Alausí is a town

Town

A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...

 in the Chimborazo

Chimborazo Province

Chimborazo is a province in Ecuador, located in the central Ecuadorian Andes, containing a section of Sangay National Park. The capital is Riobamba. The province contains Chimborazo , Ecuador's highest mountain.- Cantons :...

 province

Provinces of Ecuador

Ecuador is divided into 24 provinces . The provinces of Ecuador and their capitals are:1 Population as per the census carried out on 2001-11-25In addition, there are three areas within Ecuador that are non-delimited...

 of Ecuador

Ecuador

Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

.

History

During the Spanish conquest of Ecuador, the city was named by Sebastián de Belalcázar

Sebastián de Belalcázar

Sebastián de Belalcázar was a Spanish conquistador.-Early life:He was born Sebastián Moyano in the province of Córdoba, Spain, in either 1479 or 1480. He took the name Belalcázar as that was the name of the castle-town near to his birthplace in Córdoba...

 as San Pedro de Alausí, giving the city the name of the saint of the day

Saint Peter

Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...

, coinciding with the founding of the city of Quito

Quito

San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito , is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains...

. Later the founding of the city was legalized by Benálcazar with the name "Alausí". After the creation of the Government of Quito, Alausí formed part of that province as a lesser political and administrative entity.

In 1980, when Quito launched its movement for independence, Alausí recognized the new government and named Captain José Antonio Pontón as its voice and member of the Junta. When the first assembly of the free towns took place in 1811, Captain José Antonio Pontón served as Representative for the Province of Alausí, in which capacity he signed the Carta de Estado de Quito in 1812. In recognition of its patriotism, fidelity, and honor of its inhabitants, the Bishop Cuero y Caicedo resolved that the town's political and administrative status be raised to "Villa".

Transport

Alausí is served by bus to many destinations in Ecuador. Alausi's bus station is located three blocks down from the train station, on 5 de Junio along the town’s main street. Buses to and from smaller towns run regularly. There are set schedules for more popular destinations, such as Quito, Cuenca and Guayaquil.

It is also the starting-off point for the Nariz del Diablo train. This engineering work is among the most audacious projects realized in the Andean mountain range. Nariz del Diablo was the tomb of many Jamaican slaves contracted to dynamite the mountain.

Tourists visiting the Ingapirca ruins in Cañar

Cañar

Cañar may refer to:* Cañar Province, Ecuador* Cáñar, Spain...

can board a bus heading for Cuenca. The ruins are about an hour and a half outside of Cañar.

Cityscape

Alausí is known for its architecture, and most of its houses are more than 100 years old.

In Alausí, one finds various monuments located in the parks and important places in the city. Without doubt the most important is the Monument to Saint Peter (Monumento a San Pedro), the patron saint of the city. This monument is located in Loma de Lluglli, and can be seen from any point in the city due to its large size and strategic location.

The most important church in the city is "la Matriz", located in front of 13 November park (parque 13 de Noviembre). The church was constructed in the 18th Century with stone extracted from the mines of Chiripungo, located about 2 kilometers outside of the city.

Festivals

Carnaval is the traditional festival of Alausí, and is celebrated with a special parade, in which the neighborhoods of the city and special invitees participate. The running of the bulls and other festivals are also celebrated here.

A testament to the Spanish influence in South America, the Festival of San Pedro is celebrated from June 22 - July 2, and has been celebrated since the colonial era. Traditional dance, music, folklore, cockfights, bullfights and other activities attract Ecuadorians and international tourists to the celebration.