Quito at the Crossroads: Saving the Historic Capital of Ecuador (review)

Affordable price ($19.95), reasonable viewing time (28 minutes) and outstanding photography of the exterior and interior of some of the oldest and most beautiful buildings in South America make this video an excellent choice for undergraduate or graduate courses on Latin America, urban geography, city planning, cultural or historical geography. The video showcases the historic center of Quito, Ecuador, the oldest capital city in South America. Founded by the Spanish in the 1500s in a mountain valley over 9,000 feet in elevation, the historic center of Quito was declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1978. The original city plan was designed in 1534 in a grid pattern of narrow streets and plazas over an area of approximately one square mile. This area contains dozens of magnificent old churches, monasteries and convents, some of which contain art work reflecting the blending of European and Indian culture in what came to be known as the Quito School of Art. One of the oldest churches in the Americas, the Church of San Francisco, was built on the site of an Inca temple. This film captures the spirit and reality of these ancient buildings, many suffering from lack of maintenance as well as weather and earthquake related damage.

The Getty Conservation Institute is engaged in a major restoration project in the historic center of Quito to save as much art and architecture and as many colonial archives as possible. However, they recognize that city centers, regardless of their age, are dynamic and evolving. Their development cannot be stopped at a point in time like an art object in a museum. Human and environmental factors are to be considered. Many of the historic buildings in the old city center have been partitioned into residential, commercial and office space. A residential population of about 80,000 surges to about 200,000 people during the day as shopkeepers, office workers and street vendors crowd into the historic center of the city. To make matters worse the narrow streets are a transportation corridor between the industrial south and the more modern financial and government buildings to the north. Diesel fumes of buses and gasoline fumes of taxis pollute the air and damage building exteriors. Other problems include the tangle of electrical lines and uncontrolled signage.

The film highlights the Jesuit church of La Compañía and the church and cloister of La Merced with rooms full of hand-painted murals, rare books and antique objects. A detailed study of the external and internal color history of buildings along an eight block stretch of Garcia Moreno Street has been undertaken to accurately restore original color. Aerial views and traditional music provide good geographic context. Former mayors of the city explain that the people of Quito are aware of and committed to saving the historic city center. Public and private sector collaboration to preserve the historic center is driven by the need to connect past and future cultural identity. The title "Quito at the Crossroads" means a choice must be made between restoration and decay of significant historic buildings. Will future generations enjoy and know their history or will it be lost to the ravages of weather and time?