Ethnicity as an active political principle in Latin American urbanism: the case of Otavalo, Ecuador

Abstract

This article explores ethnicity as an active political principle in Latin American urbanism, with a focus on Otavalo, Ecuador. It analyses how, despite the perceived invisibility of indigenous families in the city during the 1940s, indigenous people in Otavalo have managed to consolidate themselves both in the parish of Peguche and in the surrounding urban network. The discussion focuses on how indigenous people have resisted acculturation, transforming their identity and appropriating urban space in meaningful ways, which challenges traditional notions of the “urban” as incompatible with the indigenous.