Information about the city Abancay
Abancay is a city in southern-central Peru. It is the capital of both the Apurímac Region and the Abancay Province.
Abancay is located at an elevation of 2,377 metres (7,799 ft) above sea level in the southern Peruvian Andes, above the Pachachaca River, and straddles the Marino River. Because of its dry mountain[clarification needed] and famous year-round warm weather it is known as "The Eternal Springtime Valley". The nearest cities are Cusco, Chalhuanca and Andahuaylas. Abancay is located at the junction of two important Peruvian roads: the Caminos del Inca Road, an old road dating from Incan times, between the cities of Nazca and Cusco, and the Via de los Libertadores, connecting Ayacucho and Cusco.
Abancay was already a populated area before the arrival of the Incas. It was the frontier of the Quechua-Inca cultural influence area of the Chancas, an ethnic native group of Peru. Its name comes from a flower native to the region called amankay. When the Spanish arrived, they transliterated the word and named the city Abancay, Villa de los Reyes ("Abancay, Village of the Kings"), which was later reduced to Abancay, its current name. Abancay was the location of the Battle of Abancay between the forces of the Conquistadores Francisco Pizarro and Diego de Almagro. Abancay was mentioned in the first Cronicas (Pedro Cieza de León) as an encomienda dedicated to the cultivation of sugar cane for the production of aguardiente.
There is a traditional tale about the foundation of the city recorded by Guillermo Vidalegut, a local journalist, in his book "Alma y Rostro de Abancay", who, inspired by Ricardo Palma's Tradiciones Peruanas, gathered local traditional stories. As the story goes, during colonial times, the town was located above the valley, in one of the skirts of the Ampay mountain, in a place which is now known as Ccorhuani. One day, the statue of the Virgin Mary known as Our Lady of the Rosary, Patroness of the village, mysteriously disappeared from the local Church. The people, fearing robbery and claiming sacrilege, searched day and night until a shepherd found the statue standing above an immense boulder by the valley. The people believed that the thieves had left the statue in fear of being discovered by the search parties. The statue was returned in a procession back into town. A few weeks later, the same disappearance occurred again and another search ensued. The statue was again found in the same spot where it was found before. Lo and behold, the disappearance happened a third time. The people never understood why or how this was happening. Finally, it was suggested that maybe the statue was asking for a shrine in the valley at the location where it was being found. The town then built a small Chapel there, and it became a place of constant visits by the people. Before long, it became the center of activity, and the entire town was moved to where is located today. The statue of Our Lady of the Rosary still sits above the immense boulder which is located on the right side of the Cathedral.
Information about the city Azángaro
Azángaro is a town in Southern Peru, capital of the province Azángaro in the region of Puno.[1] The colonial church in Azangaro is known as the golden temple. In the adjacent Plaza San Bernardo, Pedro Vilca Apaza was drawn and quartered for his role as a General in Tupac Amaru II's attempt to liberate Perú from the Spanish government. His last words were, "Por este Sol aprended a morir como yo." After Tupac Amaru II's execution, leadership of the revolution shifted to Azangaro. The church bell tower, an example of colonial decorative adobe, was much disfigured by rains before recent rains caused a collapse of most of the tower. The gold interior is a magnificent example of rich colonial art. Recently, colonial treasures were robbed from the church. Azángaro was "discovered" by Captain Don Manuel Ortiz Aguilar on November 1535. The priest Rodrigo Chrysostom, overseer of the Doctrine of baptism of the Collao Indians in 1535, is the first to report on the existence Azángaro, which was located in the place called Macaya and there an idol of a cat whose eyes were rubies was worshiped. When Christians brought indoctrination to this place, the doctrine of "Our Lady of the Rosary" was founded and a small church was built in the orders of the Dominico Father Tomas de San Martin and Acosta (the same who founded the University of San Marcos) and cacique Fabian Mango. The arrival of the Spanish in Azángaro occurs in 1535. In 1542 the Viceroyalty of Peru covering 3 states are created: Lima, La Plata and Chile, this time Azángaro and Puno belong to this Viceroyalty. Already in the Republican Era, in 1825, by the law of February 5 Azángaro is elevated to city status. In 1825, by the law of June 21 Azángaro was created as the capital of the province of the same name with its 18 districts: Achaya, Arapa, Asillo, Caminaca, Azángaro, etc. The economy is based primarily on Azángaro's development of livestock production activities, supplemented by agriculture, crafts, trade in agricultural products, consumer goods and non-regional transportation services. No figures are available regarding the provincial gross domestic product, but it is known that animal exploitation is the largest contributor to the economy by raising cattle, sheep and alpacas, which generate end products such as milk, wool, skins and meat for consumption; also products are obtained for transformation, such as milk for processing into cheese, yogurt for human consumption, sheep, alpaca and llama wool and cow leather.