Directly outside the main gates of Parque Seminario is Catedral Metropolitana de Guayaquil. (love my Spanish? ) This is a majestic Cathedral with its very high gothic arched ceilings, slender columns and many beautiful and brightly coloured stained glass windows. This current Cathedral building was built in the neoclassical style in the early 20th century but there has been a church in this spot since the early colonial days of Ecuador. The building is not heavily decorated or filled with icons, like so many other churches we have seen so far but it is light, uplifting and it was filled with people sometimes singing and at other times praying. I found myself praising God for this peaceful sanctuary and for the people who were sincerely honouring Him. I prayed that they would continue to trust in Jesus and the salvation He offers so freely to all mankind. I prayed that God's Word would be faithfully preached and taught in Ecuador. As the crowds spilled out onto the pavement street vendors moved in with their wonderful display of foods to sell to the families as they emerged onto the streets and into the park full of well fed iguanas.
Adjacent to Parque Seminario (Iguana Park) we saw a beautifully crafted statue of a pianist playing a piano in an open plaza area. Reading the inscription we learnt that this was a statue of Ana Villamil Icaza a famous music teacher who composed the music for what was to become, Guayaquil's Anthem, "Song of the October Ninth."
In 1821, José Joaquín de Olmedo, a poet and one of the liberators of Guayaquil, wrote the lyrics to celebrate the gaining of independence (on October 9, 1820).
In 1895, the song was recognized as the Guayaquil Anthem, hence this statue.
We moved on through the city where we passed some beautiful buildings from the early days of this city's colonial development. We stopped to admire them and to learn something about them from our guide, Jamie. The buildings' architecture equalled any we have seen in other cities and attest to the architectural expertise of the Spanish who ruled here in days gone by. Throughout the city we saw many statues. We particularly loved three large bronze statues which are set in an open marble lined plaza area. They represent the three ideals that the city aims to protect: Liberty, Truth and Justice. Standing beside the Libertad statue, Ken was dwarfed. Behind it stands twin buildings which are joined by a beautiful glassed covered corridor. Amazingly these building that are at least 200 years old, did not suffer any damage in a recent earthquake whilst newer buildings were cracked or damaged.
