La Libertad Region

La Libertad Region
—  Region  —
[[File: La Libertad Region|250px|none|alt=|]]
Seal
Location of the La Libertad Region in Peru
Country	Peru
Subdivisions	12 provinces and 83 districts
Capital	Trujillo
Government
• President	José Murgia
Area
• Total	25,499.9 km2 (9,845.6 sq mi)
Elevation(Capital)	34 m (112 ft)
Highest elevation	4,008 m (13,150 ft)
Lowest elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Population (2007 Census)
• Total	1,617,050
• Density	Bad rounding here63/km2 (Bad rounding here160/sq mi)
UBIGEO	13
Dialing code	044
ISO 3166 code	PE-LAL
Principal resources	Nation's largest sugar cane producer, and second-largest producer of rice.
Poverty rate	52.1%
Percentage of Peru's GDP	4.18%
Website	www.regionlalibertad.gob.pe

La Libertad is a region in northwestern Peru. Formerly it was known as the Department of La Libertad (Departamento de La Libertad), a political division that generally corresponds to a state in the United States of America. It is bordered by the Lambayeque, Cajamarca and Amazonas regions on the north, the San Martín Region on the east, the Ancash and Huánuco regions on the south and the Pacific Ocean on the west. Its capital is Trujillo, which is the nation's third biggest city. The region's main port is Salaverry, one of Peru's largest ports an adjunct of Trujillo. The name of the region is Spanish for freedom or liberty.

Name

During the viceroyalty of Peru the La Libertad region with existing Lambayeque, Piura and Tumbes in Peru along with the capital of Guayas, Guayaquil and El Oro in Ecuador all was called the Intendencia de Trujillo for being the domain of the city of Trujillo, then was called Departamento de Trujillo and finally after joining the emancipation cause, and be the first to get its independence from Spain, and demonstrate their gallant and patriotic spirit, in 1825 congress of Peruvian republic changed the name to Departmento de la Libertad. Now in the process of descentralization all departments in Peru are called regions.

Demographics

Population

La Libertad region is the third most numerous in Peru, since in census 2007 the number of inhabitants was of 1,617,050 in that year representing 5.9% of the Peruvian population, surpassed only by the Department of Lima and Piura. Currently in year 2012 its capital Trujillo is also worth mentioning since is the second most populated metropolitan area in Peru and the largest city in northern Peru. The largest population is concentrated in provincial capitals and district, that signal can be defined as a majority urban population in La Libertad region. The migrant population to the region is made up of border departments and of citizens from other countries.

Principal cities

The principal cities in La Libertad region are shown in the next table.

Nº.	City	Population Cens. 2007	District	Province	Mayor
1°	Trujillo	682.834	Trujillo	Trujillo	César Acuña Peralta
2°	Chepén	41,358	Chepén	Chepén	Wilfredo Quesquén Terrones
3°	San Pedro de Lloc	16.198	San Pedro de Lloc	Pacasmayo	Frederihs Buchelli Torres
4°	Pacasmayo	26.125	Pacasmayo	Pacasmayo	Oscar Honorio Horna
5°	Guadalupe	36,580	Guadalupe	Pacasmayo	Lourdes Placencia Zapata
6°	Santiago de Chuco	25.000	Santiago de Chuco	Santiago de Chuco	Juan Gabriel Alipioz
7°	Virú	36.029	Virú	Virú	José Urcia Cruz
8°	Otuzco	25.134	Otuzco	Otuzco	Heli A. Verde Rodríguez
9°	Huamachuco	59,407	Huamachuco	Sánchez Carrión	Luis Alberto Rebaza Chavez
10°	Cascas	-	Cascas	Gran Chimú	-
11°	Bolívar	-	Bolívar	Bolívar	-
12°	Tayabamba	-	Tayabamba	Pataz	-
13°	Julcán	-	Julcán	Julcán	-
14°	Ascope	-	Ascope	Ascope	-
15°	Casa Grande	–	Casa Grande	Ascope	–
15°	Paiján	–	Paiján	Ascope	–

Geography

La Libertad is the only Peruvian region that reaches all three Peruvian natural regions (coast, Sierra (highlands), and selva (rainforest).

Trujillo, the capital of the La Libertad Region, has a great geographical importance and a good location. It is the point where the Andes are linked to the Pacific Ocean, as a result of the direction the coasts follow. The Andes first are seen from Trujillo, showing a row of low-elevation hills, but therefrom the Andean Plateau increases altitude sharply to the east, in the provinces of Otuzco and Santiago de Chuco. These two provinces comprise the Pacific hydrographic watershed, which give rise to the Moche and Virú rivers, to the south, and Chicama River to the north. Pacasmayo Province, located more to the north is a coastal province. Sánchez Carrión Province, to the east, drains into the AmazonRiver and therefore belongs to the Atlantic watershed.

