1 year ago
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Casa Gangotena
Our archetypal impressions of Quito were astatine night. We were going from the airdrome to the aged town, and each that could beryllium seen were aged buildings, and winding streets. Then, a lighted building, white, almost-church-like, with huge, hand-carved woody doors. “We person arrived,” said the operator successful a grandiose tone, “At Casa Gangotena.”
When we walked successful done those doors, we sensed we were walking into a portion of South American past we knew small about. But we learned during the days up much astir this historical spot precocious successful the Andes, 9500 feet supra oversea level.
Casa Gangotena-The Palza and Cathedral of St Francis
The consciousness of antiquity was palpable astatine Casa Gangotena. Before becoming a luxury edifice successful 2011, the Gangotena household mansion was already known, and located connected an advantageous, unsocial corner, crossed from Quito’s astir recognized quadrate is the 500-plus year-old Plaza de San Francisco, wherever the iconic Cathedral of St. Francis stands. The operation of the basilica and convent of the Cathedral San Francisco began astir 1537, with the completion of a impermanent religion successful 1550. Then, the caller operation of the existent cathedral was completed astir 1680. The Cathedral and Plaza San Francisco are portion of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. And Casa Gangotena is crossed the street.
Casa Gangotena
The Casa Gangotena is referred to arsenic the Gangotena Palace by galore Quiteños, arsenic the property has existed for centuries, and remains an icon of Spanish architecture, with lavish interior décor reminiscent of Neo-Renaissance palaces successful France and Italy. Historic accounts notation successful the precocious 17th Century, the Spanish-descending Jijón and Gangotena families owned the mansion with respective generations, adjacent then, surviving successful the location – and with the chiseled vantage of being capable to spell to the Cathedral conscionable steps away.
From the years 1880 to 1950, Don Enrique Gangotena y Jijón, 1 of the household patriarchs owned the mansion, brought it to heights of luxury -- some with its outer architecture and facades arsenic good arsenic the spectacular interior décor-- French lamps, good carpets, mirrors and creation pieces from Europe and Asia on with paintings and sculptures of the celebrated Quiteño School of Religious Art.
The power of the family—and the home-- during the aboriginal years of the Republic of Ecuador and into the twentieth period was considerable. It became the epicenter of important governmental encounters, and became the preferred venue of the emerging elite nine of Quito, particularly during the archetypal fractional of the 1900’s.
Susan Kime-Casa Gangotena
Casa Gangotena
This past is observable everyplace -- the paintings, the decorated ceilings, the covered lobby, and the fountains. And we were determination – connected the 3rd floor—in the Terrace Suite. The ample floor-to-ceiling model was unfastened erstwhile we arrived, and we saw successful nonstop view, a hill, and connected apical a statue – we discovered aboriginal it was the Virgen del Panecillo, Virgin of Quito, oregon Virgin of The Round Hill, disposable from astir everyplace successful the city. Not lone is it the tallest aluminum statue successful the world, it's besides the world's tallest winged practice of the Virgin Mary. From our archetypal presumption successful the dark, determination was a luminous bluish airy astir the statue, making it look surreal, but successful the daytime, the presumption was inactive beautiful, shiny metallic aluminum, and not arsenic blue.
The adjacent AM, astatine breakfast, we were fixed our archetypal sensation of Ecuadorian coffee, pumpkin-filled Empanadas, and cocoa – a gustatory experience! --before we went connected our memorable Quiteño activities.
Susan Kime-Senora Emma Lagla, Herbalist
Our archetypal acquisition was wrong a tiny store a fewer steps up the thoroughfare from Casa Gangotena. It was arsenic distant an situation from Casa Gangotena arsenic it could person been, arsenic it was owned and managed by an herbalist --Emma Lagla. She is simply a petite woman, who had garnered wellness cognition from her past ancestry and section culture, astir the herbs that helped pains of the stomach, the head, eyes, and of the skin. Her concern is called Secretos de las Plantas -- and astir her were shelves filled with bundles of leaves – caller eucalyptus, sage aromatic pine, nettle, with herbs--rosemary, mint, lemongrass, and with flowers – chaotic and cultivated rose, daisy, lavender, and jasmine— each combined and tied with twine. What a lawsuit was to bash with this bundle, she explained, was to spell home, boil the flower/leaf/herbs successful water, enactment the boiled essence with the twined herb/leaf/flower combinations successful the bathtub and soak successful it. These are called Energy Baths, and connected the partition of this tiny store is simply a sign-- liberally translated, saying, “Come -- we volition cure your fear, atrocious air, evil eyes, with vigor baths to alteration your luck.”
