The Vergel Garden

Educator: Valeria (Vale) León
Children: María Victoria, Manuela, Emilio, Gustavo, Tomás, Mateo, & Luciana

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The Vergel Neighborhood is situated on the right bank of the Tomebamba, at the foot of the Palacio de Huayna Cápac in the “Pumapungo” area. The Vergel contains the tangible memory of a space for exchange and encounter that has always characterized what we now call Cuenca. In the Vergel there are Inca, Cañari and colonial ruins, representing the framework created by the Andes. This neighborhood is also traditionally known as the Herrerías, which still preserves its traditional iron workshops. In colonial times, pack mules with their legs marked passed by, while people rode through the city. Nowadays, this small corner of Cuenca embraces the past and the modern, spaces where iron workshops rise up and survive modern forms of production.