Mama Negra (September celebration)

Latacunga's most famous festival honors the Virgen de la Merced, credited by local tradition with halting a Cotopaxi volcano eruption in 1742, through a riotous parade of masked characters including the central Mama Negra figure, played by a man in blackface riding a horse while distributing sweets and milk. A second, smaller edition is held in November tied to the city's Independence Day.