Guayaquil: History

Pre-20th-Century History

Legend has it that Guayaquil's name comes from Guayas (the great Puna Indian chief who fought bravely against the Incas and later against the Spanish) and Quill, his wife. Before drowning himself, he is said to have killed Quill rather than let her be captured by conquistadors. However, several historians claim the city's name comes from the words 'Hua' (land), 'Illa' (beautiful prairie) and 'Quilca', one of the Guyas River's tributaries where the Quilca tribe lived until being wiped out in the 17th century. Thus, Guayaquil is literally 'the land like a beautiful prairie on the land of the Quilcas'.

A settlement was first established in the area around 1534 until moving permanently to Santa Ana Hill in 1547. The city was an important port and ship-building center for the Spanish, but it was plagued by pirate attacks and several devastating fires. In 1896, the 'Great Fire' burned huge parts of the city to the ground. Guayaquil achieved its independence from Spain on October 9, 1820, and was an independent province until Simón Bolívar annexed it as part of Gran Columbia in 1822. In 1830, Bolívar's experiment failed and Guayaquil became part of the newly formed republic of Ecuador.

Modern History

In 1982, Ecuador's central bank discussed the creation of a Rescate Arquitectónico (Architectural Rescue) program. The result was Nuevo Parque Histórico. Sitting within a housing development zone called Entre Ríos, the park cost 7 million US dollars. As well as ensuring the preservation of the surrounding architecture, it is an animal refuge and has an exhibition center displaying the area's history and traditions.

Guayaquil's alcalde (mayor), Jaime Nebot, is a member of the political party Partido Social Cristiano. In the late 1990s, he set out to improve the city with a series of projects to attract tourism. His plans for urban regeneration involved the reconstruction of sidewalks, parks, the sewer system and the transit system with improvements to streets, speedways and tunnels.

Recent History

One of the main projects in the redevelopment of Guayaquil was Malecón 2000 - the malecón (breakwater) along the Guayas River was renovated and a boardwalk was built along its banks. In addition, the city's first rapid bus transit system opened in August 2006. Compared to the previous slow and generally shambolic system, Metrovía provides quicker service and has a much higher capacity for commuters.

Guayaquil's airport, which has the newest terminal in Ecuador, was renamed from Simón Bolívar International Airport to José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport in 2006 and was inaugurated on July 27 that year. There was an inaugural flight the following day; however, most airlines did not begin operating from here, in full, until August. The old terminal is being redeveloped into a convention center.

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