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AREQUIPA - PERU
Arequipa, the capital of department of
Arequipa, is the most important city of southern Peru. It stands at the foot
of the snow-capped volcano El Misti, in the sierra. Arequipa has many fine
colonial-era Spanish buildings built of sillar, a pearly white volcanic rock
used extensively in the construction of the city, from which it gets its
nickname La Ciudad Blanca ("the white city"). The city is located at an
altitude of 2,380 meters (7740 feet) above sea level, in the Peruvian Andes.
Archaeological findings indicate the fertile valley in which Arequipa is
situated has been occupied back to 5000 – 6000 BC. In the 15th century, the
region, then occupied by Aymara Indians, was conquered by the Incas and
served as an important supplier of agrarian products to the Inca Empire. The
modern city of Arequipa was founded on August 15, 1540, by Garci Manuel de
Carbajal, an emissary of Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro. The city's
name comes from the Quechua phrase "Arequipai" which means "Yes, stay".
Arequipa remained relatively isolated during
colonial and early republican times, but that changed in 1870 when a
railroad to the coastal port of Tacna was inaugurated, opening trade via the
Pacific Ocean.
Arequipa served as a bastion of nationalism during Peru's struggle for
independence in the early 19th century. Later, it served as a rallying point
during the War of the Pacific (1879 – 1883) with Chile.
It is the second largest city in Peru. Very influenced by both Andalusian
and Spanish Colonial ideas and architecture, such as the Santa Catalina
Monastery, the Goyeneche Palace and the Casa del Moral. Arequipa has many
valuable archaeological and touristy resources including the Cotahuasi
Valley, which has a canyon that is the deepest one in the world.
UNESCO has declared the historical center of Arequipa a World Heritage Site.
On June 23, 2001, Arequipa was badly damaged by an earthquake of 7.9 on the
Richter scale.
In June 2002, Arequipa was completely paralyzed for a week by strikes and
riots in protest of the privatization of two regional electricity-generating
plants. The demonstrations were seen as a manifestation of increasing anti-globalization
sentiments in South America.
Famous Arequipeños
José Bustamante y Rivero, president of Peru
Mario Vargas Llosa, writer
Hernando de Soto, economist
Vladimiro Montesinos, military man, lawyer
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