Callao

Callao Harbor (1744)

Historic map (1888)

El Callao was founded by Spanish colonists in 1537, just two years after Lima (1535). It soon became the main port for Spanish commerce in the Pacific. The origin of its name is unknown; both Amerindian (particularly Yunga, or Coastal Peruvian) and Spanish sources are credited, but it is certain that it was known by that name since 1550. Other sources point to the similarity with the Portuguese word calhau [pebble], having a similar sound.

At the height of the Viceroyalty, virtually all goods produced in Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina were carried over the Andes by mule to Callao, to be shipped to Panama, carried overland, and then transported on to Spain via Cuba. The port of Callao was also a node in the Manila Galleon route connecting Latin-America and Asia through Acapulco, Mexico and Manila, Philippines.[4]

After the Battle of Ayacucho, 9 December 1824, that sealed the independence of Peru and South America, Spain made futile attempts to retain its former colonies, such as at the Second siege of Callao. On 20 August 1836, during the Peru-Bolivian Confederacy, President Andrés de Santa Cruz mandated the creation of the Callao Littoral Province (Provincia Litoral del Callao), which had political autonomy in its internal affairs. During the government of President Ramón Castilla, Callao was given the name of Constitutional Province (Provincia Constitucional), on 22 April 1857; before that, Callao had the name of Littoral Province. All of the other Peruvian provinces had been given their names by law, while Callao was given it by constitutional mandate.

Callao was never part of the Lima Department nor of any other departments.

The province's first mayor was Col. Manuel Cipriano Dulanto.

In 1921, the Bureau of Public Works granted a concession to M.I.T. engineer John Tinker Glidden for paving, administering, and inaugurating a public cart road between Callao and Lima, further coalescing a Lima metropolitan area.

By 1949, Callao was known as one of the biggest centers of coca-based products and cocaine traffic in the world.[5]

Callao is built on and around a peninsula, the district of La Punta, a wealthy residential neighborhood. A historical fortress, the Castillo de Real Felipe (site of "Rodil's Last Stand"), stands on the promontory overlooking the harbor.

A large naval base is sited in Callao. Its prison held Abimael Guzmán, the leader of the Shining Path Communist Party of Peru, and holds Vladimiro Montesinos, the ex-director of internal security during the Fujimori regime.

Jorge Chávez International Airport is located in Callao.

On a bluff overlooking the harbor sits Colegio Militar Leoncio Prado, the military high school. The city also has a university, the National University of Callao.

The main Naval Hospital, Centro Medico Naval is located on Avenida Venezuela in Bellavista. It contains the U.S. Navy command Naval Medical Research Unit Six.

Residents of Callao are known as chalacos.

Callao's professional football teams are Sport Boys and Atlético Chalaco.

Islands

Sea lions in the Palomino Islands

Callao has several islands: San Lorenzo (currently a military base), El Frontón (a former high security prison), the Cavinzas Islands, and the Palomino Islands, where numerous sea lions and sea birds live in a virtually untouched ecosystem. There are proposed plans to build a huge naval, terrestrial, and air port on San Lorenzo Island. This project is called the San Lorenzo Megaport Project.

Local government affairs are divided into two levels. Regional matters are handled by the Regional Government of Callao (Gobierno Regional del Callao), which is located in front of the Jorge Chávez International Airport.[6] Affairs such as city cleaning, promoting of sports and basic services are handled by the Provincial Municipality of Callao, which is headquartered in the Callao District. Also, each of the six districts has its own Municipality which handles matters in their respective jurisdictional areas.

Administrative divisions

Callao is divided into seven districts, (Spanish: distritos; singular: distrito), each of which is headed by a mayor (alcalde).

Districts of  Callao[7]
Map N°	District	Population	Area km²	Density (pers/km²)	Map of the districts of Callao	Map
1	Callao (downtown)	415,888	45.65	9,147.60
2	Bellavista	75,163	4.56	16 483.11
3	Carmen de la Legua Reynoso	41,863	2.12	19,746.7
4	La Perla	61,698	2.75	22,435.64
5	La Punta	4,370	0.75	5,826.67
6	Ventanilla	277,895	73.52	3,779.86
7	Mi Perú (part of Ventanilla until May 2014)	51,522	2.47	20,859.11

The rest of Callao Region is composed of the islands of San Lorenzo, El Frontón, Cavinzas and Palomino, which all together have an area of 17.63 square kilometres (6.81 sq mi).

• Alexander Callens (born 1992), Peruvian footballer
• Mario Montalbetti (born 1953), Peruvian syntactician and linguistics professor
• Claudio Pizarro (born 1978), highest-scoring Latin American in the history of the Bundesliga
• Jhoao Ward (born 1989), Peruvian footballer

• Callao affair, 1820
• Battle of Callao (1838)
• Battle of Callao, 1866
• Blockades of Callao, several events
• Siege of Callao (disambiguation), several events

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Callao.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Callao.

• Municipality of Callao (in Spanish)
• Regional government of Callao
• Jorge Chavez International Airport
• National University of Callao (in Spanish)