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History of Borbón
AND THE SURROUNDING ELOY ALFARO REGION
Our research is mainly focused on the town of Borbón in the Eloy Alfaro canton of the Esmeraldas Province in Ecuador. Below you can read more about the region’s history, culture, and ecology.
History
General Regional History
The Esmeraldas province had its beginnings in the mid 1500s, when Jesuit priests and other European colonizers were transporting slaves to work on sugar and cotton plantations in the surrounding area. But in 1553, 23 African slaves settled in the region after escaping a capsized Spanish slave ship, and established a free community that acted as a safe-haven for other escaped slaves. With its tropical climate and calm, sandy beaches, the environment reminded many former slaves of home, from which they brought their culture alongside their new sense of freedom.
Throughout the 1600s the region was maintained by a series of Afro-Amerindian kings who withstood several colonial attempts to conquer the area, ensuring that the region preserved its freedom.
The combined culture and history of the many escaped slaves and the indigenous populations that already lived in the region, as well as its relative isolation from colonial forces, formed a new culture that is now a fundamental part of Ecuadorian identity. Today, 70% of Esmeraldas’ population is Afro-Ecuadorian.
Eloy Alfaro Canton History
Established on October 16, 1941, Eloy Alfaro is the second canton in the Esmeraldas Province. Named after Eloy Alfaro, a former president responsible for various liberal reforms in the late 1800s to early 1900s, the area boasts beautiful rivers, a vast array of plants and animals, and a diverse population of Afro-Ecuadorians and indigenous communities. The canton also holds deep cultural and religious roots that give rise to many celebrations and festivals, like the San Martín de Porres festival on Canchimalero Island. These celebrations combine traditions passed down from both indigenous and African customs of dance and music.
Culture
Because most of the region’s population has African roots, much of their cultural practices are deeply entrenched in music, especially the marimba, which originated in West Africa. The marimba, a palm-wood xylophone with bamboo tube resonators, is accompanied by drums, maracas, and traditional chants and dances, which are performed during celebrations, festivals, religious ceremonies, and more.
The city of Borbón is especially important to the proliferation of marimba music, with its marimba festival held every November 2nd. The city is also home to Papá Roncón, a marimba musician who helped the genre gain international popularity, aiding in the preservation of the tradition. He also founded La Catanga, a school where the tradition of marimba and dance are kept alive and passed down to younger generations.
Roads
The introduction of well-paved roads into the Eloy Alfaro canton is a relatively new development, with the completion of the main road from Borbón to the coast in 1996, and its extension connecting Borbón to the Andes being finished in 2003. With the increasing number of roads in the area, the local economy has expanded, with greater movement of goods for trade. However, the development of roads have also come with unintended consequences to public health, as the new environmental changes might impact disease transmission.
Water Systems
In the Eloy Alfaro canton, the Borbón parish is a main river access point for inland communities like the Playa de Oro, Zapallo Grande, and other residents that live deep within the jungle. For settlements along the Cayapas, Ónzole, and Santiago rivers, Borbón plays a crucial role in commercial exchange, especially on the weekends, when residents from other communities travel to Borbón to buy and sell essential goods and other products.
These rivers and tributaries also provide the canton with both fishing and agricultural opportunities. The rivers host a rich aquatic ecosystem that supports commercial fishing, while irrigation from these waterways aids in the cultivation of crops.
However, despite the trade advantage from rivers and the many bodies of freshwater, the canton has had numerous concerns with water management and accessibility. Pollution from increasing industrial activity paired with lacking waste management systems has led to contaminated water, affecting aquatic life and human health. Inadequate drainage for flooding, especially in more rural areas, has also resulted in damaged infrastructure and unclean water. Though various legal frameworks have attempted to guarantee water for all Ecuadorians, systemic issues within the governance have hindered efforts to provide clean water to all communities. The Afro-Ecuadorian and indigenous communities of the Esmeraldas Province are especially affected, as they have higher rates of poverty and often reside in more remote areas, making access to water more difficult. Furthermore, the hot and humid climate combined with the many rivers provide a perfect environment for tropical diseases.
Ecology
The Eloy Alfaro canton exhibits an extremely diverse biosphere, and is part of the Chocó-Darien region and the Cotacachi-Cayapas Reserve. Not only are the world’s tallest mangroves found in the Cotacachi-Cayapas Reserve, but the area within the reserve has not been extensively harmed by farming, preserving the area's natural biodiversity
However, the same cannot be said about the Chocó-Darien region. The region, which reaches up towards Panama and down through Ecuador, has extremely high precipitation levels and extraordinary species diversity. But the forest along the coasts of Ecuador and Colombia, which contains the Chóco-Manabí Conservation Corridor, is quickly disappearing. With modern agricultural practices, civil unrest, and overfishing, only 2% of the original rainforest remains.
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