El Vado

El Vado, first neighborhood that was built in Cuenca

To speak of the El Vado neighborhood is to go back to 1557, the same year as the foundation of Cuenca. In that then the Spanish conquerors when arriving at the plain called Paucarbamba, now Cuenca, planted a cross and from there it was constituted in the first district of the city.

According to the digital book 'Legend of El Vado', its name is due to the fact that inhabitants of that time waded through this site. When they arrived at the sector they crossed the Tomebamba without any problem, passing through there inhabitants of Girón, Santa Isabel, Machala, among others, and crossed by the paths where the University of Cuenca and the well-known San Roque neighborhood now operate.

According to the writer, Adolfo Parra Moreno, author of the book Rostro de los Barrios de Cuenca, from Calle Juan Montalvo and La Cruz, the troops of General Eloy Alfaro fired their weapons in the direction of what is now the San Roque neighborhood, where General Vega's troops were making resistance. "When the inhabitants of the neighborhood when knowing that Alfaro's troops entered the city, they prepared and threw hot ash, extracted from the kilns that worked in the sector."

For Hernán Alvarado, representative of the cultural axis of the sector, also to Cuenca, at that time, people came from Peru who crossed the river vadenando: "many of them crossed stepping on the stones that existed and said let's go through the ford".

He also points out that the neighborhood is and will remain a kind of balcony of the city. From there you can see the lower Tomebamba River, also called Julián Matadero, name with which the then bishop of the time, Andrés Quintián Ponte y Andrade, baptized it in the 19th century.

In this sector one of the places that characterizes it is the cross, which was carved in marble. According to its origins it was a symbol of protection for travelers who had to cross the waters of Tomebamba when it was grown.

A neighborhood full of traditions and charms
Al Vado is known as the neighborhood of bakeries, according to Adolfo Parra, who in his book says that was a source of inspiration for poets and musicians and that even the song 'Panaderita del Vado' was created by the artist Rafael Carpio Abad.

But in this place also very popular figures like the 'Niña Lola', 'Mama Felicia', 'Suquitas Mateas', 'Las Ututas', 'Luis Cocolo', among other characters who also put their story emerged.

Another characteristic that identifies this sector are crafts. According to Alvarado there were skilled people specialized in the branch of the tinwork, jewelries and weaving of toquilla straw hats. An icon in this art was Miguel Pulla.

According to Alvarado there was a group of young people who always made their reunion in the corner of the Cruz del Vado to receive jewelry workshops: "today there is no one who dedicates himself to this, he has been lost, there is only one in the sector", he pointed.

For his part, Eduardo Barrera, president and founder of the Neighborhood Committee, the jewelers left the Ford, the majority migrated to the United States. "In pottery and jewelry, for example, there was an average of 10 workers, now there are very few," he said nostalgically.

The traditional feast of the Cross
One of the festivals that still remains is that of the cross, which is celebrated every year on May 3 and that adorns all sectors with cultural and religious events. The inhabitants of the sector meet and form commissions to organize this party that begins on May 1, giving an arrangement to the Holy Cross. There the women elaborate an altar around the image; Day 2 is the wake and finally on day 3 there is a field mass accompanied by popular games, said Barrera.

During the day both families and visitors participate in popular games such as bagging, spinning, hoops, three-foot running and tomato dancing.

According to Barrera, the important thing is to maintain the Cuenca tradition and above all to maintain friendship among the residents of the sector.

The ladies of the sector take out the metal castle of approximately 8 meters long, they buy pots, clothes and in general utensils of the home, the same ones that are placed in the castle to be thrown to the participants.

Data

In the El Vado neighborhood, the traditions of yesteryear have been rescued, such as the palo ensebado, an example of which is the creation of a figure in the plaza of this place.

Security was paramount among the inhabitants of this neighborhood and for that, neighborhood brigades have been formed, which has helped to reduce the crime rate. The residents of the sectors left from midnight until the early hours of the morning to return the area.

The remodeling changed its appearance; now the site is visited by tourists to be photographed next to the monument of the 'palo ensebado', or de la Cruz. Estimated reading: 4 minutes Contains: 818 words Visits: 10087 Tags: Basin The Ford Short link: 

Esta noticia ha sido publicada originalmente por Diario EL TELÉGRAFO bajo la siguiente dirección: https://www.eltelegrafo.com.ec/noticias/regional-sur/1/el-vado-primer-barrio-que-se-levanto-en-cuenca
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