It's Official: Cuenca Just Set a Guinness World Record for the World's Largest Mote Pata

We told you this was coming. And yesterday, Cuenca pulled it off.

On Saturday, February 14 — Valentine's Day and the peak of Carnival 2026 — a team of 30 expert chefs prepared the world's largest batch of mote pata at Plaza San Francisco in the heart of El Centro. The final weight: 1,723 kilograms.

A Guinness World Records representative, Natalia Ramírez, was on-site to verify the attempt and officially certified the record. Mayor Cristian Zamora received the certificate in front of thousands of cheering attendees.

By the Numbers

Detail	Number
Total weight	1,723 kg
Servings distributed	9,500
Chefs involved	30
Location	Plaza San Francisco, Cuenca
Date	February 14, 2026
Cost of entire Carnival	$700,000+ USD

All 9,500 servings were given away free to the public as part of the Carnival celebrations.

What Is Mote Pata, Again?

If you're new to Cuenca, mote pata is the city's signature Carnival dish — a thick, hearty stew made with mote (giant hominy corn), pork ribs and feet, longaniza (pork sausage), and a rich broth flavored with milk, garlic, onion, and peanuts. It simmers for hours and is traditionally eaten during Carnival week.

We wrote a full guide to mote pata earlier this week if you want the deep dive on what's in it and where to find the best bowls in the city.

Why the City Went Big

The Guinness attempt was part of the Municipal Tourism Foundation's "Cuenca Gastronomic Destination" project — an effort to position Cuenca's food culture as a serious tourism draw. The logic: Cuenca already has UNESCO World Heritage architecture and the cheapest clean water in Ecuador. Adding a world record for its most iconic dish is a marketing win that costs relatively little for the visibility it generates.

The broader Carnival celebration — branded "Carnaval Bakansote 2026" with the environmental theme "Yo Cuido el Páramo" — cost the city over $700,000 USD total. That includes all the concerts, parades, the Guinness attempt, security, and logistics for over 80 free events across the holiday period.

The Rest of Carnival Weekend

The mote pata record was just one piece of a packed Saturday:

• Corso de los 4 Ríos — the traditional Four Rivers parade rolled down Calle Bolívar starting at 9 AM
• Cuenca Flow concert — Nicky Jam and Trébol Klan headlined at Estadio Alejandro Serrano Aguilar, with tickets ranging from $5-$35
• A portion of concert proceeds went to environmental projects protecting the páramo near Cajas National Park

What Expats Are Saying

The expat response has been overwhelmingly positive. Several people in the Facebook groups described the scene at Plaza San Francisco as "electric" — thousands of locals and foreigners packed together, sharing free mote pata, with live music and dancing.

For longtime residents, this is what makes Cuenca special. It's not just that they made a giant pot of soup. It's that the city shut down its most beautiful plaza, cooked a communal meal, gave it away for free, and broke a world record while doing it. That kind of civic pride and public generosity is hard to find.

A Cuenca Record to Remember

Cuenca now holds the official Guinness World Record for the world's largest mote pata. It's a small thing in the grand scheme — but for a city that sometimes struggles with international visibility, it's a fun, memorable distinction that puts Cuenca on the map for something joyful.

If you were there yesterday, you were part of it. If you missed it — well, there's always next Carnival.

Sources: Teleamazonas, El Universo, KCH FM, Primicias