The musical concert ‘A soul for peace’ held at St Regis Doha.
Residents of Qatar got an opportunity to get a glimpse of Ecuadorian culture during the week-long activities organised by the Embassy of Ecuador in Qatar. They included food festival, musical concert, football matches and other cultural events.
The embassy hosted the Ecuadorian Week which was aimed to further promote the Qatari and Ecuadorian ties.
Among the activities was a week-long food festival and cultural event which ran from October 10 to 17 at St. Regis Doha and a friendly game between Qatar and Ecuador’s football national teams which was held on October 12. Another friendly game between the national teams of Ecuador and Oman was played in Doha on October 16.
A musical concert for peace was held to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the peace signing between Ecuador and Peru.
The food festival featured two women chefs flown in for the occasion from the South American country. Guests indulged in a collection of the finest experiences and celebrated exceptional dishes from Ecuador such as Tortillas de papa con aguacate, Ceviche live station, Arroz marinero and Dulce de higo and a lot more.
Along with the lavish menus on offer, Ecuadorian music was played throughout the event. It was a celebration of the finest traditional dishes inspired from Ecuador, and an opportunity for the people of Doha to experience a variety of the most celebrated dishes and desserts in the Ecuadorian cuisine.
Ecuadorian food is diverse and underrated. Each of the country’s three geographic regions, the Amazon, the Sierra, and the Pacific Coast featured its own array of local delicacies.
“I want to thank all my colleagues- the wonderful ambassadors and their spouses for receiving me well, though I have been here only for few months, almost a year. And I feel them, I know them forever, especially the woman ambassadors they are my sisters,” said Ivonne A Baki, Ecuador ambassador to Qatar welcoming guests at the food festival.
The musical concert ‘A soul for peace’ held at St Regis Doha to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the end of a nearly three-year war between Ecuador and Peru. It featured a famous Ecuadorian violinist and renowned Doha-based pianist Sonja Park.
According to the ambassdor, one of the major attractions of the celebrations was visit of her country’s national football team which played a friendly match against the Qatari national team. Football is the most popular sport in Ecuador, in line with the majority of South America.
Ecuador was never short of footballing talent, producing players such as Alberto Spencer, Jose Villafuerte, Carlos Raffo and Antonio Valencia. Ecuador has qualified for the World Cup twice in 2002 and 2006 but it is yet to win a Copa América.
Many Ecuadorians were seen enjoying the friendly match played with Qatari national team and Ecuadorian team. Fans got jerseys signed by their favourite players. They also enjoyed Ecuadorian cuisine -Ceviche, while watching the game.
A panel discussion will be held at the Georgetown University Qatar, on October 26, the day peace pact was signed between Ecuador and Peru.
“The panel will discuss how the negotiations happened, what do we need and why we need more women on the table of negotiations together with men. During the negotiations, which we did 20 years ago, I was the only woman. But we need more women participation,” said A-Baki.
