Arequipa

On 22 December 1540, King Charles I of Spain elevated Arequipa to the rank of city by royal decree, awarding it a coat of arms on which a mythical animal carries a banner inscribed with Karlos V or Del Rey.[17]

Historians debate the origin of the crimson flag of the city. By 1940, several historians, most notably Francisco Mostajo and Victor M. Barriga, confirmed the royal origin of the crimson color of the flag, contrary to a blue banner which historian Victor Benavente hypothesized to be the original. This matches the color that local sports organizations use.[55] On 2 September 1940, Francisco Mostajo sent a letter to the Mayor of the City to explain his views regarding the color of the Banner of Arequipa, basing his claims on the 'Act of the Oath of King Carlos III " of 11 August 1788. On 23 September of the same year, Father Victor M. Barriga also published an important document in the Catholic newspaper El Deber that contains a description of the royal standard of Arequipa found in the "Act of 3 September 1789".[56]

The city anthem is Fourth Centenary Anthem. Lyrics and music were composed by Emilio Pardo Valle and Aurelio Diaz Espinoza, who won a 1939 contest which the city council organize to dedicate a new anthem. Since then, the song has been sung at all important civic events held in the city.

The city is located at an average elevation of 2,328 metres (7,638 ft) above sea level, with the lowest part of the city at 2,041 metres (6,696 ft) above sea level in the area called Huayco Uchumayo while the highest is located at 2,810 metres (9,220 ft) above sea level.

The central part of the city is split by the Chili River from north to south; to the north and east of Arequipa are the Andes Mountains, while to the south and west are sub-ranges of the Andes. The valley of Arequipa strategically links the coastal and highland regions of southern Peru.[57]

A series of volcanic cones dominates the city skyline -- Misti and the extinct volcanic groups Pichu Pichu and Chachani. The western slopes of the Andes feature thick, extensive layers of volcanic lava.[58]

Solar radiation in Arequipa ranges from 850 to 950 W/m ² (watts per square meter), one of the highest levels of radiation in South America and the highest recorded in Peru. Arequipa's proximity to the Atacama Desert and pollution contribute to the higher levels of radiation.[63]

French type architecture in Arequipa.

High rise apartments in Arequipa.

On 15 August 1540, the Spanish plan for Arequipa resembled a checkerboard made of fifty-six blocks, each one of "400 Castilian feet" (111.40 meters) per side.[24] Each block consisted of four or eight land lots, which were distributed according to the status of the new owners. Over time, some religious institutions would occupy an entire block as did the Convent of Santa Catalina and the San Francisco Monastery.[64]

Urban expansion occurred at the expense of the countryside, and this phenomenon has accelerated in recent decades. Arequipa expanded east of the historic center, and new avenues such as Parra Boulevard and Siglo Veinte Avenue were built to connect the historic center with newer neighborhoods, such as Vallecito (developed in the 1940s)[65] or with already existing towns like Yanahuara, which were absorbed by the city's expansion. Shantytowns appeared in the districts of Miraflores, Barrio Obrero, and Jacinto Ibanez. A permanent marketplace was built in a vacant lot previously occupied by the San Camilo Monastery. The Goyeneche Hospital was built between 1905 and 1910. Two theaters (Municipal and Ateneo), a hotel (Hotel de Turistas), a public library and the campus of San Agustin University were other city developments of the early 20th century. Housing projects and new neighborhoods were also built, such as Cuarto Centenario and Selva Alegre.[66]

In the late 1950s, the city rapidly grew, especially in peripheral areas.[67] Around this time, industrial operations located in areas of Barrio del Solar and Barrio Obrero,[68] near the city center, moved outwards to the industrial zone (Parque Industrial), causing the former industrial areas to become commercial zones.[69] Some educational institutions, such as the National University of San Agustin, moved out of the city center to more spacious land lots in peripheral areas to accommodate their growing facilities. Residential zones also developed in peripheral suburbs, causing the main function of the city center to be a tourist and business district.[67]

The metropolitan area of Arequipa consists of 19 districts,[70] with a total area of 305,798 acres (123,752 hectares) of which 10,142 acres (4,104 ha) are distinctly urban.[71]

In 2007, the city of Arequipa had 20,595 students at pre-schools or Kindergartens, 143,543 students at elementary schools and 219,305 at high schools. Among the oldest and most prestigious schools in the city are Independencia Americana School, San Francisco de Asis School, Don Bosco School, La Salle School and San Jose School.

