Changing of the Guard, Mondays in Quito
A popular activity to do on Monday at 11:00am (lasts 45 mins to 1 hour) is to go to la Plaza Grande and see the Changing of the Guard in front of the Presidential Palace.
The ceremony draws quite a crowd, a mixture of locals and tourists alike. There is heavy police presence and armed police positioned on all the top balconies in the square! There is a musical procession of the guard in all their finery along the balcony of the presidential house – where the government is held and the president could live though chooses not to – the house is, therefore, open to the public.
The president, his family and his advisors, come out onto the balcony to wave to the public. Many times, he speaks to the crowd (in Spanish...so might not be too interesting for us).
After the procession, you can turn your attention to the monument to heroes de la Independencia where there's a military band and also guards on military horses dressed up like they are in a dressage competition! It's quite amusing to watch as the horses clearly get bored and start to misbehave whilst the guards riding them tried desperately to control them and keep a serious face. The national anthem is next, then the horses through the crowd, their riders carrying flags. It is interesting to watch – colorful, musical and clearly a matter of honor and pride for the locals in attendance. Shortly afterwards, a group of locals in traditional dress often perform folkloric dance in the street.