Chota is a town in Northern

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

, capital of the province Chota in the region

Cajamarca Cajamarca (), also known by the Quechua name, ''Kashamarka'', is the capital and largest city of the Cajamarca Region as well as an important cultural and commercial center in the northern Andes. It is located in the northern highlands of Peru ...

. The city is the seat of the

Territorial Prelature of Chota The Territorial Prelature of Chota ( la, Praelatura Territorialis Chotensis) is a Roman Catholic territorial prelature, an administrative division not within a diocese, located in the city of Chota in the Ecclesiastical province of Piura Pi ...

History

In pre-Inca times, chotanos territories were occupied by various cultures, such as Los Huambos in the West and Cuismanco in the east, getting a strong influence of the Chavin, Wari and Moche cultures of which there are archaeological remains of great importance as

Pacopampa Pacopampa ( qu, paqu pampa) is an archaeological site located in the northern highlands of Peru, in the department of Cajamarca. It presents the remains of a monumental ceremonial center, made with cut and polished stone. It belongs to the Forma ...

, Negropampa, Rejopampa and others. The foundation of the city of Chota took place on two dates: one in 1552 and another in 1559, it is not clear if it was on these two dates. During the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific ( es, link=no, Guerra del Pacífico), also known as the Saltpeter War ( es, link=no, Guerra del salitre) and by multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought ...

, after the

Battle of San Pablo A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

the Araucanian (from the city of Arauco) entered Chota, to which the people decided to poison the waters of the river Colpamayo and by that the Chilean ordered the burning of the city. On August 29, 1882, Chota was burned by Chilean troops in retaliation for the defeat they suffered in San Pablo and consider it as the headquarters of the North. Thousands of homes fell, the church was also burned, saving the image of the Patroness, Mary Immaculate, whose dogma was proclaimed on December 8.

Geography

Chota is located north of

and east of

Chiclayo Chiclayo (; qu, Chiklayu) is the principal city of the Lambayeque region in northern Peru. It is located inland from the Pacific coast and from the nation's capital, Lima. Founded by Spanish explorers as "Santa María de los Valles de Chiclay ...

. It lies at above sea level on the Acunta plateau, on the eastern slope of the Andes. The city is bounded on three sides by rivers of the westernmost

Amazon basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivi ...

: to the north is the San Mateo, to the east the Colpamayo. Both flow broadly westward into the Rio Chotano, which forms Chota's south-western boundary.

Climate

The city generally has a temperate climate. The rainfalls are due to

El Niño El Niño (; ; ) is the warm phase of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and is associated with a band of warm ocean water that develops in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific (approximately between the International Date L ...

cyclically because of the proximity to the Equator and for being a city in thermal ground floor. It has a mild winter and a hot and rainy summer from November to April. The average temperature is 17.8 °C.

Festivals

The main festival of the city is the San Juan Bautista festival. It starts on June 13 with the triumphal entry in a procession, bearing to June 24 as the central day. The activities that are carried out are: * The identity of the chotanos day, held on 22 June, which pays tribute to José Manuel Silva and Anaximando Becerra Vega Mateola, independence hero and poet respectively. Both are famous people of Chota. * The festival of Sanjuanpampa, held at the farm of Corepuquio where festivals and concerts on 23 and 24 of June are performed. Also held here cultural events, typical dishes, dances, Paso horse contests, bullfights, motocross and soccer, but in daytime hours. * The election of the beauty "Flor de Chota", where ladies compete from all the villages and towns of the district of Chota. It takes place in two phases: qualifying and the grand final on 23 and 24 June respectively. *On the days 25, 26 and 27 of June, bullfights are held with international cartel in the famous Plaza de toros El Vizcaino, the second largest in Peru after the Plaza de toros de Acho in Lima. For this reason it is considered the Bullfighting Capital of Northern Peru.

References

External links

* {{in lang, es}
Chota district community portal
Populated places in the Cajamarca Region