Colegio Max Uhle is a German international school in Arequipa.

Auditorium of San Agustin National University

Arequipa has more than 15 universities, nine of them with headquarters in the city and one of them being public (Universidad Nacional San Agustin). The other six are local branches of private and public universities of Peru and Chile. In 2007, a total of 70,894 students were enrolled in universities and 56,087 students were enrolled in colleges or technical institutes.

Two institutions of higher education in Arequipa were founded more than a century ago. Seminario de San Jeronimo, a center of religious formation, has been in operation since 1622.[93] While San Agustin National University (Universidad Nacional San Agustin) was founded on 11 November 1828[94] it can trace its origins back to the Academia Lauretana de Artes y Sciencias, a college founded in 1821.[95]

The first private university established in the city was Universidad Catolica Santa Maria, and the establishment of this university was followed by Universidad Católica San Pablo and Universidad San Francisco.[96] Additionally, important local branches from universities outside the region, such as Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Universidad Tecnologica del Peru, Universidad Los Angeles de Chimbote and Universidad del Mar (Chile) among others, are located in the city.

Arequipa, unlike other big Peruvian cities with mestizo and indigenous features, has been labeled as a "Spanish island in an indigenous sea" and because of its status as a "natural oasis".[106] Culture in Arequipa is marked by the regionalism of its inhabitants; in fact, unlike other regional sentiments within Peru, Arequipa's regionalism was connected to the fight against centralism. This proud regionalism, expressed in numerous insurrections or revolutions, has earned the city the nickname "Ciudad Caudillo" (Warlord City). As Peruvian historian Jorge Basadre argued, "Arequipa is a gun pointed at the heart of Lima", alluding to the rivalry between the two cities.[107]

An element of culture in Arequipa City is its Spanish dialect which incorporates a distinctive rhythmic way of speaking, which usually elongates the last vowel of the final word in each sentence. A distinctive feature of this dialect is the "voseo",[108][109] that is, the use in Spanish language of the pronoun 'vos' to replace the use of 'tú' or 'usted' (all corresponding to the English 'you'). In Peru, the voseo is sometimes heard only in rural areas except in Arequipa, where that way of speaking is heard in both rural and urban areas.[110] Another dialect from the city surroundings, called loncco, has been largely lost due to migration from other provinces and the standardization of Spanish language by the media. However, there are contests in schools which promote the writing of poems in the loncco dialect.

Mario Vargas Llosa (Arequipa, Peru, 28 March 1936). Nobel Prize in Literature 2010

Literature in Arequipa has a long tradition and many of the city's writers have gained national and international recognition. During the Spanish colonial period, only the works of Lorenzo de Llamosas survived.[111] In the nineteenth century, the poetry and fables of Mariano Melgar incorporated patriotic and romantic themes. Other notable writers of Arequipa in that century are Benito Bonifaz, Jorge Polar and María Nieves y Bustamante, among others. In the twentieth century, Mario Vargas Llosa is the most recognized of the Arequipan writers in Peru and abroad, winner of Nobel Prize in Literature in 2010, author of novels like The Green House (1966), Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter (1977), among others. Other writers of the 20th century were the poets Percy Gibson, Cesar Rodriguez Atahualpa, and Oswaldo Reynoso.

