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Yarik Sisa, an artist with Yay Animacin, works on "Aya Somos," the first Quichua animated short, blending Otavalo culture with Japanese-style anime, in Hatun Rumi, Ecuador, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

JATUN RUMI – High in the mountains of the Ecuadorian Andes, a group of young Otavalo Indigenous people is using anime to inspire pride in their ancient culture and language, especially among Otavalo children.

They produced an animated short film titled “We’re Aya” that follows the adventures of Aya, a mythical Otavalo warrior, and other characters who interact under the watchful eye of a condor — an iconic bird for Andean Indigenous cultures that symbolizes power and energy.

Inspired by the work of lege

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