The cultural project “Samayuio, the Spirit of the Quito River” arrived in Madrid and Barcelona as part of the SurEs #byQuito program promoted by Transit Projècts, the Secretariat of Culture of Quito and the Organization of Ibero-American States, OEI.
The program was the result of a process that began in October 2022 and chose 10 cultural managers from among 250 projects, including Mónica Aguilar from Samayuio. She had the opportunity to present her project to an international audience and establish alliances with other cultural and tourism organizations in Madrid and Barcelona. The cultural centers showed great interest in the project and its objective of promoting the conservation of Quito’s rivers and its pre-Hispanic and colonial history.
“The experience was very positive for communicating and sharing experiences about the reality of the city’s rivers and promoting harmonious coexistence with its rivers, taking into account the case of the Manzanares River. The objective is to collaborate with the collective welfare as citizens of the world,” says its creator, Mónica Aguilar.
In her presentation, Monica highlighted the importance of harmonious coexistence with nature for collective well-being. She also pointed out the environmental problems facing the city, especially in relation to water pollution of the Machángara River, and how her project aims to contribute to the solution of these problems from the sensitive connection with nature through art. Her proposal includes cultural, educational and tourist activities to raise awareness of the cultural and natural wealth of Quito’s rivers and promote their conservation.