Celebrations of Hope: Communities in Ecuador Honor Their Harlequin Toads

This April, two celebrations brought entire communities together to honor two of Ecuador’s most iconic species: the Jambato Harlequin Toad (Atelopus ignescens) in Angamarca and the Jambato de Azuay (A. bomolochos) in Chordeleg, Cuenca. With music, dance, food, art, and the joyful voices of children, these events showed how deeply people value the species that share their landscapes, and how culture and conservation can walk hand in hand.

Jambato Day in Angamarca: A Parade for a Legend of the Andes

On April 25, 2025, the streets of Angamarca came alive with drums, laughter, and more than 400 people celebrating a species once feared to be gone forever. The Jambato Harlequin Toad, black and yellow like a burning ember, disappeared from scientific records for nearly three decades.

Its unexpected rediscovery in 2016 became a symbol of hope for Ecuador and for amphibian conservation worldwide. Today, the Jambato is once again part of community life, not as a common resident of the páramos, but as a cherished reminder of resilience.

A celebration rooted in community

Alianza Jambato, an Atelopus Survival Initiative (ASI) member, organized the celebration alongside local governments, schools, and the communities themselves. The day began with a vibrant parade led by a local band. Children marched proudly through town with hand-painted signs and Jambato-themed art, smiling as adults lined the streets to cheer them on. The toad’s colors, once nearly forgotten, appeared everywhere: on costumes, masks, banners, and face paint.

After the parade, the community gathered in the local auditorium for a festival of creativity. Schoolchildren sang, danced, recited poems, and presented drawings dedicated to their “black-and-yellow friend.” Each performance honored the Jambato not only as an animal, but as part of their history and cultural identity.

More than a festival: building a future for the Jambato

One day before the celebration, conservationists, community members, researchers, government representatives, and local authorities met in a dedicated workshop to build the new species Conservation Action Plan.

The timing was intentional: conservation decisions were being shaped with the community, not apart from it. Together, the parade and the workshop reflected a shared truth: saving the Jambato is not only a scientific endeavor, it is a cultural one that depends on local pride, participation, and memory.

“Un canto por el Jambato del Azuay”: A Cultural Fair for Atelopus bomolochos

Just two days later, on April 27, 2025, another celebration unfolded in Chordeleg, Cuenca, this time for the Jambato de Azuay (A. bomolochos), an emerald-and-gold jewel of the southern Andes.

The First Artisan and Cultural Fair “Un canto por el Jambato” welcomed around 500 visitors from morning until late afternoon. The event was organized by ASI members Fundación Amaru and Cordillera Tropical, with support from local authorities and community groups.

A fair that blended tradition, creativity, and conservation

Under colorful tents, 39 local artisans and entrepreneurs displayed products that celebrated the region’s identity and the unique charm of the Jambato.

The fair offered traditional crafts—macanas woven on looms, filigree jewelry, pottery, toquilla-straw hats, paintings, ornamental plants, alongside educational merchandise like T-shirts, buffs, stickers, masks, chocolates, and stamps featuring the species. Food and drink were also part of the celebration: special-edition craft beers, traditional desserts, and other local products linked gastronomy to biodiversity and sustainable development.

Throughout the day, families enjoyed live music, folkloric dance, ballet, children’s games, painting contests, scientific talks, balloon art, and artistic performances. It became a festival where people learned about threatened species, artisans strengthened their livelihoods, and conservation organizations gained new allies in the community.

Why this fair matters

The Jambato de Azuay lives in a restricted high-Andean range, and its survival depends on the health of rivers, forests, and páramos. By celebrating the species through art, culture, and economic opportunities, the event helped position A. bomolochos as an icon of local identity, not just a species in need of protection.

The fair also strengthened alliances among governments, universities, foundations, and local organizations. These partnerships are already becoming the foundation for long-term conservation efforts in the region.

A Shared Message from the Andes: Conservation Begins With Community

Both celebrations, one in Angamarca, the other in Chordeleg, revealed the same powerful truth: harlequin toad conservation flourishes when people see these species as part of their stories, their creativity, and their pride.

Parades, music, children’s poems, ancestral crafts, scientific talks, traditional foods, all reinforced a message that transcends biology: When communities celebrate a species, they protect it. When they protect it, hope returns to the mountains.

The conservation projects for both species are supported by the Atelopus Survival Initiative through funding from Re:wild, On the Edge, Milkywire, and additional backing from Stiftung Artenschutz, among others.