Daily coverage from across the country, written for the expat community
The international Live The 90s Festival arrives in Guayaquil on March 26 at the Palacio de Cristal on the Malecon, featuring Haddaway, Snap!, Dr. Alban, Mr. President, and Daisy Dee from Technotronic. For 80s and 90s kids living in Ecuador, this is the concert of the year.
Spanish singer-songwriter Pablo Alboran performs two concerts in Ecuador in March 2026 — March 19 at Coliseo Ruminahui in Quito and March 21 at Coliseo Voltaire Paladines Polo in Guayaquil. One of the most popular artists in the Spanish-speaking world, Alboran brings romantic ballads and Latin pop to intimate arena settings.
Ecuador is experiencing its wettest February in a decade, with Cuenca recording 150mm of rain — nearly double the historical average. Nationwide, 4,700 people have been impacted, 770 displaced, and the Mazar reservoir is discharging at over-capacity.
A mudflow of rocks and debris cascaded through the streets of Alausí on Wednesday — the third landslide event in the Chimborazo canton in just two weeks. The military has deployed to clear roads and assist evacuations as the rainy season intensifies.
Quito was pounded by hail and electrical storms Wednesday afternoon, then blanketed by dense fog Thursday morning. Ecuador’s weather agency forecasts intensifying rainfall through March, raising mudslide risk in the capital’s surrounding valleys.
The original 18-karat gold FIFA World Cup Trophy is on display at Quorum del Paseo San Francisco in Cumbayá from 2:30 PM to 9:00 PM today — the fourth time the trophy has visited Ecuador. With La Tri set to face Germany at MetLife Stadium this summer, World Cup fever is running high.
Reigning Miss Universe Fátima Bosch became faint on her float during the main parade at Ambato's 75th annual Fiesta de la Fruta y de las Flores on February 15. Whether caused by altitude sickness or exhaustion, the episode is a vivid reminder that Ecuador's highland elevations demand respect.
A motorcycle factory blaze on February 9, the Multicomercio building inferno on February 11 that burned for 50 hours and collapsed two towers, and a third alarm-3 fire on February 15 — all in Guayaquil within six days. The Interior Minister says the fires aren't coincidental. Here's the full timeline.
A team of 30 chefs prepared approximately 9,500 servings of mote pata in the Plaza de San Francisco, earning Cuenca an official Guinness World Record and cementing the city's status as a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy. The record was the centerpiece of Cuenca's 'Carnaval de los 4 Ríos' celebrations.
INAMHI forecasts heavy rainfall with electrical storms across most of Ecuador through February 19, with three provinces on red alert and nine on orange. The highlands face afternoon thunderstorms, the coast faces flooding risks, and four highways remain closed from earlier weather damage.
A major landslide at kilometer 36 of the Calacalí–La Independencia highway on Friday night has completely shut down one of the two main routes connecting Quito to the coast. Travelers face 7-hour detours via Alóag–Santo Domingo as Carnival weekend begins.
Everything expats need to know for the February 14-17 long weekend: tourism VAT drops from 15% to 8%, all bank branches close for four days, three highways are completely shut from landslides, domestic workers get double pay, and nearly 47,000 police officers are on the streets.
