Nora Victoria Palacios

I don’t know that much about my Great Grandmother’s life-just some anecdotes, many that have been recounted by her niece, Nora Victoria, who at 88 is in great health. Over the last few years I have been visiting Nora Victoria in Chalguayaco which is in the Valle del Chota. Valle means valley. There are many towns in Valle del Chota which was once the home of missionaries and their slaves. Today, most of the valley is populated by descendents of slaves and is thus considered one of the largest Afro-Ecuadorian regions. Nora Victoria is a fascinating woman. She is fiercely independent, chain smokes and once or twice a month goes to Pimampiru to do what is called a “cambeo”, where she exchanges fruits and vegetables she grows in her garden for grains to make soups. When I visited her on Monday (March 10) she was preparing to do a cambeo to make fanesca, a delicious soup, full of many grains that is made during Easter. As I prepare to shoot this film that recreates my Great Grandmother’s journey I asked Nora Victoria a lot of questions about daily life in Ecuador in the 1940s when she was a little girl. She remembers walking and leading a mule up small trails while making the trek from Chota to Ibarra, the closest city to her. The trip took about 5 hours and she said that she was so poor she sometimes didn’t have shoes. In Ibarra she would sell her wares, fruits and vegetables from her garden, and then return by nightfall back to her home. A few years ago I interviewed Nora Victoria. Here is the link on vimeo. Interview with Nora Victoria Palacios.

Nora Victoria Palacios

If just getting to Ibarra was 5 hours you can imagine how harrowing the journey was all the way to Guayaquil. I have been doing quite a bit of research about the journey. It could take from 2 weeks to 3 months depending on the season. During the rainy season there was flooding, bugs, deadly diseases, and rising rivers making it very dangerous to cross them. Travelers stayed in Tambos which are adobe houses with thatched roofs. In the 18th century the Tambos were run by indigenous locals who lived along the path called “El Camino del Inca”. Later the indigenous “inn keepers” were replaced by Spanish criollos who were hired by the state government. The roads/trails became more dangerous and the Tambos fell into disrepair. Since Maria Rosa made the trip in the early 20th century she probably found a path in disrepair especially since the construction of the railroad was underway.

A typical house in Chota circa 1950

A Tambo near the base of Chimborazo, the tallest mountain in Ecuador.