The upper valley of the
Mira River, called the Chota River in its upstream portion, in northern
Ecuador, and the small villages in it are usually referred to as 'El Chota', and it runs east–west between the two ranges of the Andes. It lies in the provinces of
Imbabura,
Carchi and (to the west)
Esmeraldas. The river and its upper valley are situated about halfway between the
equator
The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can als ...
and the
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
n border. Accessed off Route 35, the nearest major city is
Quito
Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley o ...
, but Ibarra is the major market centre just south of the valley. It is reputed to be where the best soccer players in the country tend to be from.
In the only village actually named Chota, Spanish-speaking black
Creole villagers live here but there are eleven other Afro-Ecuadorean villages with more than 100 inhabitants in the upper Chota; the
Quechua-speaking farmers live higher up in the
Andes mountains. Located beside the Chota River, the Chotans live from growing sugar cane, making aguardiente (brandy) and a range of other crops and raise pigs and goats. The valley bottom lies at around 1700 metres but the highway to the north and south rises quickly to over 3000 metres high.
The Chota valley people are of African descent. Most were brought here as slaves during the colonial period, particularly when many of the great sugar estates were owned and organised by the Jesuits. Esmeraldas, to the west, is the main African descendant area in the country. These people are supposedly descendants of slaves escaping from wrecked slave ships, just as is the African descendant population of the Choco in Colombia. Similar African descendant populations, occur in the hot valley south of Cuenca in southern Ecuador and, to the north in Colombia, in the Patía valley.
The Chota valley is somewhat culturally unique as a black settlement in
Hispanic America located far from the lowlands.
Afro-Bolivians are similarly located away from lowland areas.
The climate in the upper Chota valley can be hot or cool, but is consistently dusty. The valley bottom is dry (around 1000 mm.annually) and temperatures range between 16 and 29 degrees Celsius. As the valley descends towards the coast is passes through cloud forest and is more humid. Annual flooding and landslides are a dangerous problem in the rainy season. Homes are simple and most are one room only. They are made of
cinder block
A concrete masonry unit (CMU) is a standard-size rectangular block used in building construction. CMUs are some of the most versatile building products available because of the wide variety of appearances that can be achieved using them.
Tho ...
s or grass and reeds.
The Chota valley has recently become the site of much community tourism, in which travelers can live with families and experience the valley's culture.
Notable people
*
Jhon Minda, footballer
See also
*
Afro-Ecuadorian people
Afro-Ecuadorians or Afroecuatorianos (Spanish), are Ecuadorians of predominantly Sub-Saharan African descent.
History and background
Most Afro-Ecuadorians are the descendants of enslaved Africans who were transported by Spanish slavers to Ecuad ...
*
Bomba (Ecuador)
*
Chota Valley dialect
References
Bibliography
(Ref: permission of: Angelique, Stephen, Iceman Gone; Gibbs, James, "Japan Traveler" magazine)
*
Afro-Ecuadorian
Populated places in Carchi Province
Geography of Ecuador
{{Ecuador-geo-stub