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 Tarma
Santa Ana de la Ribera de Tarma is the capital city of Tarma Province in Junín Region, Perú. The city of Tarma is located in the center of the Tarma Province; 232 kilometers east of the city of Lima, in the mountain ranges of the Andes. Its location is the point of nexus between the central coast (departments of Lima and Ica), the Andean provinces of the department of Junín and the Central Forest (provinces of Chanchamayo and Satipo). The city is situated within a fertile valley, where many important civilizations lived in the past, from pre-Inca cultures to the Inca Culture. Evidence can be found through archaeological remains. Recent archaeological excavations show that prior to Inca occupation, the gorges of Tarma were settled by many ethnic groups. The Chinchaycocha were to the northwest, mainly what is today Oroya and northern part of the valley. The xauxa settled to the southern part, south of Tarma river. A small group called Palcamayo settled to the east section. When the Inca arrived, they built up a new province in Tarma. They took away people and territory from the former ethnic groups and building a strategic political province, which allowed them to better control the large ethnic groups of Chinchaycocha, Xauxa and Wanka. Tarma became a sort of puffer zone for the Inca. The capital of the Inca province was Tarmatambo. Tarma was founded during the policy of "reducciones" under the rule of fifth viceking Francisco de Toledo (1569-1575). The Spaniards moved the capital or head of the province from Tarmatambo, located at a slope of a mountain, to the bottom of the valley, called Pampas. Originally its name was Santa Ana de Pampas, and was a town of natural people, called "pueblo de indios". With the introduction of the Intendencias in 1784, the first Intendente Don Juan Maria Gálvez, converted or elevated the status of the village to that of a "villa" or town. This meant that the Cabildo or city administration was no longer in the hand of the local indians, but turned to the Spaniards and wealthy mestizos. Thus, was also the name of the town change to Tarma. Indeed, throughout the Colonial time, since the 17th century, the name of Tarma was becoming popular in used than the one of Pampas. In 1815 the first cadastre was made in Tarma, concluding that the town had 775 houses and approximately 3500 inhabitants. In the beginning of November, 1820, during the war of independence that took ahead general Don Jose of San Martín, the population of the city of Tarma supported the General Arenales. On the 25th of November, General Arenales reached Tarma, being welcomed with celebrations in the city. On 31 December 1855, Tarma officially became a province. During the War of the Pacific, Tarma supported the Peruvian army, and later supported the resistance commanded by Marshal Andrés Avelino Cáceres.
