The worlds of Cuenca

I have a tendency, when I travel, to ask myself what it would be like to live in every new place I encounter.  As I write this, it's 6 pm and I'm sitting on Señora Elena's balcony overlooking Cuenca.  To the right, clouds are rolling in as a thick, grey mist.  A narrow sliver advances like a scout.  The city waits beneath, in twilight, as if to be put to sleep.  To the left, the sun illuminates a fast-disappearing ridge. The jagged grey silhouette of the peaks contrasts sharply with the bright, orange-pink, fluffy mass above.  Patches of light blue sky continue to persevere, but it's clear that the clouds will eventually prevail.  Lights are coming on throughout the valley.  

How do we fit into this scene?  Well, on a mundane level, we just returned from a day-long outing that involved a walk down hill to town, with stops for pan de chocolate at the local panadería, and sunscreen at the farmacía (essential at 8,000 feet near the equator!).  After getting the keys for our new house (more on that later), we walked through the center to a coffee shop with wifi where we had lunch and took care of wifi-dependent business.  

           Oscar at lunch "with" PZs

After lunch, we crossed the river and meandered to the Parque de la Madre, where we took in a local kids' judo tournament.  From there, we walked another mile to the larger Parque de Paraíso, filled with soccer games, playgrounds, a boating lake, a bouncy house, a car track, benches and picnic tables.  Ecuadorian families (and their dogs) were out in full force.  Interestingly, while I notice lots of smart phone use in restaurants and plazas in the city, I saw no one on a screen in the park.  We played cards, read our books, and played frisbee.  A little girl even invited Ruby to play on the monkey bars, but we were in the middle of an intense game of Mao.  The day ended with a visit to a heladería in the center and a brisk walk back uphill.  Perfect.  

                   By the river

As to the more existential question of how we fit in, I still have no idea.  We're clearly passing through, spending a mere 3 weeks here.  We will only get to meet people superficially.  Nevertheless, now that we've been here all of six days, I feel somewhat qualified to conduct an anthropological assessment of Cuenca.  (In truth, we've gotten just a tiny peek at the different worlds of Cuenca.  So this is cursory, unscientific, and highly subjective, at best.)

Cuenca is a city in transition with parallel universes.  From our home stay, we're experiencing life in a large, multi-generational, relatively prosperous and tight knit family.  My Spanish tutor comes from a similar family and has further enriched my understanding of Ecuadorian life here.  The other world, that of gringos in Cuenca, largely operates independently and separately from that of the Ecuadorians.  The few exceptions are Ecuadorians like our tutors, who meet lots of gringos, and the few gringos who make friends with Ecuadorians.  

The gringo population is growing exponentially and has the potential to transform this city (and country).  Remarkably, there are 2,000 more foreigners living in Cuenca today than there were only six months ago.  The vast majority of gringos living in Cuenca don't speak Spanish; estimates of those who do speak Spanish range from 7-10%.  

We've already have met a number of foreigners who are here checking out Cuenca as a place to live.  The resident gringos fall into four camps -- retirees (many of whom are economic refugees and/or folks with medical problems); families (a growing segment); single people or couples without kids (the smallest group, some are artists, writers, etc); and hippies (some of whom have kids).  The gringo families either send their kids to the best private schools in Cuenca, or they homeschool (hippies and strictly religious families).

So far, there's been no open friction between Ecuadorians and gringos.  But there is concern that the cost of living will go up and that Ecuadorians will be priced out of rental apartments.  Currently, two rental markets exist with vastly different prices.  Gringos are not buying real estate, yet.

In look and feel, Cuenca reminds me of a small city in Italy.  People are prosperous and friendly, and the climate is amazingly comfortable.  Family is central to Cuencan culture, just as it is traditionally in Italy.  Cuenca was built on Incan ruins, reminiscent of Rome.  Like Florence, it's bisected by a river.  Ecuadorians in the Sierra and Italians dress well and are more reserved and formal than Americans.

Obviously, that superficial comparison quickly breaks down upon closer examination.  Ecuador has an indigenous population that permeates, and increasingly has a voice, in law and society.  Ecuador is also shaped by its colonial history.  Italy has none of that.  Ecuador is a developing country with a rising standard of living.  Italy, well, is sadly a first world country in a bit of a crisis.  

One other difference between Ecuador and, say, Florence, is that here, there is no leisure class to speak of.  People here work very hard, sometimes working two jobs to make ends meet.  Even though there undoubtedly are rich Cuencans, there's no visible culture of leisure such as that in Tuscany.  Most of Ecuador's wealth is on the coast in Guayaquil, which will be interesting to check out.

I'm looking forward to meeting more people in Cuenca and to finetuning my analysis!  I welcome your thoughts and reactions.  Thanks for reading this long blog post.