Last Sunday, it was already exceptionally busy at the cemeteries in Quito. The parking lots were full and nearby flower stalls were doing good business. Even though it was still another two days before the 2nd of November.
All Souls’ Day is an important day on the calendar in this Catholic country. Traditionally, people visit the cemetery in order to commemorate their deceased relatives. The graves are tidied up, headstones are cleaned and a bunch of flowers is of course part of the ritual.
This is actually one of the few real flower days in this country. The reason why it was so busy at the cemeteries on Sunday already, had everything to do with the subsequent long weekend.
Departed loved ones are important, but a few days away with the entire family is almost even more important! All Souls’ Day is an official holiday and the following day – Cuenca’s independence day – is also a day off. To turn it into a short holiday, it’s quite common in this country that the government makes the Friday in between an optional day off work.
Each employer can decide what to do with it. However, if they make the Friday off, that day has to be made up for the following Saturday. Most companies think that that’s worth it though.
So, the Ecuadoreans all go away this weekend and the most popular destination by far is a few days to the coast. Long traffic jams, packed beaches, crowded restaurants. You get the picture. But this year is extra special because it’s the first long weekend after April’s heavy earthquake.
This coastal region was one of the places that was hit the worst. People have been working for months to restore the damage, and the last couple of days there were lots of reports on TV, in which the coastal provinces tried to win back the population’s trust.
The economy is slowly recovering. But at the same time, the pain of the loss of loved ones during the earthquake will be felt again this All Souls’ Day.
Victor van Dijk
Area manager South America, FleuraMetz
