Never in America

I took a walking tour of the historical part of Quito on Monday.  The guide hustled us through the first few usual stops because we had to get to the Independence Plaza, the main square.  The government house is on the square and on Monday mornings at 11, they have a ceremonial changing of the guard.  There was the usual pomp and ceremony - soldiers in colonial uniforms, soldiers on horses, a military band.

But here is the amazing thing.  Take a good look at this picture.

The plaza is full of people.  On the balcony in the middle, overlooking the ceremony in the square, are the president and vice president of Ecuador.  Every Monday morning at 11 AM they stand out there and greet the people.  On the balcony this week are the members of Emelec, the team that recently won the national futbol championship of Ecuador.  In the very front, seated in a position of great honor, are students from a random rural area who have most likely never seen the big city and don't know anything about politics.  After the ceremony, they will have lunch with the president.

Students lining up to go into the government building for lunch

Like most places outside the US and Europe, public safety is ... uh ... not very safe.  I'm not talking about the water you can't drink or the air you can't breath.  Sidewalks are uneven.  Steep stairs in public buildings have no banisters.  I thought the park on Sunday was incredible.  There were thousands of people enjoying themselves on uneven soccer fields and cracked basketball courts.  Anyone could dirt bike or skateboard, and there were truly people of all different skill levels.  One idiot was guiding a kid with training wheels on the dirt bike track while the good riders were literally flying by them.  Skateboarders of all different abilities were practicing their tricks, and apologizing if they got in someone else's way.  As far as I could tell, the city provided a place, imperfect and rundown as it might be, and people did what they wanted.

Okay, you can always blame the lawyers.  Is it enough for the city to provide a place?  Once they do that, do they have to guarantee its safety?  And does that mean screening to keep unsafe riders out of the way?  Should everyone sign a waiver?  Is a waiver worth the paper it is printed on?

But the lawyers are only part of the problem.  What I didn't see - at least in my short viewing - was any gang or territorial behavior.  Grown men were riding by six year olds.  No one "owned" the tracks or ramps or looked down on beginners or outsiders.  Kind of like the sack race last week in Montanita, they seem to have an old fashioned idea of good, clean fun.

I mentioned the street performers that I have seen.  They mystify me as well.  First of all, there is always a big circle of people around them, no matter what time of the day or night it is, and no matter where they are.  I have seen them in the middle of the park in the middle of the day, and yesterday I saw a big group around a troupe of three in the square in front of the National Theater.  Like the crowded plaza at the ceremonial changing of the guard, who are all of these people that can hang out for hours in the middle of a work day?  I watched the troupe for fifteen minutes yesterday.  I have no idea how long they had been going on or how much longer they went.  Roughly the plot was a woman who had a fiance and a boyfriend.  No one asked for money.  No one (except for me) left.  It was farcical, almost slapstick, humor that I mostly don't get and the crowd loves.

Some things you just don't see in the US of A.