Riobambeña’s identity from the perspective of an indigenous person, a people, is a process that is built from different perspectives, the indigenous perspective being very necessary to see what the ‘Ciudad Bonita’ is.
Situation. Delfín Tenezaca, a native of Guamote, has lived for 25 years in the Shuyo community, in the Yaruquíes parish, for which he recognizes himself as an indigenous Riobambeño, and from his perspective, he states that thinking about the identity of Riobamba should start from the idea of interculturality , diversity, memory and respect. For him, the indigenous are a fundamental part of the construction of Riobambeña’s identity, since this territory is precisely the space of the original Puruhá people.
In addition, he recognizes that his people have been an important actor in historical deeds, such as Independence, despite the fact that his role has not been a leading one. Likewise, he elaborated on the fact that his people have historically been the workforce in the construction of the canton and who, from the most remote areas, maintain the city through their work linked to the land.
Consider. Tenezaca states that being from Riobambá does not imply having a ‘noble’ last name, but being active in the progress of the territory and, in this sense, he mentioned: “they were landowners and we were their slaves, their workers, but without our participation Riobamba would not would be what today”. However, he added that this has been transformed and there are currently more indigenous people occupying spaces of power or being part of decision-making, and this implies more interference since, although they have always been a part, they have been left behind or marginalized from these important spaces. that cement the riobambeño identity. “We are part of the social, cultural and political construction of the canton; our ideas have been contributions and ways of perceiving the development of the canton”, he pointed out.
Reflection. Memories are also a way of molding or identifying elements of the identity of a people and, in this sense, when asking Tenezaca to relate a memory that reminds him of Riobamba, he stated: “The first time I came to the city was in the company of my father, in order to sell food, after that we went to greet Monsignor Leonidas Proaño and it was the first time that a mestizo greeted me with a bare hand and not wrapped in a poncho, and said: “welcome, we are all equal.” , a memory that stayed in my head forever.
It is thus that this character was a symbolic way of annihilating the discrimination that existed between indigenous people and mestizos, and it becomes remarkable elements of identity, because it also related the countryside and the city and, therefore, created new ways of perceiving, think and treat ‘Rio’.