The Taita Chimborazo, as the ancient people call this volcano, was completely discovered this Saturday, October 12.
Everything was clear, as if he wanted to show all his splendor to say goodbye to “the last ice maker of Chimborazo”, as Baltazar Ushca was called, who died this Friday aged 80.
The ice maker, who was a very active man, suffered an accident with his bull.
There is a lot of sadness in the atmosphere in the Ushca family home, in the community of Cuatro Esquinas, Guano canton, Chimborazo province.
Neighbours, friends and acquaintances were disappointed. Some of them went to say goodbye to him at the Municipality, where the vigil was held.
Baltarzar Ushca and his brothers became famous for extracting ice from Chimborazo. They made long trips to remove pieces of ice from the volcano and then sell them in the market of La Merced, in Riobamba.
The glacier will be placed on Monday. The mass of the body will now be in the community church and his burial in the Pulingui cemetery. He had four children, nine grandchildren and three grandchildren.
After learning of the death of Baltazar Ushca, the Guanó Cantonal Council met in an extraordinary session and first of all declared three days of mourning in the canton, said Diego Burbano, manager of Tourism Promotion of the Municipality.
There is some recognition after death is preparing to pay tribute to the popular ice maker.
In December, due to the canton festival, more recognition will be given in the solemn session. In addition, through contacts maintained with the ministry and the tourism chambers, it is known that other tributes are being prepared.
The Municipality was going to analyze the possibility of designing a special mausoleum so that people would have the opportunity to visit the place where the ice maker will lie.
“The mayor of Guanó (Oswaldo Estrada) has the idea of naming an important street or avenue with the name of Baltazar, and in the redesign of one of the tourist parks in the canton it will be seen which one is the biggest. suitable to carry his name , but everything ripens in the following days,” said Burbano.
There is also talk with the Ministry of Transport and Public Works (MTOP) because it was planned that Baltazar would have space within the Urbina station. Now that could be taken as a tribute.
Ushca was a city employee, so the family is entitled to benefits after death. He was in the museum and served the tourists who came to the site.
The Agua Baltazar enterprise is marketed in the Guanó museum, which will continue with 100% profit for the family from the sale of the product.
In addition, Baltazar’s son-in-law, Juan Ushca, continues to extract ice from Chimborazo to have the raw materials for the enterprise. That is, it will continue to go.
The Guanó Municipality Tourism Directorate prepared the documents to recognize Baltazar Ushca as a living heritage; But, as the situation has changed, the procedures will continue so that the ancestral technique of removing ice from Chimborazo is recognized as an intangible heritage of Ecuador, like the port and the carpets of the canton.
Tourists like Agustín Zambrano, who came from Guayaquil to the Guanó museum, where you can see photos and materials that Ushca took from the ice blocks, were disappointed when the last Chimborazo icemaker died.
“He represented an icon of national heritage. It is very sad to know that someone who was a part of Ecuadorian culture is no longer here. In addition, it is highly commendable that he continued to climb Chimborazo at the age of 80, which showed that rural people have good food. For everything, I think some kind of recognition would be fair,” he said. (me)