Susan Kime - Senora Lupita Faranango, Hatmaker
Our 2nd enactment was with a hatmaker – the business, Sombrerería Benalcázar – with señora Lupita Farinango teaching us. We learned that chapeau making is an past contented successful Ecuador, location of the world-renowned Panama Hat, which, she said, is 100% Ecuadorian! These hats were created due to the fact that the prima is highly strong, arsenic the altitude of Quito is 9500 feet, and the usage of a chapeau is essential. Her showroom country was fascinating, arsenic we entered a satellite of hats, immoderate with colored ribbons, others were Pith helmets, gaucho hats, American fedoras, cowboy hats, and Panama hats. Ms. Lupita said, “Panama un estilo, nary una ubicación!” Meaning, again translating liberally, “Panama a style, not a location” Good to know!
Susan Kime
The 3rd enactment was the acquisition of making Ecuadorian chocolate. It was astatine Chez Tiff, an artisanal Beans to Bar cocoa institution that grinds its ain cacao beans from pods hand- picked successful the countryside. The proprietor is Bertrand Indemini, from Switzerland. He has been successful Ecuador with his household for 22 years. He speaks Spanish, and French and we conjecture – though we bash not know, immoderate Swiss German also. What we bash cognize is helium is an exceptional chocolatier. He showed america however to marque pieces of cocoa with passionateness effect fillings. He questioned the validity of achromatic cocoa but said his institution does marque 1 with barley essence that helium said is rather good. We tasted a 100% cocoa barroom and recovered it somewhat tart, and crunchy, owed to the crushed cacao beans successful the bar. But we did look astatine their cocoa postulation and bought immoderate antithetic ones: Mandarin, Inca Peanut, Amaranth, Ginger, and Macambo.
Susan Kime
We assumed we would beryllium finished with our Ecuadorian cocoa education, but we were incorrect, arsenic the Casa Gangotena had a caller cocoa enactment acceptable for us. This included the making of blistery cocoa with an acquisition of the elements recovered successful cocoa pots, and past crushed by a prima shaped pestle by hand, precise like, it was said, that the nonmigratory Gangotena Mixologist’s abuela (grandmother) used.
Susan Kime
We learned however to bash blistery cocoa successful that way, with cinnamon, immoderate anise, a small pepper, and a batch of chocolate. We tasted 4 types, 1 a small much aggravated than the different from 58% to 100% chocolate. Each was much aggravated than the other, but again, the 100% barroom was the tartest and crunchiest. We were told that the 100% bars were sold to chiefly to athletes and those who trained astatine precocious altitudes, to support their spot and oxygen levels maintained.
Susan Kime - Virgin Mary of Quito.
Our clip astatine Casa Gangotena was limited, yet from this historical site, and with our travels adjacent the hotel, we learned overmuch astir the taste individuality of this high-altitude capital. Because the Virgin Mary with wings looked implicit the city, and due to the fact that the colonisation is 80% Catholic, determination is simply a palpable consciousness of sanctity and sanctuary successful the Quito we saw, and astatine Casa Gangotena. No 1 speaks loudly, determination is an indoor tranquility, and outside, astir apt due to the fact that the Cathedral, with Franciscan Friars crossed the street, determination was an outdoor tranquility arsenic well.
Traveling present allowed america to deliberation we were a unsocial portion of aged and new: past traditions and caller learning, changing daily, yet, somehow, remaining profoundly familiar. What we re-learned was what we knew already but had forgotten: determination is sanctity successful elemental things: successful bundling herbs, successful weaving hats, successful grinding chocolate. It was a visceral joyousness to beryllium here, and we near with cognitive anticipation of yet returning.
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