Maintaining ethnic identity in Hispanic cultures
If you were to take a trip about two hours north of Quito, Ecuador, in the Andean highland, you would find the world famous Otavalan Indian market. Arrive early on a Saturday morning and you are in for a shopper’s delight: merchants and tourists buying, selling, and haggling over the right price line the town’s streets.
So just what makes this market unique? This mercado (market) is run by a group of Indian peoples who have managed to maintain their ethnic identity, despite efforts by Spaniards and the modern world to change them. Many still speak Quechua, their native language, and wear traditional dress. You may see the men attired in calf-length white trousers, rope sandals, and reversible blue/grey ponchos, with their hair tied back in long ponytails. The women wear long black skirts, shawls, colorful embroidered blouses, and beautiful jewelry of gold or blown-glass beads.
History tells us that the Otavalo Indians have been good textile makers and businesspeople since ancient times. During the Incan rule of the fifteenth century, Otavalo was known as an important administrative area. After the Spanish conquest, Rodrigo de Salazar continued and expanded textile production in the area. He established a huge weaving workshop (obraje) which employed hundreds of workers; by the early 1600s, it was the most important workshop in Ecuador. This business tradition has continued and still runs strong today.