At the Del Carmen Hill Tunnel is this 39 foot, suspended monkey. He appears to be reaching toward passing cars like a playful King Kong. The Monkey Machín sculpture consists of over 110,000 ceramic tiles. The statue is based on the monkey in the children’s story, “Owl Juan and the Monkey Machín Play in the Centenario Park.” The author is Fátima Quiroz de Kuri, better known as Aunt Popy. She has created a series of books and a book club to teach children about their city while encouraging them to read. People born in Guayaquil are often called monos by outsiders. This translates to monkeys.
