" We must sadly verify that an adverse and destructive fate has detained the arts in Ecuador"(Alzamora 1957, 47). This statement, or similar words to that effect, is frequently used in this country to describe the history of academic (or" classical") music in Ecua-dor. In spite of abundant natural resources, either governmental ineptitude, disinterest, or the disastrous economic consequences of natural phenomena (such as El Ninio or earthquakes) have meant that musicians in this country have almost always been relegated to the lowest priority. It is no wonder that Ecuadorian composer Mesias Maiguashca (b. 1938) wryly notes that with very, very few exceptions, every one of this country's composers has come from the lowest economic classes (Maiguashca 1965, 129-30). Despite economic hardships or bureaucratic obstacles, however, in recent years the latest generations of Ecuadorian composers have taken important strides, perhaps not economically, but at least artistically, which are worthy of mention. In this article, the author would like to consider that generation of composers born in the 1960s, who truly represent the beginning of a new trend in composition in Ecuador. But before proceeding with these issues, it is perhaps helpful to begin with a summary of the history of composition in Ecuador.