Articles by Johnny Magdaleno

Johnny Magdaleno is a journalist, writer and photographer. johnnymagdaleno.com

‘It was like a church’: Ecuador’s Kichwa community mourns death of sacred tree

by Johnny Magdaleno 8 May 2020

PUCARÁ ALTO, Ecuador — Bellowing winds thrashed the farmers’ corn stocks and the wild patches of eucalyptus cropping up the largest hill in Pucará Alto. Then there was a crack,…

Moises Padilla near his community's nature reserve. Photo by Johnny Magdaleno/Mongabay

Indigenous farmers fight eucalyptus damage to water source in Ecuador

by Johnny Magdaleno 28 August 2017

SALCEDO, Ecuador - The southeastern wedge of Ecuador’s Cotopaxi province is filled with rich agricultural land. It sprawls in small divided plots of greens and ambers across the region’s hills,…

Basantes readies his motorcycle as he prepares to lead a group of tourists to one of the Mashpi Amagusa Reserve’s birdwatching areas. Photo by Johnny Magdaleno/Mongabay

Father and son butt heads in decades-long battle over bird tourism site

by Johnny Magdaleno 9 August 2017

QUITO, Ecuador - Five years ago, Sergio Basantes and his wife Doris made history when they decided to turn their lush finca just outside of Quito into a hotspot for…