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| Imbabura Geographic Map |
EL CHOTA VALLEY
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| El Chota Valley |
The Chota Valley is an Ecuadorian region located in the basin of the Chota River on the border between the provinces of Imbabura and Carchi, in the middle of the Andean Sierra characterized by having a population of approximately 2,000 inhabitants of African descent and for being the birthplace of many players in the national team of Ecuador. It is a poor and large gaps in the Ecuador region.
HISTORY
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| African Slaves |
This community of Afro-Ecuadorian reached Africa's Ecuador in the 17th century brought by the Jesuits and Mercedarians to work as slaves in the mines and plantations of sugar cane. This Valley and the Salinas during the colonial period were known by the name of "Coangue or of death" due to the dry climate of the region. The Jesuits take these lands and settle them in 1659.
At that time the region was unsafe by malaria and malignant fevers. Half of the sugar mills decimated the Indians who were then replaced by black slaves, origin of the current black population. This Valley have come several athletes featured in national and international level.
It is known that in the 15th century on land belonging to the chieftains of Chota and Mira was produced coca and cotton. In 1550, the first Spanish landowners tried to bring more indigenous, with the aim of cultivating grapes, olives, cotton and sugar cane. Apparently, these efforts were productive; because the year 1570 gave an increase in coca and cotton crops. As of the Census of the town of Pimampiro resulted in the existence of 738 indigenous.
Before the failure of the operation to the indigenous peoples in the mitas introduced black slaves for agricultural work.
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| African slaves in America |
Negreros traffickers were unaware of the names of the slaves who came to America, and also understand the African languages; for both, gave slaves names belonging to the ethnic group and to the point of origin; some of them include: mine, Minda, Anangonó, Chalá, Carabalí, Matamba, etc. Some of these names are those of the coasts of Guinea, West Africa; others of the Congo River, in Central Africa; in Kenya, the Sudan, Nigeria, Angola, etc.
Jesuits were owners of unrefrigerated tracts of land in this area, owned sugar mills, their land ranged from the Mira River to the Moor and their lands could not be measured by extensive were. The presence of these two estates in Jesuit hands forced them to make a new importation of slaves. Since 1690, they brought in several Carabalies, (Group of blacks), which were imported by the British from the Bight of Bonny. Five years later, the Jesuits brought the first Congos (another group of blacks) to Imbabura. These slaves were brought by Portuguese, French and British companies in the region of Luanda, Angola and the banks of the River Congo in Central Africa
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| Black Hero |
LOCATION
Located between the limit of the provinces of Carchi and Imbabura, 35 km. from Ibarra and 89 Km of Tulcán, is easily accessible to the Valley by the Panamerican. Situated 1560 metres above sea level, it has an average temperature of 24 degrees.
COMMUNITIES OF THE CHOTA
Ambuqui, is located 34 km. northeast of Ibarra in the Chota Valley, at an altitude of 1500 meters of dry weather. They engage in agriculture, and its main products are the same as mentioned earlier in the Chota Valley, which produce various products such as wines and jams. It is the only population of the Chota Valley which is inhabited by Mestizo people.
Carpuela, East village of the Chota Valley is mostly devoted to making known clay masks, as well as farming and the manufacture of other products of clay. This village belongs to the Group Afro-Ecuadorian in the Chota Valley.
VEGETATION FLORA AND FAUNA
This Valley has developed in the basin of the Chota River. The green vegetation on the banks of the River contrasts with the arid lands of eroded slopes. It has a dry tropical climate.
Flora varieties are: Tuna, beans, tomato, eucalyptus, etc. Fauna have: lizards, Hummingbird, common Blackbird, guiragchuro, etc.
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| Ovos, a delicious fruit of the region. |
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| Beans a typical food. |
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| The region fruit |
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| Chilli plants that grow in the region |
CULTURE
The main manifestation is music and skill to dance and play La bomba, the drum and other very rudimentary instruments. To learn their culture, you can visit the Museum of Honka Monka located to the East side of the Panamerican, 2 km. after the Chota Valley.
MAIN ARTICLE: LA BOMBA DEL CHOTA
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| La Bomba |
A dance, poetry, music, traditional manifestation of communities is people of African descent of Carpuela and el Juncal in the Chota Valley. The pump comes from ancient times and is part of black culture, expression of the rhythm and music in the veins. The bomb is played by La Banda Mocha.
