Villa El Salvador (VES) is an urban, largely residential coastal

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivision ...

on the outskirts of

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

. It borders the district of Chorrillos on the east; the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...

on the southwest; Lurín on the southeast; Villa María del Triunfo on the east and San Juan de Miraflores on the north.

History

Villa El Salvador began in 1971 as a squatted

pueblo joven In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...

(or shanty town) in the vast, empty sand flats to the south of Lima because of the urgent housing needs of immigrant families who had left the sierra of central Peru. A land invasion quickly created a town of 25,000 people. By 2008, it had grown to 350,000 people. Villa El Salvador evolved into a huge urban zone, largely self-organizing, for which it won some fame. Largely through the efforts of its inhabitants, the neighborhood was supplied with electricity, water, and sewerage. Villa El Salvador served as the home base for the activist

María Elena Moyano María Elena Moyano Delgado (November 29, 1958 – February 15, 1992) was an Afro-Peruvian community organizer and feminist who was assassinated by the Shining Path. She grew up in poverty in the Villa El Salvador pueblo joven, then became invo ...

, who helped organize the ''Federación Popular de Mujeres de Villa El Salvador'' (Fepomuves), a federation of women, which grew to encompass activities such as public kitchens, health committees, the ''Vaso de Leche'' program (which supplied children with milk), income-generating projects, and committees for basic education. Moyano was killed by members of the

Shining Path The Shining Path ( es, Sendero Luminoso), officially the Communist Party of Peru (, abbr. PCP), is a communist guerrilla group in Peru following Marxism–Leninism–Maoism and Gonzalo Thought. Academics often refer to the group as the Commu ...

, which used Villa El Salvador as a base in Lima. Since June 1, 1983, Villa El Salvador has been formally (by law № 23605) established as a district within the

Lima Province Lima Province is located in the central coast of Peru and is the only province in the country not belonging to any of the twenty-five regions. Its capital is Lima, which is also the nation's capital. Despite its small area, this province is the ...

. In 1987, the community received a

Prince of Asturias Award The Princess of Asturias Awards ( es, Premios Princesa de Asturias, links=no, ast, Premios Princesa d'Asturies, links=no), formerly the Prince of Asturias Awards from 1981 to 2014 ( es, Premios Príncipe de Asturias, links=no), are a series of a ...

in recognition of its achievements. Villa El Salvador is twinned with

Rezé Rezé (; br, Reudied, Gallo: ''Rezae'') is a commune (municipality) and former bishopric in the Loire-Atlantique department in the Pays de la Loire region of western France. It is a southern suburb of Nantes. It was also called ''Ratiate'' in ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and, since 2006, with

Tübingen Tübingen (, , Swabian: ''Dibenga'') is a traditional university city in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, and developed on both sides of the Neckar and Ammer rivers. about one in three ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

Authorities

Mayors

* 2019-2022: Kevin Íñigo Peralta. * 2011-2014: Guido Íñigo Peralta. * 2003-2010: Jaime Zea Usca. * 1999-2002: Martín Pumar Vílchez.

Festivities

* October: Lord of Miracles

Twin towns

Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both ban ...

Gelderland Gelderland (), also known as Guelders () in English, is a province of the Netherlands, occupying the centre-east of the country. With a total area of of which is water, it is the largest province of the Netherlands by land area, and second by ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

Amstelveen Amstelveen () is a municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands with a population of 92.353 as of 2022. It is a suburban part of the Amsterdam metropolitan area. The municipality of Amstelveen consists of the historical villag ...

North Holland North Holland ( nl, Noord-Holland, ) is a province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevoland. In November 2019, it had a ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

Historical slum photos

Lima-barrios-El-Salvador-Peru-1975-05-Overview.jpeg, Overview of the El Salvador slum, 1975 Lima-barrios-El-Salvador-Peru-1975-13-People.jpeg, Slum street, 1975 File:Lima-barrios-El-Salvador-Peru-1975-08-Sheds.jpeg, Sheds in El Salvador, 1975

References

External links

Municipalidad de Villa El Salvador
– Villa El Salvador district council official website
Amigos de Villa
– Association of Friends of Villa El Salvador, Lima - Perú
PortalVES
– District Portal Villa El Salvador, Lima - Perú {{Authority control Districts of Lima 1971 establishments in Peru Shanty towns in South America