Chaupicruz

Chaupicruz was an urban parish that covered a large part of the northeastern area of the city of Quito, capital of Ecuador. It bordered to the north with the parish of Cotocollao, to the south with Benalcázar, to the east with the Pichincha volcano and to the west with El Inca. Its former territory is occupied by the current parishes of Cochapamba, La Concepción and the northern part of Rumipamba.

Etymology

The etymological origin of the word "Chaupicruz" It comes from the hybridization between Quichua and Spanish, where chaupi means center; As a consequence in Spanish it would mean "The center of the cross".

History

Chaupicruz was a sector within the 5 languages of the city of Quito, heading north, where the Camino Real (Today Av. de la Prensa) passed. Important indigenous groups of Llantayos lived there and haciendas that supplied subsistence products and large dairies, herds of sheep, bee hives, nurseries of ocal trees (eucalyptus) were also formed there since the time of colonial times. the colony until 30 years ago.

In excavations carried out in the project called Florida in one of the 5 hills of the Chaupicruz -Osorio hacienda, ancient vestiges have been found that date back to human occupation in that sector more than 1,500 years ago, from the Formative period. The 'Chaupicruz' culture It belongs to the Anansayas people, treated in the works of Jacinto Jijón y Caamaño as "El Camino de la Sal". It reached its peak around the V century. Archaeologists point to recent vestiges found and that, with the new excavations, a true social formation can occur prior to the arrival of the Spanish, and even more so, in the entire context of the peoples who inhabited before the Inca.

The Inca and Hispanic presence, although less important, also occurred in this place from the 15th-16th centuries. Spanish artisans were established along the Camino Real, who mixed and formed an entire artisan network, which extended to Cotocollao and served the city of Quito, such as: mills, pots, tiles, bricks, ceramics in general, tools, props, markets with specialties, such as medicinal herbs and land products from Yumbos or Northwest. Specialized labor such as bricklayers, plumbers and laborers were also hired.

Neighborhoods

Chaupicruz was home to heterogeneous neighborhoods, among which were Pinar Bajo, Pinar Alto, Colinas del Pichincha, Granda Centeno, Quito Tennis, El Bosque, Unión Nacional, La Florida and Osorio.

Means of transportation

Land transportation in Chaupicruz was always important because it had two routes that communicated with the north of the Republic: the Camino Real and Carretas, through which products from the north were brought. Since 1950, large, more important roads began to be laid out that communicated with the center of Quito, from Cotocollao.

The parish was home to Quito's only airport at the time, the Antiguo Mariscal Sucre, which closed its doors in 2013 to move to the rural parish of Tababela, with Bicentenario Park occupying its grounds.

Main avenues

• West Avenue (Mariscal Antonio José de Sucre)
• Lieutenant Edmundo Carvajal
• Avenida de La Prensa
• Avenida del Inca
• Avenida La Florida
• Avenida 10 de Agosto
• Avenida Amazonas
• Avenida Brasil
• Antonio Granda Centeno Avenue

Trade

In the parish, what was once the largest shopping center in Ecuador, Ciudad Comercial El Bosque, was opened.