De la Madre (Mother's) Park & Planetarium

Parque de la Madre, a quarry of Ecuadorian sports champions. There you will find the headquarters of the internationally famous "Luis Chocho" Walking School. On its old trails, the walker Jefferson Perez trained towards the first Olympic gold medal of Ecuador in Atlanta 96.

The 500 m athletic track, three lanes, paved with special synthetic material, is used every day by dozens of professional and amateur athletes, to train for future competitions. The bicycle path allows alternative mobility. There is a multipurpose court, children's games and green areas to rest.

Cuenca honored Jefferson Perez and coach Luis Chocho by erecting monuments to their sporting achievements. The Parque de la Madre, formerly called Parque del Ejército, changed its name in 1966, when its third monument was inaugurated, dedicated to La Madre, a bronze work by artist Paúl Palacio.

The Park occupies 36,000 m2 between Florencia Astudillo Avenue, Doce de Abril Avenue and Federico Malo Street. It has two parking lots, one open-air and one underground. Important institutional and heritage infrastructures are built nearby, such as the Chamber of Commerce, the Chamber of Industries, the Todos Santos religious complex, the CIDAP, the staircases, the Military Hospital and the stadium.

An essential attraction of the sector is the Planetarium Ciudad de Cuenca. It carries out important educational and scientific dissemination work on the Universe, the stars and the solar system. It has state-of-the-art projection equipment that accurately replicates the position of the stars in the celestial vault. It carries out an agenda of complementary activities related to astronomy, such as conferences, talks, direct observation of the sky or through telescopes, audiovisuals. The capacity of its room is for 100 people. Inclusive space, accessible to people with disabilities.