During our first few days in Ecuador, we were told that family plays an important role in Ecuador and that there are a lot of big celebrations with the family. I have been living in Ecuador for almost 9 month now and can confirm this. I have gained a deeper look into the life, culture and for sure the celebrations in Ecuador.
After 20 days in Ecuador there was my first celebration with the family. Or as it called here: Fiesta. My host sister is doing a voluntary service for a year. A few days bevor she went to Germany the whole family was invited to say goodbye. And if I’m saying the whole family, I mean the whole family. In Germany I’m very close with my family too but it’s just my parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. I don’t even know for example the cousins of my parents and certainly not my grandparents‘ cousins. Here in Ecuador everyone is invited and everyone knows each other. So we ended up with round about 100 people in our house and garden. At this time my Spanish skills barely existed and I was very overwhelmed. But it was still very nice to see how close everyone is and how much fun they have together. I think this family celebration in my first month prepared me for all the other ones.
La fiesta familiar más grande a la que me invitaron fue un día antes de Navidad. Mi familia anfitriona ya me había advertido que habría mucha gente. Pero cuando llegamos al lugar (una hora tarde) me sorprendí. Era una fiesta con más de 250 miembros de la familia. Todos se dan la bienvenida con un beso en la mejilla. Así que a menudo me presentaba y le decía a la gente quién era y qué estaba haciendo en Ecuador. Puedo decir que estaba feliz cuando llegamos a nuestra mesa. Después de eso, los discursos se dieron durante más de dos horas. Más tarde comimos juntos y luego llegó el momento de bailar. A partir de ahí, me encantó la fiesta. Bailé con miembros de la familia con los que no había hablado antes y simplemente lo pasé muy bien. Había muchas canciones y bailes típicos ecuatorianos, así que a veces simplemente seguía los pasos que hacían los demás. La fiesta no terminó hasta altas horas de la noche. Fue increíble.
Over the year there are many celebrations (birthdays, Christmas, Easter) and they are often similar. The house is full of people and it’s very loud because everyone is talking and laughing. Also it’s common to welcome everybody with a kiss on the cheek. On these days it’s normal that they first serve a lot of food and you eat together and later the real fiesta starts. But not to forget one very important thing. Whenever Ecuadorian family’s come together, speeches are given first. After the speeches and the food the best part of the evening starts. You know you will have a lot of fun as soon as somebody turns up the music. It doesn’t take long before the whole family starts to dance and somebody walks around and gives everyone beer with the same cup. This goes on into the night. Everyone dances and enjoys the party. Whether children or grandparents, everyone takes part.
I have been to many small and large celebrations during my time in Ecuador and I can say Ecuadorian family party’s are a lot of fun. I felt like a part of the family
immediately. Also I always enjoyed the food, dancing, singing and having a good time with the family. And one thing is certain: Ecuadorians know how to party!