Some of the most detailed photographic records of 19th- and 20th-century Peru are found in the works of the Vargas Brothers Art Studio. Open from 1912 to 1958, the studio captured more diversity of Peruvian culture than any other photography studio at the time.[112] Most known for their nocturnals and portrait photography of women, their photographic archive, which is privately held by descendants of the studio's founders and brothers Carlos and Miguel Vargas, have been restored and digitized.[113] Many international showings of their works, have brought recognition to the studio and the way of life their images have preserved.[112]

One of the halls of Arequipa's Museum of Contemporary Art

A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Arequipa's rich history and art is showcased in its many museums. These include the Museum of the cathedral;[114] the Museum of Contemporary Art (Museo de Arte Contemporáneo) which is devoted to painting and photography collections from 1900 onwards, especially works by Peruvian artists like Carlos Vargas, Martín Chambi, Fernando de Szyszlo, Venancio Shinki and many others;[115] the Regional Museum of the Central Reserve Bank (Museo Regional del Banco Central de Reserva) which houses pre-Columbian and colonial art pieces, plus a collection of colonial and republican coins and banknotes;[116] the Santa Maria University Museum of Archaeology and the Andean Sanctuaries Museum (Museo Santuarios Andinos), both belonging to Santa Maria Catholic University, have an important collection of archaeological pieces mainly from local pre-Columbian cultures (especially the latter, which houses Inca mummies);[117][118] the San Agustin University Museum of Archaeology;[119] the Municipal Museum of Arequipa;[120] and others.

Pedro Paulet, scientist born in Arequipa in 1874, was one of the first to experiment with rocket propulsion.

Among the scientists who were born and/or conducted their research in Arequipa are Pedro Paulet, a pioneer scientist on rocket propulsion, as well as Mariano Eduardo de Rivero y Ustariz, a geologist and politician. One of the most important research facilities in the city was the Astronomical Observatory of Carmen Alto, which Harvard University operated from 1891 to 1927, when the university moved its astronomical operations to South Africa.[121]

Cultural events and activities are mostly organized by the main universities of the city: San Agustin National University and Santa Maria Catholic University,[122] and also by cultural organizations such as the Alliance Française,[123] the Peruvian Center for German Culture[124] and the Peruvian North American Cultural Center.[125] Since the 1990s banking institutions showed great interest in promoting and managing cultural activities; while private companies joined this movement by sponsoring various projects.[119]

Association football (or soccer) is the most popular sport in Arequipa, with a popular local team being FBC Melgar of the Peruvian First Division, winning its first national championship in 1981.[126]

City rivals' FBC White Star's women's football department of the club won the national league in 2009.

Other teams in the city are Sportivo Huracán, FBC Aurora, FBC Piérola, Senati FBC, IDUNSA and the now-defunct Total Clean FBC.

The main stadiums in the city (also used for other events) are: Virgen de Chapi Stadium (property of San Agustin National University), Mariano Melgar Stadium, Los Palitos Stadium and Umacollo Stadium.

Music is also an important part of cultural life in Arequipa. Since the last years of the Spanish colonial period, there were important academic composers like Mariano Melgar (who was best known as a poet), Pedro Jiménez Tirado April and Florentino Diaz, all of them placing Arequipa as one of the Peruvian cities with a renowned musical scene.[127] The Symphonic Orchestra of Arequipa, created in 1939, contributes to keep classical and vernacular music as part of the city's culture.[128] As in the rest of the country, in Arequipa, many traditional music styles like vals criollo (or Peruvian waltz), yaravi (or harawi) and huayno are still performed.

Regional cuisine shows a great diversity with as many as 194 typical dishes.[129] The cuisine of the city mixes recipes from European and Andean cultures,[130] because many dishes were created to satisfy the taste of the Spanish settlers in Arequipa.[131] As a curiosity, many restaurants feature a special main course according to each day of the week: chaque on Mondays, chairo on Tuesdays, chochoca on Wednesdays, chupe colorado on Thursdays, chupe de viernes on Fridays, puchero or timpusca on Saturdays and caldo blanco or pebre de lomos on Sundays.[132] Among the most popular local dishes are chupe de camarones (shrimp soup), ocopa arequipeña, rocoto relleno, cuy chactado (fried guinea pig), locro de pecho, etc.; while typical desserts are: queso helado (ice cream made of milk, cinnamon and coconut), buñuelos, dulces de convento and chocolates. Besides local wines and beers, two typical beverages are chicha de guinapo a dark type of corn grown only locally, and anisado (anise liqueur).[133]

The Provincial Municipality of Arequipa regulates important citywide, metropolitan and provincial issues such as urban planning, transport, municipal tax collection, management of road safety (jointly with the local police), the maintenance of public roads and urban greenery, etc. It is also responsible for the construction of municipal facilities such as sports centers, libraries and social service centers.[134]

The Constitutional Court is the highest authority regarding control and interpretation of the Constitution. It is autonomous and independent of other constitutional bodies. Subject only to the Constitution and the Organic Law, the court has seven judges elected by the Congress with the favorable vote of at least two-thirds of the legal number of members for a period of five years.

