Andes Manta & The Last Ice Merchant Relocated to Piedmont Arts

PLEASE NOTE: The location of Andes Manta + The Last Ice Merchant has been changed from Rives Theatre to Piedmont Arts. The date and time remain the same.

As part of Celebración de las Artes, Piedmont Arts presents the short film, The Last Ice Merchant, along with a tasting of Ecuadorian food and a demonstration of Andean instruments by Andes Manta.

The film, The Last Ice Merchant, tells a story of cultural change and indigenous lifestyle through the perspectives of three brothers who have dealt with change in different ways. 

Twice a week for over half a century, Baltazar Ushca has hiked up the slopes of Mount Chimborazo, the tallest mountain in Ecuador, to harvest glacial ice that covers the highest altitudes of this dormant volcano. In the past, up to forty ice merchants made the journey up the mountain to mine the ice; today, however, Baltazar works alone. Even his brothers, Gregorio and Juan, both raised as ice merchants, have retired from the mountain to find more steady work.

After the film, sample traditional Ecuadorian foods while Andes Manta demonstrates the vibrant music of the Andes on traditional instruments—from the lyrical sound of the quena, or Andean Flute, to the haunting tones of the six-foot long pan-pipes.

The film screening will begin at 6 pm. The food sampling and music demonstration by Andes Manta will begin at 6:30 pm.

$15 General Admission • Cash Bar