Editing Carnival (section)

====Ecuador====
[[File:Desfile de Carnaval en calles de Latacunga.jpg|thumb|Carnival parade in [[Latacunga]], Ecuador]]
[[File:Comparsa latacungueña desfilando.jpg|thumb|upright|Parade in Latacunga, Ecuador]]
In [[Ecuador]], the celebrations began before the arrival of Catholicism. The Huarangas Indians (from the Chimbos nation) used to celebrate the second moon of the year with a festival at which they threw flour, flowers, and perfumed water. This Indigenous tradition merged with the Catholic celebration of Carnival.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mohsin |first=Haroon |date=2022-08-25 |title=Ecuador Carnival |url=https://nationaltoday.com/ecuador-carnival/ |access-date=2024-02-12 |website=National Today |language=en-US |archive-date=28 September 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928222158/https://nationaltoday.com/ecuador-carnival/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

A common feature of Ecuadorian Carnival is the ''diablitos'' (little devils) who play with water. As with snowball fights, the practice of throwing or dumping water on unsuspecting victims is revered by children and teenagers although feared by some adults. Throwing water balloons, sometimes even eggs and flour both to friends and strangers is fun, but can also upset the uninformed.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mota |first=Anabel |date=2012-11-23 |title=Water Fight! The Andean Roots of Carnival in Ecuador |url=https://www.latinamericaforless.com/blog/water-fight-the-andean-roots-of-carnival-in-ecuador/ |access-date=2024-05-19 |website=Latin America For Less |language=en-US}}</ref>

Although the government as well as school authorities forbid such games, they are widely practiced. Historians tell of a bishop in 1867 who threatened [[excommunication]] for the [[sin]] of playing Carnival games.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}

Festivals differ across the country. Locals wear disguises with colorful masks and dance. Usually, the celebrations begin with the election of ''Taita Carnival'' (Father Carnival) who heads the festivities and leads the parades in each city.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Biegerl |first=Sabrina |date=2020-06-29 |title=Carnival in Ecuador: How and Where to Celebrate |url=https://www.peruforless.com/blog/carnival-in-ecuador/ |access-date=2024-05-15 |website=Peru For Less |language=en-US}}</ref>

The most famed Carnival festivities are in [[Guaranda]] (Bolivar province) and [[Ambato, Ecuador|Ambato]] (Tungurahua province). In Ambato, the festivities are called ''Fiesta de las Flores y las Frutas'' (Festival of the Flowers and Fruits). Other cities have revived Carnival traditions with colorful parades, such as in [[Azogues]] (Cañar Province). In Azogues and the Southern [[Andes]] in general, ''Taita Carnival'' is always an Indigenous [[Cañari]]. Recently, a celebration has gained prominence in the northern part of the Andes in the [[Chota Valley]] in [[Imbabura Province|Imbabura]] which is a zone of a strong [[Afro-Ecuadorian]] population and so the Carnival is celebrated with [[Bomba (Ecuador)|bomba del chota]] music.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lara |first1=Francisco |last2=Ruggiero |first2=Diana |date=2016 |title=Highland Afro-Ecuadorian Bomba and Identity along the Black Pacific at the Turn of the Twenty-First Century |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44163003 |journal=Latin American Music Review / Revista de Música Latinoamericana |volume=37 |issue=2 |pages=135–164 |doi=10.7560/LAMR37201 |jstor=44163003 |s2cid=191623539 |issn=0163-0350 |access-date=7 October 2022 |archive-date=7 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007211610/https://www.jstor.org/stable/44163003 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Latacunga]] celebrates Carnival in three manners:<ref>{{cite web| title=Carnival Latacunga| url=http://www.lahora.com.ec/index.php/noticias/show/1101464647/-1/Celebraci%C3%B3n_y_fiesta__en_La_Laguna.html#.Vj0nsdIrLcc| access-date=6 November 2015| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117032136/http://www.lahora.com.ec/index.php/noticias/show/1101464647/-1/Celebraci%C3%B3n_y_fiesta__en_La_Laguna.html#.Vj0nsdIrLcc| archive-date=17 November 2015| url-status=live}}</ref> Carnival with water where people play with water, religious Carnival where people make religious festivity, and Carnival parade in the city in which people march on the Latacunga streets wearing masks while they dance with music bands.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}}