The city is the "Legal Capital of Peru" and "Official Headquarters of the Constitutional Court",[135] as a result of a decentralizing project. Due to the military coup that occurred in Peru at the end of the 1960s, the initiative was abandoned. Then, it was retaken after the election of the Constituent Assembly in 1978. This time, the initiative did not succeed due to the high opposition, but later concluded that Arequipa would host the then "Constitutional Court", as stated in Article 304 º of the Constitution of Peru, 1979: "The Constitutional Court is based in the city of Arequipa ".[136]

Later, by the Constitution of 1993, the "Constitutional Court" was created, which, according to its Charter, is based in Arequipa.[137]

In its 332 hectares[9] has 5817 properties[138] of which 500 are categorized as heritage properties, generally have been built in the nineteenth century, on the site of earlier colonial buildings destroyed by the earthquake of 1868. The houses, usually made in ashlar, are characterized by semi-circular arches and vaulted ceilings. Ashlar structures always have thick walls: 1 to 1.5 meters for rooms, 2 meters for churches. Through the use of lime mortar, the walls are shown homogeneous image that is reinforced with brick vaults or ashlar that are justified in the rarity of the wood.[139]

In the city is a stylistic school called "School Arequipa" of crucial importance in the region and whose influence reached Potosi. This school is characterized by profuse decoration planiform textilográfica and the open spaces and the design and size of their covers, which differ in these aspects of Cuzco and Lima covers.

The architecture in the historic center is characterized by the prominence of ashlar, the use of which begins in the last third of the 16th century. This volcanic stone, white or pink exceptionally soft, lightweight, and weatherproof, emerged as a seismic structural solution. The ashlar was unable to take the early years, except for the covers of the main church and some houses. The original city was built with adobe, masonry, sticks and straw roofs or mud pie. Houses of this type were made until the nineteenth century and were common in the eighteenth century, some remain in the original district of San Lazaro. Later came the brick and tile houses with tile found in the Monastery of Santa Catalina. The cataclysm of 1582 settled these systems and raised the earthquake reconstruction. Then came the ashlar as prime structural solution.[140]

Major earthquakes mark milestones in the formation of Arequipa architecture. Five significant periods are:

Church of the Jesuits

In historical existence is accounted for 14 churches or temples, four chapels, five convents and 3 monasteries,[141] among the monuments of this type include:

• Basilica Cathedral of Arequipa

It is the most important neoclassical ediicio Peru, product reconstruction started in 1844 and finished three years later and led by architect Lucas Poblete.[142] Its interior is faced with trs ships with one of the side walls of the main square which fills a side façade is divided by Corinthian columns.

• Church of the Company

It is the monument maximum Arequipeña School,[12] is one of the most splendid creations of Peruvian Baroque and starting point of this school,[143] in its façade has an inscription inscribed with the year 1698 which shows that the beginning of the eighteenth century this regional art had reached its peak, therein lies a more exaggerated baroque altar.[144]

• Convent of Santa Catalina

Street and arches on the main square.

