Picoazá is an urban parish in Portoviejo Canton,

Manabí Province Manabí () is a province in the Republic of Ecuador. Its capital is Portoviejo. The province is named after the Manabí people. Demographics Ethnic groups as of the Ecuadorian census of 2010: * Mestizo 69.7% * Montubio 19.2% * Afro-Ecuad ...

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

. It is situated on the western side of the city of

Portoviejo Portoviejo (), also known as San Gregorio de Portoviejo, is a city in Ecuador, and the capital of the Province of Manabí from the Pacific coast. It is still known as the city of the "Royal Tamarind Trees" due to former Tamarind plantations in ...

and has a population of nearly 19,000.

History

Archeological finds made in the area in 2008 suggest that Picoazá is the site of a

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era, also known as the pre-contact era, or as the pre-Cabraline era specifically in Brazil, spans from the initial peopling of the Americas in the Upper Paleolithic to the onset of European col ...

settlement. In 1907, the second archaeological expedition of

Marshall Howard Saville Marshall Howard Saville (1867–1935) was an American archeologist. Saville was born in Rockport, Massachusetts on June 24, 1867. He studied anthropology at Harvard (1889–1894), engaged in field work under F. W. Putnam, and made important disco ...

involved the exploration of caves around Picoazá, and in particular the Cerro Jaboncilla and Cerro de Hojas sites, which are away from Picoazá. They provided many important artefacts to Saville. Picoazá was itself the site of a Manteño chiefdom, according to early colonial sources, and contained quantities of characteristic Manteño pottery and large stone foundations. It was split into four major settlements, with the chief of the principal settlement overlord. The archeological site was declared a national cultural patrimony in 2009.

Tourism and demographics

This part of Manabí Province is known for its cuisine, fine beaches, and ceibo trees, which are unique to the region. Picoazá is also a commercial center, distributing agricultural products and consumer goods. The average family income in Picoazá is about US$120 per month. The town has inadequate potable water, sewers, and telephone service.

Politics

An incident involving a fictitious write-in candidacy occurred in the town in 1967. A company ran a series of campaign-themed advertisements for a foot powder called Pulvapies. Some of the slogans used included "Vote for any candidate, but if you want well-being and hygiene, vote for Pulvapies", and "For Mayor: Honorable Pulvapies." The foot powder Pulvapies ended up receiving the most votes in the election. A followup story from

United Press International United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th ce ...

said: "Reports that Pulvapies had been elected mayor of the coastal town of Picoaza were not true. The election in the town was for municipal councilmen, not for mayor."; the problem had arisen from the nationwide distribution of distributing advertising flyers that were "the same size and color as the official ballots", and an estimated 10,000 had been turned in at ballot boxes in place of the ballots with multiple candidates, mostly in

Quito Quito (; ), officially San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city, capital and second-largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its metropolitan area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha Province, P ...

and

Guayaquil Guayaquil (), officially Santiago de Guayaquil, is the largest city in Ecuador and also the nation's economic capital and main port. The city is the capital (political), capital of Guayas Province and the seat of Guayaquil Canton. The city is ...

."Ad Campaign for Footpowder Stirs Trouble", ''Minneapolis Star Tribune'', July 20, 1967, p27

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Picoaza Populated places in Manabí Province Parishes of Ecuador