Piura is a city in northwestern
PeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.Peruvian territory was home to the Norte Chico...
. It is the capital of the
Piura RegionPiura is a coastal region in northwestern Peru. "Piura" is derived from the Quechua word pirhua, whose approximate meaning is "supply base", as the area was used by the Incas as a stop to get provisions during their conquest of the area's original inhabitants. The region's capital is Piura and its...
and the
Piura ProvincePiura is a landlocked province in the Piura Region in northwestern Peru. Its capital, the city of Piura, is also the regional capital. The province is the most populous in the region as well as its center of economic activity.- Boundaries :...
. The population is 377,496.
It was here that Spanish Conqueror
Francisco PizarroFrancisco Pizarro González, 1st Marqués de los Atabillos was a Spanish conquistador, conqueror of the Incan Empire and founder of Lima, the modern-day capital of Peru. Pizarro was born in Trujillo, Extremadura, modern Spain. Sources differ in the birth year they assign to him: 1471, 1475–1478, or...
founded the first Spanish city in South America,
San Miguel de Piura, in 1532. Piura declared its independence on January 4, 1821.
Like most of northern Peru, the territory of Piura had been inhabited by their autochthonous group of natives called
tallanes and
yungas.
Piura is a city in northwestern
PeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.Peruvian territory was home to the Norte Chico...
. It is the capital of the
Piura RegionPiura is a coastal region in northwestern Peru. "Piura" is derived from the Quechua word pirhua, whose approximate meaning is "supply base", as the area was used by the Incas as a stop to get provisions during their conquest of the area's original inhabitants. The region's capital is Piura and its...
and the
Piura ProvincePiura is a landlocked province in the Piura Region in northwestern Peru. Its capital, the city of Piura, is also the regional capital. The province is the most populous in the region as well as its center of economic activity.- Boundaries :...
. The population is 377,496.
It was here that Spanish Conqueror
Francisco PizarroFrancisco Pizarro González, 1st Marqués de los Atabillos was a Spanish conquistador, conqueror of the Incan Empire and founder of Lima, the modern-day capital of Peru. Pizarro was born in Trujillo, Extremadura, modern Spain. Sources differ in the birth year they assign to him: 1471, 1475–1478, or...
founded the first Spanish city in South America,
San Miguel de Piura, in 1532. Piura declared its independence on January 4, 1821.
History
Like most of northern Peru, the territory of Piura had been inhabited by their autochthonous group of natives called
tallanes and
yungas. These lived without an organization or single leader to rule until the
Mochicas'The Moche civilization flourished in northern Peru from about 100 A.D. to 800 A.D., during the Regional Development Epoch...
eventually took control and the mixture of these evolved into the Vicus Culture. Centuries later, Piura came under the rule of
Tupac Inca YupanquiTúpac Inca Yupanqui was the tenth Sapa Inca of the Inca Empire, and fifth of the Hanan dynasty. His father was Pachacuti, and his son was Huayna Capac.-Description:...
, at least for around 40 years and before the Spanish arrived.
With the arrival of the Spanish in 1532, the current mestizo and creole cultures of Piura were born. This
mestizoMestizo is a Spanish and Portuguese term that was used in the Spanish Empire and Portuguese Empire to refer to Latin people of mixed European and Amerindian ancestry in the Americas....
culture includes influences from Spanish
ExtremaduraExtremadura is an autonomous community of western Spain whose capital city is Mérida. It includes the provinces of Cáceres and Badajoz...
and Andalucia, African influence due to the arrival of slaves from Madagascar (
MalgacheThe Malagasy ethnic group forms about a half of the population of Madagascar. They are divided into two subgroups: the "Highlander" Merina, Sihanaka and Betsileo of the central plateaux around Antananarivo, Alaotra and Fianarantsoa, and the côtiers elsewhere in the country...
slaves), the
ChineseThe term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People who reside in and hold citizenship of the People's Republic of China or the Republic of China . This definition stems from a legal perspective...
coolies that migrated from
CantonGuangdong is a province on the southern coast of People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
to work the rice fields and replace the slaves; and also Roma Gypsies who came as pirates looking for pearls or as incongite Spanish horsemen.
