Compa Pancho

The San Lorenzo del Pailón canton is one of the most beautiful coastal corners of the country, it is located in the province of Esmeraldas in the northernmost part of Ecuador and is the owner of some hidden secrets. Its geographical location gives it great development possibilities that are based on the richness of its natural heritage and culture, the potential that the maritime port confers on it and its characteristic of border population, with wide possibilities of trade and exchange. The port of San Lorenzo is located in a bay of deep and calm waters with natural breakwaters, its mangroves that border it, for all this the port of San Lorenzo is considered unique, there is no other in the American Pacific that meets its characteristics The cultural manifestations of the Afro-Ecuadorian population constitute their sense of nationality, dance, gastronomy are expressions that show the spirit and way of feeling of the San Lorenzo. It is a town of stories, traditions and customs; It has tales and legends such as: La Sirena del Pailón with her mate and gold comb, the duende, the bambero and the ribiel; It is the polished landscape with the authentic beauty of its mangroves, which invites the poet and decimero to compose verses and marimba songs to the sound of bass drum, cununo and joke. The city of San Lorenzo, served as a settlement for the English settlers, who built at the end of the 19th century, a unique European-style wooden house known as the English house or strong house, the same one that over time, with new owners, this time Germans took the name of the tagua house, as it was used to store the vegetable ivory that was exported to Europe, gaining popularity among the natives. This house later housed the Swiss at the time of the construction of the railway, eventually becoming an attractive hotel until its demolition in the hands of popular anger, due to a bad application of justice. In front of this house a rail circuit called "turntable" was installed in order to facilitate the entry of buses, which in the end they also raised it. San Lorenzo, whose original name is pailón in the indigenous language, has a wide range of resources and natural attractions that consolidate the structure of the "northern border" tourist circuit, its mangroves, its beaches with wide slopes and long figuration suitable for a diverse use And surely, its ichthyological wealth, its flora and fauna that are part of the great biodiversity that characterizes the country, give this Ecuadorian place a tourist vocation of singular importance. Regarding the origin and meaning of the word Pailón, Hugo David Cervantes maintains that it comes from two phonemes of the Awapí language, Pa which means sun, and Alu rain, consequently Pailón would be the LAND OF SUN AND RAIN. However, for Afro-descendants, this conception comes from its bay, due to the shape of a large and deep pan that it has. Since ancient times, the lands of Pailón attracted the attention of conquerors, missionaries and men of science. In short, it is an admirable climate, since both cloth and silk dresses adapt to the human body; without causing the slightest discomfort. There are also some months when the weather seems to be a bit warmer. About the inhabitants of San Lorenzo, the character of its people is jovial, frank and sincere, noble and full of those qualities that are a natural gift, they are also generous, educated, hospitable without reservation and proud. The banks of the rivers are covered with coconut palms that sway gracefully in the breeze and with their movement cool the scorched lands; the trees of tasty and smelly fruits