Ecuadorian media and ethnicity

Abstract

This paper attempts to identify different examples of how Ecuadorian ethnicity is portrayed in our media, and then interpreted by the audience. In this way, we will take a look at the different stereotypes pertaining to people from the Ecuadorian Coastal region (Costeños) and those from the Highlands (Serranos) as portrayed in two different local sitcoms “Solteros sin Compromiso” (Single and unattached) produced in the Coast (Guayaquil) and “Las Zuquillo” produced in the highlands (Quito). At least 60 minutes of each show were analyzed to look for different examples that would provide evidence proving the different preconceived stereotypes through which Costeños and Serranos are identified with the purpose of proving that identity and ethnicity are perceived through the eyes of “the others.”