(CNN) – Baltazar Ushca, better known as “the last ice maker of Chimborazo”, died at the age of 80 after suffering an accident on the property where he lived in the community of Guanó, municipality of the canton of Guanó, in the province Chimborazo, reported this Friday.
Ushca has attracted interest inside and outside Ecuador for its curious activity of extracting blocks of ice from the height of the Chimborazo volcano under a snow ceiling to sell them in the markets of Riobamba, where it is used in the production of natural juices.
“Unfortunately, in that rush, one of his small animals overpowered him and knocked him to the ground; cause serious harm,” the municipality wrote on its official social media accounts hours before Ushca’s death.
CNN is trying to contact Ushca’s family. He also consulted the mayor of Riobamba to get more details and is waiting for a response.
Ushca, who worked in the municipality of Guanó, was treated by local doctors and taken to a hospital in the city of Riobamba where he died, the municipality reported.
“With great regret, we announce the delicate death of our beloved Mashi, Taita Baltazar Ushca, the last breath of the majestic Chimborazo, a national and international icon whose work and legacy will live on in the collective memory of our land and beyond,” he lamented. the Guanó Municipality.
“His commitment and history have inspired generations, making him a symbol of resistance, resilience, culture and love for our traditions,” said the Municipality of Guanó.
In 2012, an Ecuadorian-American documentary about Ushca’s life and her activities collecting ice from Chimborazo was shown in New York. Ushca traveled to New York for the premiere. The audiovisual piece was played at several international film and audiovisual production festivals.
The New York Times reproduced the documentary and showed in its review how Baltazar Ushca managed to collect 40 ice makers from the area, but in time he was the only person left in charge of ice collection from Chimborazo at more than 5,000 meters high on a volcano. . It is also the closest point on Earth to the Sun.
“Watching Baltazar’s work is like traveling back in time. Using only his hands and a pick, he performs a task that would have been the same hundreds of years ago; However, the mountain’s need for ice disappeared with the advent of refrigeration,” Sandy Patch reviewed in April 2015 in the New York Times about the documentary.
In 2017, the Ecuadorian Ministry of Education recognized Ushca with an Honoris Causa doctorate from Mexico’s Latin American Technological Leadership Institute for his contributions to society.
Ushca was honored for keeping alive the work of collecting ice blocks from the slopes of the Chimborazo volcano, an activity that – according to the Ministry – had disappeared in Ecuador. Ushca also joined the Government’s literacy campaign.
Several citizens and institutions have expressed their condolences and are mourning the loss of Baltazar Ushca who was considered a “living heritage of Ecuador”.