Banco Central
The Banco Central Del Ecuador is arguably the world’s most inept Central Bank. They repeatedly wiped out Ecuadorian savings in the ’90s with hyperinflation, a 1-year bank holiday, and multiple bank closures. Having completely lost control of the currency, they finally threw up their hands and simply adopted the US dollar.
But to the Bank’s credit, they run a wonderful series of museums in the major cities of Ecuador.
We have visited the museums in Cuenca and Quito, and they are stand-out wonderful. There are also museums in smaller centers like Riobamba and Manta.
In Cuenca, the museum has a delightful tour of the innumerable tribes that inhabit the major regions of Ecuador. The country is divided into Mountain, Coastal, and Rainforest areas (plus the Galapagos), and each has developed several indigenous tribal variations.
It’s overwhelming to a new visitor – shrunken-head warriors, sophisticated jewelers, far-ranging traders, and much more. The museum is organized by tribe (which makes sense, but loses some continuity) with displays of clothing, tools and other artifacts. (Sorry, they don’t allow pictures).
The garden of the Cuenca Banco is an excavation site of some Inca ruins on top of someone else’s ruins. It also has an amazing aviary, with many types of parrots and other unusual birds.
There is an extensive set of ponds and streams, with various types of ducks – not clear whether these are part of the exhibit or simply like it here.
The Banco maintains a ‘farm’ with dozens of type of indigenous plants that were used in early agriculture. Dozens of types of cactus line one wall. It’s a huge open oasis of peace in the middle of the noisy city, a delightful park for a busy Banco Central employee to spend an hour walking during lunch.
As well, in the basement there is a numismatic museum, which is remarkable for a Central Bank since it shows the signs of repeated bouts of inflation and re-setting of currencies.
In Quito, the museum is focused on the Inca’s – their sudden emergence, and their amazing expertise in gold-smithing.
The Inca’s boiled out of southern Peru around 1460 (only a few years before Columbus arrived). Within a few years, they had amassed one of the largest empires ever known to man – reaching from Columbia to Argentina. The scope of their military exploits was breathtaking. (And they were not particularly gentle – in one afternoon, they beheaded 30,000 prisoners near Otovalo).
In an unimaginably short time, they built roads, established military communications and trade routes, and created civil institutions to rule and tax their empire. They built temples and storehouses.
Then the Spanish arrived. Between Spanish incursions and internal rivalries, the Inca empire was dissipated by 1520. Just a wink in time. It’s a totally amazing story.
But in that short time, there was a flowering of the arts of ceramics and gold jewelry in Inca-ruled Ecuador. The Quito museum shows both preserved pieces and the techniques used to make them. Again, no photos allowed, but these shots from the Museum’s gallery tell the story.
So kudos to the Banco Central Del Ecuador. They may not be the best bankers, but they run world-class museums. I’m sure other stressed-out central bankers around the world are envious.