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| Milton Tadeo Bomba singer |
The best-known Bomba are "La bomba de la solteria", "María Chumchuna" and the "Chaguayacu". they do not have a dress in particular and you can see in the festivities as the celebration of the Virgin of Carmen, civic as: the Festival of San Juan and family as: marriages, baptisms, etc.
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| Bomba dancers |
The townspeople in their festivals improvises verses called "La Bomba". The "La Bomba", for them is something that is part of the person and appears to the beat of the sound that emits the old leather of goat beaten by Las Palmas, the musician, increasingly more forcefully. These "bombas", dance and sing at family occasions, dances popular, as in good night. On these occasions, there are challenges between a man and a woman dancing with a bottle of pure on the head. Its pleated skirts and its brightly colored blouse form a box full of colorful and cheerful rhythm.
In the letter describing their daily lives and are inspired by the River, in women in love, in the fruits. This rhythm is the channel through which musicians and dancers to express the particular experiences and their social reality from times of slavery, the Brown found the source for inspiration and recreate a lost tradition of Africa. Pump has a multiple meaning, as it is called the main instrument used for the execution of their music, dance and songs written by Black popular poets.
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| Traditional dance |
In the letter describing their daily lives and are inspired by the River, in women in love, in the fruits. This rhythm is the channel through which musicians and dancers to express the particular experiences and their social reality from times of slavery, the Brown found the source for inspiration and recreate a lost tradition of Africa. Pump has a multiple meaning, as it is called the main instrument used for the execution of their music, dance and songs written by Black popular poets.
LA BANDA MOCHA
With this term it has been known to instrumental groupings that constitute artistic manifestations and cultural alive and original communities settled black throughout the basin of the River Chota. The origin of the first bands is situated at the end of the 19th century, appearing as an imitation of military music and his early band consisted of rudimentary instruments such as: leaves of Orange, flutes, machetes, bass drum and trumpets made of dried gourd, peinillas, cigars, etc.
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| Banda Mocha singers |
With this term it has been known to instrumental groupings that constitute artistic manifestations and cultural alive and original communities settled black throughout the basin of the River Chota. The origin of the first bands is situated at the end of the 19th century, appearing as an imitation of military music and his early band consisted of rudimentary instruments such as: leaves of Orange, flutes, machetes, bass drum and trumpets made of dried gourd, peinillas, cigars, etc.
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| Banda Mocha performed by women |
La Banda Mocha band is usually composed of 14 musicians, and the set of instruments that make up have been developed with the materials of its ecological environment, have traditionally used instruments in "pure" (dried wild marrows) that emptied and cut by an end leaving them "polled" hence its name, blow them as a tuba; with the branches of the penco made a trumpet with the reeds flutes traversas, the calanguana is a pumpkin with incisions amanner of Macrocystis. Pump this echo in cane guadua or trinco tree bag and foot of goat. La Banda Mocha instruments are pump, drum, by gangs of Western origin dishes; the flute and vertical of carrizo (pingullo) similar to those used by indigenous peoples of the Sierra Norte.
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| Bomba Group |
The vocal and instrumental music bomba, is taken by La Banda Mocha and orchestral arrangements made by the older teachers and principals, carried to the field of instrumental to be performed in various festivities, local and regional rites that regularly take place in various communities.
The diversity of codes depends on age, sex, profession, enforcement, etc.; for example: according to the age there are melodies children's, youth; for adults and the elderly. According to sex for men and women, according to the profession, pastoral melodies, sing in the river while cooking.
The permanence of the bands is has been variable, appearing and disappearing in communities and in some cases is gangs have become conventional music bands with metal instruments.
DANCE
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| A woman dancing la Bomba |
Another feature of the black music of the Chota in his intimate relationship with the choreography, present in many of its musical manifestations, as: "El Caderazgo" which is a dance couple, the woman chases man looking for hitting him with his hip, if that happens the man leaves ashamed.
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| Beautiful black woman |
The traditional dances are also "La angara", "El puro", "La zafra", "El bundi" and the famous "baile de la botella" which is a dance couple in which women carries a bottle on the head with perfect balance and without losing harmony and movement. These dances are generally interpreted in marriages, velatories of children, christenings, festivals of patron saints or at festivals and competitions of pump and la Banda Mocha, while dances without choreography carried out in various social events organized for your everyday fun.
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| La Bomba performance |
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