A New Year's Eve, or Año Viejo, spent in Ecuador provides a fascinating insight into local culture and folklore. During the build up to the day itself, you will see effigies for sale in the streets, made from wood, paper, cloth and firecrackers. These effigies, also known as año viejos will usually represent political figures that are hated, such as George W. Bush or Osama Bin Laden, or locally despised politicians, or icons from popular music or culture, from the old year. These figures are later burned on New Year's Eve itself to banish the bad and welcome in the new.
In Quito, the Amazonas Avenue is the place to head early in the evening, to check out the stalls and the open-air entertainment. You may see effigies being burned and you will certainly see fireworks. Outside of Quito, the coastal town of Salinas is a popular Ecuadorian New Year's Eve haunt.
Throughout the country, a popular pursuit is for men to dress up as women - the widows of the año viejo - and beg for money. Also, outside of the main cities, especially on roads to the smaller countryside towns, you may come across children holding string across the roads. They are trying to stop the traffic with the aim of relieving you of your small change. In the countryside, many people light fires in the street, upon which they burn the effergies. This happens in Quito too, but more frequently in the suburbs.
Midnight itself tends to be a family affair, with a meal spent at home with relatives. A local tradition is to eat twelve grapes (uvas) at the stroke of midnight, which is supposed to bring luck throughout the year. After dinner, younger people head off to clubs or parties to see in the New Year in style.