Guayaquil hosts Fiestas Julianas festivals to revive streets and community life

The annual Fiestas Julianas, celebrating Guayaquil’s founding, turned city streets into venues for fairs, music, dance, theater, sports and artistic shows, aiming to restore public space and social cohesion in a city troubled by crime and extortion.

A highlighted event, Ruta Centro, was staged at Plaza de los Teatros and featured hundreds of families enjoying a cultural program organized by the municipal company DASE EP. Highlights included folk and modern dances, theatrical performances, a queen‑selection contest (Jazmín Zambrano crowned Reina Guayaquileña DASE 2026), a sustainable‑fashion showcase, a gastronomy festival by local trainees, and a market of local entrepreneurs offering cosmetics, jewelry, crafts and food. The festival emphasized civic pride, environmental awareness and support for small‑scale business, presenting a temporary reclaiming of the urban environment for community interaction.