Francisco Javier Eugenio de Santa Cruz y Espejo was a medical pioneer, writer and lawyer of mestizo origin in colonial Ecuador. Although he was a notable scientist and writer, he stands out as a polemicist who inspired the separatist movement in Quito. He is regarded as one of the most important figures in colonial Ecuador. He was Quito's first journalist and hygienist.
Manuel Benjamín Carrión Mora was an Ecuadorian writer, diplomat and cultural promoter.
Adalberto Ortiz - born Adalberto Ortiz Quiñones was a novelist, poet and diplomat born in Esmeraldas, a province of Ecuador.
Theo Constanté Parra was a master Latin American painter part of the Abstract Informalist Movement in Ecuador. In 2005, Constanté won the country's most prestigious award for art, literature and culture, the Premio Eugenio Espejo National Award, presented by the President of Ecuador. Constanté's works are abstract in nature and consist of many colors which meld together amongst loosely drawn geometric lines. Constanté stated that his favorite colors were red, orange and blue and they are the colors that are typically more dominant in his work.
Carlos Catasse, born Carlos Tapia Sepúlveda in Santiago, Chile, formed his new last name by combining the first two letters of his first, middle and last names. Catasse is a Chilean painter of international recognition. Since 1969, he has lived and painted in Quito, Ecuador, the country that in 1986 granted him with Ecuador's National Prize for Painting, the Premio Eugenio Espejo. Catasse has had a great number of individual exhibitions throughout Latin America, as well as, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Spain, and the United States. After Catasse died in Quito, Ecuador at the age of 65, his remains were cremated in a cemetery in the Ecuadorian capital, and there are plans to open a gallery exhibition of his works.
Aníbal Villacís was a master painter from Ecuador who used raw earthen materials such as clay and natural pigments to paint on walls and doors throughout his city when he could not afford expensive artist materials. As a teenager, Villacís taught himself drawing and composition by studying and recreating the illustrated ad posters for bullfights in Quito. In 1952, Jose Maria Velasco Ibarra, former President of Ecuador, discovered Villacís and offered him a scholarship to study in Paris.
Estuardo Maldonado is an Ecuadorian sculptor and painter inspired by the Constructivist movement. Maldonado is a member of VAN, the group of Informalist painters founded by Enrique Tábara. Other members of VAN included, Aníbal Villacís, Luis Molinari, Hugo Cifuentes, León Ricaurte and Gilberto Almeida. Maldonado's international presence is largely due to his participation in over a hundred exhibits outside of Ecuador.
Gilberto Almeida Egas was an Ecuadorian painter born in San Antonio de Ibarra, in Imbabura Province. He studied at the School of Fine Arts in Quito from 1953 to 1957. His early work was in many media, especially paintings of buildings and views in old Quito; his later work concentrated on large black-and-white drawings, in a baroque, expressionistic, and dramatic style.
Abdón Ubidia (1944) is an Ecuadorian writer who is considered one of the most representative and relevant voices of modern Ecuadorian literature. He was the 2012 recipient of the Premio Eugenio Espejo in Literature, awarded to him by President Rafael Correa.
José Martínez Queirolo was an Ecuadorian playwright and narrator. He was the 2001 recipient of the Premio Eugenio Espejo in Literature, awarded to him by President Gustavo Noboa.
Rodolfo Pérez Pimentel is an Ecuadorian lawyer, historian, and biographer. He was declared the lifetime chronicler of the city of Guayaquil, and is a member of the National Academy of Ecuadorian History. He was the 2005 recipient of the Premio Eugenio Espejo in Literature, awarded to him by President Alfredo Palacio.
Leslie Wright Durán Ballén is a notable Ecuadorian pianist. He is Ecuador's cultural attache in Paris and has received many international awards.
Alicia Yáñez Cossío is a prominent Ecuadorian poet, novelist and journalist.
Julio Pazos Barrera is a poet, writer, teacher, and cook.
Leonardo Tejada was an Ecuadorian painter whose work was known for its Social Realism and Expressionism.
Jorge Núñez Sánchez was an Ecuadorian writer, historian, and professor.
Oswaldo Muñoz Mariño was an Ecuadorian architect and painter.
Misael Acosta Solís was an Ecuadorian naturalist.
Marcelo Cruz Utreras is an Ecuadorian neurologist and politician.
Álvaro Manzano Montero was an Ecuadorian opera and symphony orchestra conductor.
