Fundación Guayasamín — Attraction in Iñaquito

Impressive monument to human suffering, a temple for men rather than for gods, according to one of our inspring guides. The top floor of the temple features a collection of huge and gruesome pieces, quite depressing. The lower floor has an awesome collection of faces, in different color schemes, with quite distinct emotions: from cruelly violent to lovingly tender. The artists house is a gem, both it's construction as the decoration with ancient pre Colombian art and Catholic relics and many paintings from the artist's private collection. There's an amazing video on the painting of a portrait of Paco de Lucia. Plus that painting too. All in all the whole museum is an hommage to the peoples of Latin America, it reminds of their pain and of our duty to...

This ambitious foundation is the gift the artist Guayasamìn left the world and to his family.

The art by the artist is extraordinary, but the creations by others of his artistic vision did not rise to the same level of greatness.

We watched a video that showed a virtual rendering of the next phase of construction. It is all very grand and impersonal.

The chapel is more of a vast monument on the scale one sees for a fascist government leader, not a champion of the poor and those devastated by colonialism and the enduring violence.

The nearby home of the artist I found more human than the chapel to humanity.

They do offer tours in Spanish...

Very interesting to see how the 20th century artist lived and decorated his home- lots of ideas for my future house. His art collection is very eclectic and fills his abode to the brim. The tour will also take you through his workshop and shows a video of him painting one of his portrait. Make sure you take the tour because I do not think you would get as much out of it if you just did your own walk-through (I don't even know if that is allowed...) It was $8 for the ticket which gives you access to the casa-museo (his house) and the adjacent Capilla del Hombre which I also...