Lima

This article is about Lima, Peru. For other places, people and things named "Lima", see Lima (disambiguation).

Lima city proper is generally considered to be comprised of the densely-populated, thirty central districts of Lima Province. Each district is headed by a mayor, although the Metropolitan Lima Municipal Council (Municipalidad Metropolitana de Lima), led by the mayor of Lima, also has authority in these districts, including the thirteen outer districts of Lima province.

The historical downtown of the city is located in the Lima District, which is locally known as Cercado de Lima. This is where most vestiges of Lima's colonial heyday remain, as well as the Presidential Palace and the Metropolitan Lima Municipal Council.

The neighborhoods of Miraflores and San Isidro are among the wealthiest in the city with most of Lima's upscale hotels and other tourist destinations located in them. The latter district is also an important financial center that is nowadays far more important in Lima's daily business life than the Cercado. The districts of La Molina and Santiago de Surco offer quieter, residential areas.

Barranco, south of Miraflores, is known as a bohemian neighborhood and has earned recognition for its population of writers and intellectuals.

Miraflores aerial view.

The most populous districts of Lima lie in the north and south ends of the city. Their population is comprised principally of immigrants from other regions of Peru. Many of them are poor people of indigenous origin who arrived during the mid and late twentieth century after being displaced by terrorism, agrarian crises, and general economic frustration. These peasants invaded the vast desert areas and hillsides in the districts of the Cono Norte and Cono Sur areas, populating new slums known as pueblos jóvenes. The majority of the people are poor and live in slums with no electricity and running water.

In recent years, however, these populous districts and the people living in there are becoming wealthier at a slow pace, and the amount of business operations being performed in there has steadily increased. It is common knowledge that if anybody wants to make money, the northern districts are the place to do it.

Education

Universities

The city has the largest concentration of higher-education institutions in the country. The National University of San Marcos, founded on May 12 1551 during Spanish colonial regime is the oldest continuously functioning university in the Americas and considered by many Peruvians "La decana" in the sense of "dean of universities" across Peru.

The Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú is the oldest private university (established on 1917). Other notable private institutions that are located in the city are Universidad del Pacífico, Universidad de Lima, Cayetano Heredia University

Other state owned universities also play key roles in teaching and research, such as the Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional Federico Villarreal and Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, but the most prestigious University for sciences and engineering careers in the whole country and the hardest to be admitted is the Universidad Nacional de Ingenieria (National University for Engineering)

These universities are highly especialized for some careers, for instance, for humanities the Universidad Mayor de San Marcos, for Law studies the Pontificia Universidad Catolica del Peru, for medicine, the Univesidad Nacional Cayetano Heredia, for Business and Economics, the Universidad del Pacifico and for Sciences and Engineering, the Universidad Nacional de Ingenieria most known as U.N.I.

Libraries

Founded by José de San Martín, Peru's oldest and most important library, the National Library of Peru is located in downtown Lima. As it has suffered wars and earthquakes throughout history, a new location for the library has been built in the San Borja district, with transfer of the library's holdings beginning in March of 2006. This modernization program aspires to turn the library into one of Latin America's most modern libraries.

Commerce and industry

Lima has substantial textile, paper, paint, and food products industries.

In recent decades, Lima has rapidly expanded and the city has seen much unregulated development. In the last decade, air pollution has risen to alarming levels, as no restrictions are allowed on the age or efficiency of motor vehicles. Leaded petrol is still widely used.

The "Estadio Monumental "U"", located in Lima, is Peru's largest and most modern stadium; it seats eighty-thousand spectators.

Transport

Lima mass transit service (Lima Metro or Tren Urbano) currently in operation at Villa El Salvador lines.

Lima has an extensive bus system, which connects all of Lima's main streets and avenues. These buses are commonly known as micros or combis. Although very cheap and convenient (they stop virtually everywhere), they are often poorly mantained and the smaller buses run at excessive speeds.

Taxis vary in quality of service and price. They can be stopped at any street, or private taxi companies can be called to pick up passengers at a certain address.

Numerous inter-urban bus companies offer transportation to other cities in Peru. Quality varies depending on the price, from luxury express buses to uncomfortable and crowded micros.

Nowadays Lima's mayor is working on a new bus system called Metropolitano where all busses will have exclusive lines; it has been told that new busses must be acquired by the companies working in the metropolitan area, this busses will be bought from a Chinese company, the same company that sells busses to Italy. The mayor's hope is to see a new massive transport system in the next few years.

