Information about the city Moquegua
Moquegua, founded by the Spanish colonists as Villa de Santa Catalina de Guadalcázar del Valle de Moquegua) is a city in southern Peru, located in the Moquegua Region, of which it is the capital. It is also capital of Mariscal Nieto Province and Moquegua District. It is located 1144 kilometers south of the capital city of Lima.
This region was occupied for thousands of years by successive cultures of indigenous peoples. The Wari culture built numerous monuments, and developed terraced fields to support crop cultivation on hillsides hundreds of years before the Inca conquered them and expanded their territory into this area. Cerro Baúl is the remains of a Wari monumental site, on top of a hill outside of Moquegua.
According to Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, the Inca Emperor Mayta Cápac organized the military expedition that extended the Inca domains to the shore of the Pacific. They overcame other indigenous peoples in the 15th century; in the next century, they were conquered by the Spanish.
There is no definite information about the year of the city's founding by the Spanish. Tradition holds that the colonial city was founded on November 25, 1541, by Pedro Cansino and his wife Josefina de Bilbao.
Moquegua's economy is largely based on mining. Resources include copper, silver, gold and molybdenum. Cuajone and part of Toquepala Mine are located in the Mcal. Nieto Province. A copper smelter and refinery to treat copper concentrates from those mines is located in Ilo province.
Information about the city Ferrenafe
Ferreñafe was founded on December 13, 1550 by captain Alonso de Osorio. Before the arrival of the Spanish, an early civilization lived in the area, The Sican. The Sican culture existed long before the Incas, and adopted themselves to the geography of Ferreñafe. The Sican built pyramids and buried their family lineage in forms that attract scholars from different fields of study. Sican National Museum is the main centre of interpretation to understand the culture, philosophy, architecture, life style, and hierarchy structure of the Sican.
Through the years, Ferreñafanos have learned to preserve its customs and values. Until these days, its populations strongly preserves its beliefs in Catholicism, and Shamanism as well, naming Ferreñafe the city of "the double faith".
The Sican, the Incas, The Spanish, and more recently Chinese, Japanese, among other immigration groups, have brought development in many domains, one of them Gastronomy, known as Peruvian cuisine. Years of history, have brought along a developed taste for food and its ingredients. In fact, some ingredients are native from Ferreñafe as are portrayed in the pottery by early pre-Columbus civilization, the Sican. Ingredients such as Loche, Lucuma, among others.
There exists a cotton that grows in several different natural colours, and is originally from Ferreñafe, named "algodon nativo".
Textiles are also produced by locals in the small towns nearby the Andes.
The town has potential for agrotourism and adventure tourism, while enjoying the night life during the weekends. Birdwatching is a growing activity that can be widely practiced in the surrounding area.
In recent years, the tourism industry has occupied an important role in its economy, that was until few years ago based only in agriculture. Few hotels are available, and there is still lack of proper training for the human resources of the tourism industry.
