A
Town of Musicians
At the beginning
of the 20 th
century maestro
Salvador Bustamante
started the
musical trend.
He composed
popular music
along with religious
music, symphonies
and even operas.
Maestro Edgar
Palacios, musician
from Loja, confirmed
that at least
ten per cent
of the inhabitants
of the province
of Loja play
the guitar.
The work done
by Edgar Palacios
should be recognised;
he has organised
concerts within
and outside
the country.
There are over
a hundred authors
and composers
from Loja. Among
those most well
known are Segundo
Cueva Celi who
was famous for
his love songs,
especially
pasillos
, during
the 1930s, 40s
and 50s. Others
are Manuel Lozano,
Miguel Jaramillo,
Edgar Palacios
and Francisco
Piedra.
Lojano
Writers
Loja has blessed
Ecuador with
a number of
writers. During
the colonial
period the Fathers
of Alonso de
Rojas y Garrido
were famous
poets mentioned
by Father Juan
de Velasco in
"Ocioso
en Faenza ".
In the 19 th
century Miguel
Riofrio wrote
" La Emancipada
", the
first Ecuadorian
novel. A generation
of neo-classic
and romantic
poets followed
such as Manuel
Alejandro Carrion,
Ulpiano Valdivieso,
Sebastian 0rdonez,
Ramon Samaniego,
Ulpiano Moscoso,
Miguel Sanchez.
In the twentieth
century poet
Hector Manuel
Carrion became
famous along
with great figure
Pio Jaramillo
Alvarado, one
of the most
famous Ecuadorian
writersn who
penned the famous
historical works
including "El
Indio Ecuatoriano",
:Historia de
Loja y su provincia",
" La Presidencia
de Quito"
and " La
Guerra de la
Conquista en
America ".
Benjamin Carrion,
who established
the Ecuadorian
Casa de la Cultura
, is among the
generation that
followed who
wrote works
including Cartas
al Ecuador",
"Atahualpa",
"El Santo
del Patibulo"
and "El
relato Ecuatoriano".
Carrion has
succeeded in
contributing
much to Ecuador
’s national
culture. Other
well-known Lojano
writers include
Pablo Palacio,
Manuel Agustin
Aguirre and
Angel Felicisimo
Rojas. Daniel
Elias Palacio
and Alfredo
Palacio are
well-known sculptors.
The
Language of
Loja
As
the proverb
goes, the
Lojanos speak
the best Castilian
in Ecuador
. This has
even been
confirmed
by those outside
of the country.
The University
The origins
of the National
University
of Loja go
back to the
31st December
1859 when
the departments
of jurisprudence,
medicine and
theology were
established
in the College
of Loja. In
1869 the Faculty
of Jurisprudence
was created,
annexed to
the national
college, however,
the founding
of the national
university
didn’t take
place until
1944. The
most-recently
founded university
is the Universidad
Particular
Tecnica. The
university
has excellent
infrastructure
and also includes
the Open University
program.
Last
Updated 15th
August 2006
(DLW)
