This week in our online class we visit Ecuador and learn about an Afro-Ecuadorian dance from the Chota Valley known as the bomba. Ecuador may the second smallest country in South America but it boasts an enormous amount of geographic, biological and ethnic diversity. Ecuador benefits from being home to thousands of species of animals and plants, as well as a wealth of ethnic and racial groups. Over 60% of Ecuadorians are of mixed European and American-Indian heritage, and 25% describe themselves as being born of one of the nation’s indigenous peoples. Despite this pervasive mixing, deep regional rivalries, such as a protracted rivalry between coastal city Guayaquil and the Andean capital, Quito, remain a staple of Ecuador’s internal politics. Ecuador also has an unofficial, yet deeply entrenched, “caste” system, based upon race and ancestral history.
