IN-PERSON Barcelona. Section B

Abstract

This paper presents the role of commercial aviation in constructing Quito’s imaginary as an urban and architectonic heritage, primarily through the promotion of tourism by airlines. Commercial aviation brought new ways of mass transportation to Quito from the 1930s but also facilitated the city’s inclusion into the maps of global tourism. Quito’s positioning as a touristic destination began when commercial airlines, especially from the United States, “rediscovered” Quito’s colonial architecture and urban harmonious structure and intentionally advertised them as desirable products for tourism and exploration. In Quito, which, before the arrival of the first airplanes, lived in a condition of isolation or confinement, aviation massively contributed to the impression of “rediscovering” the city. Indeed, the immense scale of the Andean mountains had kept Quito relatively disconnected and contained, giving the appearance of something remote. The long isolation and slow urban development since colonial times resulted in the unnoticed conservation of Quito’s architecture and urban structure, a factor which, by the time of the initial steps of commercial aviation, turned Quito into an ideal destination for international airlines and tourism as “a piece of Spain in South America.” The promotion of Quito by commercial aviation, which pointed to the city’s squares, narrow streets, hidden patios, churches, and convents, hinted at the rediscovery of an intact and ancient city worth seeing, visiting—and eventually preserving. This paper builds on various sources, including official state and non-state documents, newspapers, magazines, flyers, traveling guides, aerial photographs, and maps. These sources help to call attention to the aspects and marketing approaches that mass modern air travel used in positioning Quito as a universal and cultural heritage based on the impressions and narratives that airlines and travelers made of Quito’s architecture and urban form.