Chiclayo

Chiclayo (; ) is the principal city and capital of the Lambayeque region and Chiclayo Province in northern Peru. It is located from the Pacific coast, from the city of Trujillo, and from the country's capital, Lima.

The city was originally founded by Spanish Franciscan priests as "Santa María de los Valles de Chiclayo" in the 16th century, acting as a small town of passage and rest of travelers. It was declared an official city on 15 April 1835 by president Felipe Santiago Salaverry. He named Chiclayo "the Heroic City" to recognize the courage of its citizens in the fight for independence, a title it still holds. Other nicknames for Chiclayo include "The Capital of Friendship" and the "Pearl of the North", due to its kind and friendly nature of its people.

Chiclayo is Peru's fourth-largest city, after Lima, Arequipa, and Trujillo, with a population of 738,000 as of 2011. The Lambayeque region is the fourth most populous metropolitan area of Peru, with a population of 972,713 in 2009. The city is divided into three urban districts, Chiclayo, La Victoria, and José Leonardo Ortiz. The Chiclayo metropolitan area comprises 12 districts. It is the second most populous city in Northwestern Peru, after its city rival, Trujillo. The city was founded near an important prehistoric archaeological site, the Northern Wari ruins, which constitute the remains of a city from the 7th to 12th century of the Wari Empire. The city was also once part of the Moche culture, which dominated Northern Peru 100 to 700 AD. The Lord of Sipán was the ruler of the Moche and the Sipán mummies are the most popular tourist attraction of city of Lambayeque and Chiclayo, with most tourists arriving from Chiclayo. The Royal Tombs of Sipán Museum in Lambayeque houses thousands of Moche artifacts.

Etymology and toponymy

The record of the name already appears documented as a toponym in the descriptive grammar of the Mochica language, entitled "'" [en: Art of the Yunga Language] (1644), prepared by the parish vicar of Reque, , in the mid-th, written there in the orthography developed by the author as "Cɥiclaiæp", where it is mentioned three times. First, in a prologue listing the towns and localities where Mochica language was still spoken.

Many different historical accounts tell of the naming of Chiclayo. Some attribute it to an indigenous man known as "chiclayoc" or "chiclayep" who transported plaster between the ancient cities of Zaña, Lambayeque and Morrope.

Another version claims that around the time that the city was founded, the area was home to a green-colored fruit called chiclayep or chiclayop, which in the Mochican language means "green that hangs". In some towns in the highlands of Cajamarca, squashes are known as chiclayos, evidence that this fruit is the origin of the city's name.

Another source indicates that the word is a translation from the extinct Moche language and is derived from the word Cheqta which means "half" and yoc which means "property of".

Others say the Mochican language had words similar to the name, such as Chiclayap or Chekliayok, which means "place where there are green branches".

Symbols

Shield

The coat of arms summarizes important features of the province, such as the one dedicated to the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception, represented in light blue background, which is a Catholic town, represented on the cross, but, also see other items related to the history, geography and landscape.

Description

'Tumi the tumi is a ceremonial knife used by the Lambayeque culture, represents Naylamp.
'Sea the sea was always very important for its marine resources and legends that are told of it.
'Huerequeque is the typical bird of the region, is so called because in his song seems to say Huere-que-que-que.

History

Pre-Columbian cultures

Mochica culture

left|thumb|The [[Lord of Sipán tomb]]

The Moche civilization began between the 1st and 7th centuries AD, occupying a territory that spanned much of what is now the northern coast of Peru, encompassing what is today the coastal area of the departments of Ancash, Lambayeque and La Libertad. This civilization developed a broad knowledge of hydraulic engineering: its people constructed canals to create an irrigation system in order to support agriculture. They produced surpluses, which supported population density and a strong economy for development. The culture was characterized by intensive use of copper in the manufacture of ornamental objects, tools and weapons. It has also been a popular tourist destination for its beautiful beaches, architecture and historic sites. The project, Tren de la Costa, is planned to connect the cities of Sullana, Lima, and Ica, including Chiclayo as a station. Chiclayo is also known as the "Ciudad de la Amistad" ("City of Friendship") and Perla del Norte ("Pearl of the North") of Peru, for the kindness of its people. Meteo Climat (record highs and lows)

|source 2 = Deutscher Wetterdienst (precipitation days 1970–1990 and humidity 1954–1969)FAO (sun 1971–2000)

Government

thumb|Municipal Palace of Chiclayo

In Chiclayo, the mayor is the head of government. The mayor is democratically elected for a period of four years. Each district also has a mayor, under the supervision of the mayor of Chiclayo. They are responsible for coordinating government administrative action in their district. the current mayor of Chiclayo is Janet Cubas Carranza, who was elected in 2023 and replaced Marco Gasco Arrobas.

{| class="wikitable" align="center" rules="all" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3" style="border: 1px solid #999; border-right: 2px solid #999; border-bottom:2px solid #999"

|+ style="font-weight: bold; font-size: 1.1em; margin-bottom: 0.5em" | Recent mayors of Chiclayo

! Period !! Mayor !! Political party

| align="center" | 1993–1995 || Arturo Castillo Chirinos || AP-FREDEMO

| align="center" | 1996–1998 || Miguel Angel Bartra Grosso || AP-FREDEMO

| align="center" | 1999–2002 || Miguel Angel Bartra Grosso || Adelante Chiclayo

| align="center" | 2003–2006 || Arturo Castillo Chirinos || AP-FREDEMO

| align="center" | 2007–2011 || Roberto Torres Gonzáles || Todos por Lambayeque-Manos Limpias

| align="center" | 2011–2015 || Roberto Torres Gonzáles || Movimiento Regional de las Manos Limpias

| align="center" | 2015–2018 || David Cornejo Chinguel || Alianza para el progreso

| align="center" | 2019–2022 || Marco Gasco Arrobas || Podemos Perú

Districts

Central Chiclayo comprises three districts: Chiclayo, José Leonardo Ortiz, and La Victoria. Peripheral to the central city are three other districts: Pimentel, Pomalca, and Reque. Districts are subdivided into housing developments. The total land mass is 252.39 km<sup>2</sup>.

Adding Pimentel, Pomalca, and Reque to the City of Chiclayo was proposed by a 1992 urban development plan called "Chiclayo 2020". The program was superseded in 2016 by the Plan de Acondicionamiento Territorial (PAT) and Plan de Desarrollo Urbano (PDU).

Metropolitan area

Chiclayo is part of the metropolitan area of Chiclayo-Lambayeque. The metropolitan area comprises the six districts of Chiclayo listed above, and six others: Lambayeque, Santa Rosa, Puerto Eten, Eten City, Monsefú, and Reque. Sixty percent of the metropolitan area's population is concentrated in the six districts of Chiclayo The metropolitan area comprises central Chiclayo and adjacent areas, including the provincial capital of Lambayeque, some of which serve as bedroom communities and supply goods to Chiclayo.

According to the planning director of Chiclayo, by 2020 the San Jose district belonging to the Lambayeque Province will be completely integrated with the city of Chiclayo. The district has a population 12,156 inhabitants. Most of the district is conurbanized with the rest of Chiclayo.

Education and culture

University education

thumb|Universidad César Vallejo Chiclayo

The following is a list of the universities located in Chiclayo:

Catholic University of Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo
Private University of Juan Mejia Baca
Señor de Sipan University
Royal Tombs of Sipan Museum
Eduardo Orrego Villacorta, architect
Tania Libertad, singer