Javier Prado Avenue.

To improve the quality of taxis running in Lima, a new law has been promulgated forbidding the importation of used cars; the city of Lima hopes that this law will promote the use of newer cars in the city, reducing vehicle emissions and smog.

An agreement signed by Mayor Luis Castañeda and President Alejandro Toledo on February 17, 2005, provided funding for finishing the Lima Metro, an above-ground mass-transit system which will link the downtown area with the financial district, San Isidro. The project was launched in the late 1980s but left unfinished by former president Alan García.

Lima's main passenger gateway for national and international air travelers is Jorge Chávez International Airport.

Tourist attractions

Government Palace

The Historic centre of Lima, located in downtown Lima and the Rímac District, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988 due to the large number of historical buildings dating from the Spanish colonial era, a small number of which have now been restored. In particular, the monumental Plaza Mayor, with the 16th century Cathedral and the Presidential Palace, and the catacombs of the Convento de San Francisco are popular with visitors.

Several sections of the Lima City Walls can still be seen. These fine examples of Spanish medieval fortification were used to defend Lima from attacks from pirates and corsairs.

The city also has a number of fine museums, notably the National Museum of Anthropology, Archaeology, and History and the Rafael Larco Herrera Archaeological Museum, both in the Pueblo Libre district.

Many small beaches, which are heavily visited during the summer months, are located by the southern Pan-American Highway. The most well-known ones are located in the districts of Santa María del Mar, Punta Hermosa, Punta Negra, San Bartolo and Pucusana. Also, the district of Ancón, located north of the city, has a very popular beach resort.

Numerous restaurants, clubs and hotels have been opened in these places to serve the many beachgoers. The beaches in Lima itself are not suitable for swimming because the city's sewage is dumped raw into the ocean.

Torre Tagle Palace, built in 1735

The suburban district of Cieneguilla and the town of Chosica (in the Lurigancho District) provide attractive green landscapes at a short distance from the city. Because of their elevation (over 500 meters), the sun shines in these areas even during winter and hence they are visited by residents of Lima to escape from the winter fog.

Recently, the Palomino Islands near the port of Callao have attracted visitors due to a population of sea lions.

Situated in Monterrico, the Gold Museum, together with the even more interesting textile museum. Here can be seen almost perfectly preserved thousand year old garments and feathered capes recovered from the waterless deserts of Western Peru. Also in the same building, an arms museum with a huge range of antique Spanish firearms, among muskets and arquebuses.

Notable people born in Lima

Artists

*Felipe Pinglo Alva, father of Peruvian Musica criolla
*Susana Baca, Grammy award- winner folk singer
*Chabuca Granda, singer and composer
*Eva Ayllon

Historical

*Saint Rose of Lima (April 20, 1586-August 30, 1617) Patron Saint of America, first Roman Catholic saint born in the Americas.
*Saint Martin of Porras
*Saint Turibius of Mongrovejo, Archbishop of Lima

Politicians

*Javier Valle Riestra, lawyer and politician
*Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, first Latin American to become Secretary-General of the UN.

Sportspeople

* Teófilo Cubillas, football (soccer) player
* Jefferson Farfán, football (soccer) player
* Luis Horna, tennis player
* Sofia Mulanovich, world champion surfer
* Claudio Pizarro, football (soccer) player
* Nolberto Solano, football (soccer) player
* José Del Solar, football (soccer) player
* Cecilia Tait, volleyball player
* Jaime Yzaga, tennis player
* Ysrael Zúñiga, football (soccer) player

Journalists

*Magaly Medina, gossip and celebrity journalist.

Writers

*Mario Vargas Llosa, the most renowned peruvian writer.
*Alfredo Bryce Echenique, writer (novels, memories, and short stories), among which the renowned A world for Julius (in Spanish: "Un Mundo para Julius".)
*Julio Ramón Ribeyro, writer best known for his short stories, and awared in 1994 by the Juan Rulfo prize.
*Ricardo Palma, writer of "Tradiciones Peruanas"
*Jaime Bayly, writer, journalist, and media personality

Contemporary Musicians

*Christian Meier, pop singer
*Pedro Suarez Vertiz, pop singer
*Líbido, indie rock band
*Mar de Copas, indie rock band
* Gian Marco, pop singer and composer
*Arena Hash, pop band
*Campo de Almas, indie pop band
*Fragil, progressive rock band
*TK, pop band

Lima: Encyclopedia BETA

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