Tierras Vivas Will Bring 105+ Delegations to Cuenca Next Week

Cuenca has another festival coming up, and this one is built around food, farming, ancestral knowledge and rural producers.

Festival Tierras Vivas 2026 is scheduled for June 26 and 27 at Portal Artesanal, starting at 09:00.

What It Is

The full event is the Encuentro Nacional de Agroecología, Saberes Ancestrales y Gastronomía Andina, organized through EDEC EP, the city's municipal economic-development company.

The city says the event will bring together delegations from Ecuador's four regions around agroecology, food sovereignty, culture and ancestral traditions.

What To Expect

The program includes a national agroecological fair where visitors can find healthy products, crafts, seeds, traditional food and rural entrepreneurship projects.

The agenda also includes:

• Ancestral opening ceremonies connected to Inti Raymi

• Dialogues on knowledge, gastronomy and ancestral medicine

• Andean dance and music presentations

• Native and criollo seed exchanges

• Live cooking demonstrations

• A national folkloric dance festival

Organizers are asking visitors to bring reusable bags and their own utensils to reduce waste.

Why Expats Might Like It

This is a good one if you want a local event that is less about sitting in an audience and more about walking, tasting, talking and discovering producers. It is also a practical way to understand the rural food systems that quietly shape what ends up in Cuenca's markets.