mishqui-yacu, sweet water - IFAD

Local Patriotism
46
Some of the conflicts were probably related to El Tambo’s struggle
for recognition as a province. In those days, El Tambo was a
parish within the province of Cañar. The politicians of El Tambo
tried to identify issues powerful enough to unite the townspeople.
The town of El Tambo has for a long time been considered different
from the rest of the Cañari area. The traditional explanation
is that most people from El Tambo were workers from the railroads.
Many railroad workers came from the northernmost part
of Ecuador from the town of Tulcan. When construction was finished,
several of them settled in El Tambo, which was founded
because of the railroad. Since that day, these people and their
descendants have been considered outsiders. 57
Father Mello Storoni, the Catholic parish priest of El Tambo, was
born in a small Italian village and spent 15 years in The Congo before
coming to Ecuador. Nevertheless, he is a local patriot who fiercely
defends what he perceives to be the best interests of his parishioners.
He admits that several people consider him to be very conflictive
and confesses he has never avoided expressing his opinions.
In a way you might say that I am fascinated by the struggle. I was
opposed to the dam, mainly because of the threat to the archaeological
sites up there. I confided in Antonio Carillo, an able archaeologist
in Cuenca, who represented the national patrimony.
Furthermore, the entire project was not well installed among the
inhabitants of this area. Some of the water was going to be taken
to the lower parts of Suscal. It is true they have less water down
there, but on the other hand there is more rain and humidity than
Father Mello Storoni, the Catholic
parish priest of El Tambo