• Submitted by: manso
• international
• 09 / 11 / 2010

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The International Bureau of Capitals of Culture has chosen Quito as the 2011 American Capital of Culture, according to the group's president, Spaniard Javier Tudela.

The announcement was made at the first conference on the History and Preservation of Monumental Patrimony, with participants from Argentina, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, France, and Holland, and on the same day that Quito marks its 32nd anniversary as first World Heritage Site.

UNESCO granted that category to the Ecuadorian capital on Sep. 8, 1978, as well as to the Polish city of Krakow. Quito was awarded with that distinction for having the largest, least-changed, and best-preserved historical center in America.

Tudela said the award from the NGO would contribute to internationally promoting the city of over 2 million.

Other American cities which have been awarded this destiction include Merida, Mexico (2000); Iquique, Chile (2001); Maceio, Brazil (2002); Panama and Curitiba, Brazil (2003); Santiago de Chile (2004); Guadalajara, Mexico (2005); Cordoba, Argentina (2006).

They are followed by Cuzco, Peru (2007); Brasilia, Brazil (2008); Asuncion, Paraguay (2009), and Santo Domingo, Dominican Reoublic (2010).

Source: PL