There are 10 buildings that origin were engaged in civic purposes, such as Phoenix theaters. and the Municipal Theatre, the Goyeneche Hospital and the Hospital of Priests of St. Peter, bridges Bolognesi and Grau, the Instituto Chavez de la Rosa, Railway Station, Mercado San Camilo and the convento de Santa Catalina.[141]

The historic center of Arequipa lacked a wall as we had the city of Lima, they persist despite military monuments as Twentieth Century Prison and Penal Fundo El Fierro women.[145]

Within the historic center there are 246 houses that are declared monument households.[141] This type of construction is characterized by thick solid walls, with arches and domes similar to those built in the temples and religious monasteries giving the same robustness and monumentality to these constructions built from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and generally used for housing.[140]

• Yanahuara Villa Hermosa, located 2 kilometres (1 mile) from the city, famous for its churches built in Andalusian style alleys[146] which is Yanahuara Monumental Zone Cultural Heritage of the Nation.[147]
• Cayma Villa, 3 miles (5 kilometres) from the centre of town. Place known for its taverns and where there is a beautiful seventeenth-century church. With a viewpoint which affords a beautiful view of Arequipa.
• The thermal baths of Yura, 30 kilometres (19 miles). Its waters come from inside the volcano Chachani. Also, near the city are the medicinal sources of Jesus and Socosani.
• Sabandía natural valley with most crystalline waters in the region. Here is the Sabandía mill was built and in operation since the eighteenth century.
• The farm Sachaca or the Founder's Mansion,[148] is 12 kilometres (7 miles) from the city. Built on the river Socabaya, is a residence that belonged to different owners of historic renown in Peru but became especially known for being one of the family properties principales Goyeneche. This beautiful piece of architecture is now open to the public.

Honorio Delgado Regional Hospital

As the administrative and economic capital of the Arequipa Region, the city has the largest number of both public and private healthcare centers which total 680 establishments.[153] Public health institutions that are present in the city are:

• Social Security Hospitals[154]
  • Edmundo Escomel (level I hospital)
  • Policlínico Metropolitano
  • Yanahuara (level III hospital)
  • Carlos Seguin National Hospital (level IV hospital)[155]
  • Complejo de Prestaciones Sociales
• Ministry of Health (MINSA)[156]
  • Honorio Delgado Regional Hospital
  • Goyeneche Hospital
• National Institute of Neoplasic Diseases (INEN):
  • Regional Institute of Neoplasic Diseases

Interchange on La Marina Avenue.

Arequipa's urban road network has a radiocentric structure with four main avenues: Avenida Ejército, Avenida Jesus, Avenida Alcides Carrion and Avenida Parra; which allow the movement of the population between the intermediate and peripheral areas and the downtown. These avenues are connected, in turn, by other avenues such as Avenida Venezuela, Avenida La Marina, Avenida Salaverry, Avenida Cáceres, among others, which almost form a ring around the downtown. Other avenues such as: Avenida Cayma, Avenida Goyeneche, and Avenida Dolores link the suburbs and nearby districts with downtown Arequipa. Interchanges such as the one at Avenida La Marina and another one at Avenida Caceres help to relieve urban traffic. A road of 40 km approximately, which goes through the district of Uchumayo, connects Arequipa to the Pan-American Highway and coastal cities; another road goes through the district of Yura, connecting Arequipa to other cities in the southern highlands like Puno and Cuzco.

Public transit in Arequipa is currently operated by small private companies. In 2014, a metro system was proposed by Peru's then-minister for transport José Gallardo.[157]

View of the apron at Rodriguez Ballon International Airport with the Misti volcano in the background.

Arequipa's only airport is Rodríguez Ballón International Airport, which is operated by a private consortium through a concession granted by the government since 2011.[158] It is located in the district of Cerro Colorado, about 12 miles (19 kilometres) northwest of the downtown, and because of its features and facilities is considered one of the best in the country[159] There are regular flights to Peruvian destinations such as Lima, Cuzco, Tacna and Juliaca and to international destinations such as Arica, Iquique, Antofagasta, Santiago de Chile and Buenos Aires.[159]

The railway network system has been operating in Arequipa since 1871, and enables communication between the coast and the mountains and different levels of progress and expansion of population centers located in its path. The system consists of the lines Cusco-Puno-Arequipa and Arequipa-Mollendo. It is of great strategic importance in the multimodal communication system in the southern macro region, since it is the most effective and economical way to transport heavy loads over long distances.

Terrapuerto Internacional Arequipa is a bus terminal located in the district of Jacobo Hunter. There, several bus companies offer land travel routes to regional and national destinations within Peru and to international destinations such as La Paz, Santiago de Chile, Mendoza and Buenos Aires.