Ecuador
What's Happening Across Ecuador This Week?
November 9 – November 15, 2026
This is one of November's fullest cultural weeks. Loja becomes a national stage as the International Festival of Living Arts opens. Guayaquil welcomes Rubén Blades after a thirteen-year absence, Quito hosts the Ecuador Bird Fair and a dense performing-arts programme, and Cuenca moves from experimental dance to Martin Garrix. Beyond the largest cities, Calceta celebrates Afro-Montuvio culture, Salinas hosts international cycling and the Piatúa River provides the setting for a trail race. These are a few carefully chosen highlights from many events around the country. Follow the regional-guide links for fuller local selections and practical details.
Art, Theatre & Culture
November 12
11th Loja International Festival of Living Arts 2026
📍 Loja · Circuito Cultural de Loja
The XI International Festival of Living Arts opens with hundreds of performances, exhibitions, workshops, fairs and public activities. The selected Loja guide follows the festival through theatre, dance, concerts, circus and public art. FIAVL continues through November 22.
View event details →November 13 · 20:00
Bettina Aust with the Loja Symphony Orchestra
📍 Loja · Teatro Nacional Benjamín Carrión Mora
German clarinettist Bettina Aust joins the Loja Symphony Orchestra and pianist Juan Castro for one of FIAVL's strongest concert selections. It shares its starting time with the International Circus Gala.
View event details →November 12 · 19:00
The Indian Queens — Sudaka Semi-Opera
📍 Quito · Teatro Nacional Sucre
Colectiva Yama explores the legacy of conquest through the memories of Latin American women, combining music, testimony and performance.
View event details →November 13 · 19:00
Guayaquil Symphony: Spanish Passion
📍 Guayaquil · Teatro Principal — Teatro Centro de Arte
The Guayaquil Symphony celebrates Spanish music and dance under Íñigo Pirfano, joined by castanet soloist Tomás Martín and the Teatro Centro de Arte dance schools.
View event details →November 10 · 19:00
Floating on Thorns — Butoh Dance
📍 Cuenca · Sala Alfonso Carrasco
Two stage works meet during Ecuador's Butoh Dance Performing Arts Encounters to explore the body and materiality. It is the week's most experimental performance selection in Cuenca.
View event details →Concerts, Festivals & Entertainment
November 14 · 20:00
Rubén Blades — Fotografías Tour
📍 Guayaquil · Coliseo Voltaire Paladines Polo
Rubén Blades returns to Guayaquil after thirteen years with Roberto Delgado and his twenty-piece orchestra. Classics including Pedro Navaja, Plástico, Decisiones and Amor y control meet newer songs in one of Ecuador's major concerts of the month.
View event details →November 14
Martin Garrix — Americas Tour 2026 — Cuenca
📍 Cuenca · Estadio Alejandro Serrano Aguilar Banco del Austro
Martin Garrix brings his stadium-scale show to Cuenca. Some older promotional and ticket pages still display November 28, so confirm the date and starting time directly before purchasing or travelling.
View event details →November 14
MASQARA Festival
📍 Quito · Calle Juan Rodríguez — La Mariscal
MASQARA brings music, masks, dance and tradition into La Mariscal's public space. Savage & Shē, Zeret, Vero Noboa, JG King, Soria & The Grace, Maez, Los Bravos del Barrio and DJ Dr X are among the announced performers.
View event details →Community & Traditions
November 12
Ecuador Bird Fair 2026
📍 Quito · Jardín Botánico de Quito — Parque La Carolina
Birdwatchers, conservation groups, tourism projects and interested newcomers gather for guided outings, talks, workshops, exhibitors and cultural activities. The programme changes daily.
View event details →November 13
10th Afro-Montuvio Festival — Memory in Resistance
📍 Calceta · Casa Cultural Experimental Montuvia
Three days of music, dance, literature, oral traditions and community exchange place Afro-Ecuadorian and Montuvio culture at the centre of the programme. Rural identity, memory and sustainability give it importance beyond the performance schedule.
View event details →November 12 · 18:00
Brushstrokes in Motion — FIAVL Opening Parade
📍 Loja · Fuerte Militar Cabo Minacho a Plaza San Francisco
FIAVL steps into the city with a public opening parade whose route becomes part of the performance. It is the easiest way to experience the festival's arrival without beginning inside a theatre.
View event details →November 9 · 09:00
National Afro-Ecuadorian People’s Day Commemoration
📍 Ibarra · GAD Parroquial Rural La Carolina
Part of Ibarra's Afro-Ecuadorian Heritage Month, this full-day community programme is dedicated to the history, culture and legacy of Afro-Ecuadorian people.
View event details →Sports & Outdoors
November 14
UCI Granfondo Ecuador
📍 Salinas · Salida y meta junto a la playa principal de Salinas
This UCI Gran Fondo World Series qualifier uses a 46.1-kilometre Salinas circuit, with 87.62-kilometre and 127.8-kilometre routes depending on category.
View event details →November 14 · 09:00
Piatúa Ñampy Trail Running
📍 Santa Clara · Cabañas Piatúa — Balneario del Río Piatúa
Trail runners take on 14K and 7K routes beside the Piatúa River. The shorter distance offers a more approachable option, while both courses make the river landscape part of the experience.
View event details →