourist attraction.

El Palacio Municipal - is sited in front of the Malecón and holds the political offices of city and provincial officials. A building of the neoclassical style, it is considered one of the most important architectural works in the country. Employees will enthusiastically answer questions about the building and are a good source of information regarding the city.

Las Peñas Neighborhood - in the northeast corner of the city's center, is the artistic center 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. A walk through this historic district gives one a glimpse into Guayaquil's past.

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 the streets Loja and Juan Montalvo. Its many vendors sell indigenous crafts, jewelry, and paintings.

Parque Centenario - located on the street 9 de Octubre, between Lorenzo de Garaycoa and Quito, this is the largest park downtown, occupying four city blocks. It offers shady refuge from the equatorial sun, wih large trees arching over the walkways and lawns. A large statue of Liberty dominates the central area of the park.

Parque Seminario - Located on 10 de Agosto Avenue and Chile, is home to many iguanas, some of which approach 5 feet in length. There seems to be hundreds of the monstrous, yet docile, reptiles lurking all over. Every afternoon, workers bring fruit and vegetable scraps to lure the iguanas from the trees so that onlookers may watch them descend for a snack! There is also a pond filled with colorful Japanese Tilapia fish. An equestrian statue of Simón Bolívar is located in the center of the park.

Most buildings in downtown Guayaquil have a very attractive feature - the soportales. These are colonnades or arcades that provide protection to pedestrians from the equatorial sun and torrential rains.

Many attractive churches feature Spanish influenced architecture.

Bahia - Is a famous marketplace that is popular among both tourists and natives. It features practically everything, from shoes to electronic devices.

[edit] Night Life

Guayaquil is also a big party city, famous areas to go clubbing are "Zona Rosa" full of clubs where you can listen to live music, pubs at el Barrio las Peñas, here you can relax have a drink and listen to music played by native artists, and the modern night clubs at Samborondón that nobody that is in the city should ever miss
Clubs to go: "El Gran Cacao", "Kamikaze", "Mute", "Vulcano", "Atenea", "La Proa", "Fizz", "Bla, Bla, Bla".

[edit] Trivia

• Guayaquil appears as the setting for much of the novel Galápagos by Kurt Vonnegut.
• The Latin rock group Mano Negra have a song called "Guayaquil City" on their second album Puta's Fever.
• Beavis and Butt-head & King of the Hill creator Mike Judge was born in Guayaquil.

[edit] See also

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

[edit] References

• Municipalidad de Guayaquil
• Map of north and central Guayaquil
• Night life Info
• Guayaquil Entertainment

[edit] External links

• Old Photos of Guayaquil
• Photos of Guayaquil I
• Tourism and Entertainment of Guayaquil I
• Photos of Guayaquil II
• Guayaquil Webcam showing the "Puente de la Unidad Nacional"
• Guayaquil at Google Maps
• Guayaquil at Ecuador Travel Guides
• Moda en Guayaquil

Coordinates: 2°11′S, 79°53′W