Latacunga

Latacunga (in local parlance Tacunga) is a plateau town of Ecuador, capital of the Cotopaxi Province, 46 m. S. of Quito, near the confluence of the Alagues and Cutuchi to form the Patate, the headstream of the Pastaza. Pop. (1900, estimate) 12,000, largely Indian.

Latacunga stands on the old road between Guayaquil and Quito and has a station on the railway between those cities. It is 9141 ft. above sea-level; and its climate is cold and unpleasant, owing to the winds from the neighboring snowclad heights, and the barren, pumice-covered tableland on which it stands. Cotopaxi is only 25 m. distant, and the town has suffered repeatedly from eruptions. Founded in 1534, it was four times destroyed by earthquakes between 1698 and 1798. The neighboring ruins of an older native town are said to date from the Incas.

Latacunga's most noted food is chugchucaras, which is composed of pork, hommony (stewed maize), empanadas, plantains, popcorn, and a type of toasted corn. Often paired with aji, a type of condiment that can be mild to very spicy depending on how it's prepared.

This article incorporates text from the public domain 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.