Colonial legacy
Piura served as the first main port through which the
IncaThe Inca civilization began as a tribe in the Cuzco area, where the legendary first Sapa Inca, Manco Capac founded the Kingdom of Cuzco around 1200. Under the leadership of the descendants of Manco Capac, the Inca state grew to absorb other Andean communities. In 1442, the Incas began a...
goldGold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. It has been a highly sought-after precious metal for coinage, jewelry, and other arts since the beginning of recorded history. The metal occurs as nuggets or grains in rocks, in veins and in alluvial deposits. Gold is...
the Spaniards had gathered was shipped back to
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
. Already in 1534,
Sebastián de BelalcázarSebastián de Belalcázar was a Spanish conquistador.-Biography:He was born Sebastián Moyano in the province of Córdoba, Spain, in either 1479 or 1480. He took the name Belalcázar or Benalcázar as that was the name of the castle-town near to his birthplace in Córdoba...
, one of Pizarro's men, left Piura to conquer the Inca bastion in
QuitoSan Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito, is the capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha, an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains...
.
As the oldest colonial city in Peru, its location was changed three times before it was established on its present location. The cathedral of Piura was built in 1588. The altar is covered in gold leaf and has a painting by
Ignacio MerinoIgnacio Merino Muñoz was a Peruvian painter who enjoyed a great international prestige; his paintings inspired the famous French writer Jules Verne to write Martín Paz, a fictional short story that was published in the illustrated magazine Musée des Familles ....
, a renowned Peruvian artist.
Piura Today
The main of the two campuses of the
University of PiuraThe University of Piura is a private university in Peru. It has two campuses, the main one is in Piura, while a more recently built one is located in the Miraflores District of Lima....
is located locally, while the other is in
LimaLima is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, on a coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It forms a contiguous urban area with the seaport of Callao...
. A museum commemorating the memory of
Miguel GrauMiguel María Grau Seminario was a renowned Peruvian naval officer and hero of the Naval Battle of Angamos during the War of the Pacific . He was known as the el Caballero de los Mares for his chivalry and is esteemed by both Peruvians and Chileans...
, a renowned Peruvian naval officer in the
War of the PacificThe War of the Pacific , occurring from 1879-1884, was a conflict between Chile and the alliance of Bolivia and Peru. Also known as the "Saltpeter War," the war arose from disputes over the control of territory that contained substantial mineral-rich deposits.The conclusion of the conflict...
, is located in Piura. Other than that, the city has little to offer.
Tourism
One of the best known tourist attractions in Piura is La Esmeralda beach, known as Colan for it is located near the town of Colan. Colan beach is a very long beach with warm waters. Local people like to go there during holidays.
There is also great spots for surfers, like Mancora Beach and Cabo Blanco.
It is served by the
Cap. FAP Guillermo Concha Iberico International AirportCapitán FAP Guillermo Concha Iberico International Airport is an airport serving Piura, Peru. It is run by CORPAC S.A., a government-run organization that oversees the management of Peruvian airports. It is the main airport of the Piura Region, the second most populous one of the country...
.
Culture and folklore
Piura is host to a stunning mestizo culture (the oldest in South America 1532, Piura is the first Spanish city in South America) most famous for gastronomical dishes like
Seco de Chavelo (the local dish), Algarrobina drinks, many types of
Cebiche and
Natilla Sweets. Popular crafts are the Chulucana Pottery and Catacaos is famous for its "Hats" and "Silversmith" arts. The
TonderoTondero is a dance and guitar rhythm from the Peruvian north coast .-Geographical origin of tondero and cumananas:The Tondero is a Peruvian dance and rhythm born in the north coast adjacent to the eastern valleys of the Sierra or “yungas” of Piura, Sechura and Lambayeque...
and cumanana is the traditional music of mestizo Piura and northern parts Lambayeque. There are also several famous
Peruvian valse that came from these regions (northern Peruvians have their style). "Chicha music", now called Tecnocumbia (originally a Peruvian styled cumbia), is also quite popular all over, as well as Salsa among youngsters.