As with other Regions of Perú, the La Libertad Region is separated into 12 Provincias, political divisions generally corresponding to counties in the United States of America. A Peruvian Region has as its head political executive a governor (governador), an elected official. The head political executive of each Provincia is a Lieutenant Governor (teniente governador), an official appointed by the Governor.

Political division

Map of the La Libertad region showing its provinces

The Region is separated into 12 provinces (provincias), political divisions that generally correspond to counties in the United States of America. A Peruvian Region has as its head political executive a governor (governador), an elected official. The head political executive of each province is a lieutenant governor (teniente governador), an official appointed by the governor. These 12 provinces comprise a total of 80 districts (distritos). The provinces, with their capitals are:

Nº.	Province	Population Cens. 2007	Capital	Mayor
1°	Trujillo	811,979	Trujillo	César Acuña Peralta
2°	Chepén	75,980	Chepén	Wilfredo Quesquén Terrones
3°	Pacasmayo	94,377	San Pedro de Lloc	Frederihs Buchelli Torres
4°	Ascope	116,229	Ascope	Marco Muñoz Verástegui
5°	Bolívar	16,650	Bolívar	Lourdes Placencia Zapata
6°	Santiago de Chuco	58,320	Santiago de Chuco	Juan Gabriel Alipioz
7°	Virú	76,710	Virú	José Urcia Cruz
8°	Otuzco	88,817	Otuzco	Heli A. Verde Rodríguez
9°	Sánchez Carrión	136,221	Huamachuco	Luis Alberto Rebaza Chavez
10°	Gran Chimú	30,399	Cascas	Juan Iglesias Gutierrez
11°	Julcán	32,985	Julcán	Mercedes Castro Arteaga
12°	Pataz	78,383	Tayabamba	Mesias Ramos Cueva

Economy

Principal companies

Some of the main companies in La Libertad Region are the following:

• Cementos Pacasmayo, It manufactures cement and it is based in Pacasmayo Province.
• Sociedad Agrícola Virú, dedicated to agribusiness and based in Virú Province.
• SEDALIB, water supply and sanitation company based in Trujillo city.
• Caja Trujillo, banking company centered in Trujillo.
• Cesar Vallejo University, based in Víctor Larco city

Archaeology

Chan Chan, the huge adobe town from Chimu time

Aia Paec, Moche god

The coastal strip set the stage for the rise of many pre-Columbian cultures, such as the pre-Ceramic Huaca Prieta civilization, which is more than 5,000 years old & the Cupisnique, which is more than 3,000 years old. From 200 A.C., the first one to expand beyond its cradle was the Moche or Mochica culture. It was basically an agriculture and/or a warrior culture, which built countless temples and palaces such as the Sol (Sun), Luna (Moon), El Brujo & Cao Viejo, and other huacas. The Chimú culture emerged later and built its capital in Chan Chan, the largest pre-Columbian city in South America, & huacas like Esmeralda & Arco Iris (Rainbow). At its zenith, Chan Chan was home to 60,000 inhabitants who stubbornly resisted the expansion of the Inca Empire. These ancient cultures used irrigation canals and water reservoirs, which systems were increasingly better engineered and extensive over the years. The technological acumen of these sophisticated agricultural systems was carried into the Inca Empire, which surrounded the remnants of the prior cultures. The Spanish colonizers destroyed most of the agricultural works to more effectively establish political control and provide de facto slave labor from the displaced native agriculturalists.

The archaeological remains of Chan Chan, 6 km (3.7 mi) northeast of downtown Trujillo, are rather well-preserved despite being built out of adobe (mud bricks), largely because 1) dearth of rainfall and consequent erosion, and 2) lack of significant re-use of its construction materials (adobes do not respond easily to removal and transport and are relatively cheap to make on-site in current methods of construction).

Archeological sites

Some of the archeological sites in La Libertad Region are:

• Chan Chan
• El Brujo
• Huaca del Sol
• Huaca de la Luna
• Marcahuamachuco
• Pakatnamu
• San José de Moro
• Huaca Santa Clara
• Wiracochapampa
• Archeological Complex Caballo Muerto

Places of interest

• Calipuy National Sanctuary

Water supply and sanitation

The public company for water supply and sanitation in La Libertad Region is SEDALIB which is formed by shareholders of municipalities of the Region.

Culture

Festivals and events

• Spring Festival
• Marinera Festival
• International Calzaferia El Porvenir it is a fair of footwear and in 2012 took place the 10th edition; it is held in El Porvenir city.
• Regional Fair of the Pineapple it is held in the town of Poroto.
• Virgin of La Puerta Patronal Feast, the celebration originated in 1664 when it placed the image of the Virgin at the entrance of Otuzco as precaution of the risk of a pirate raid. The main day is celebrated on December 15 every year and in 2012 the feast of Our Lady of the Gate was declared a National Cultural Heritage by the Peruvian government.
• Contradanza, expression cultivated in Huamachuco city, in the villages Urpay, Shiracmaca and Culicanda. This dance in 2012 has been declared a National Cultural Heritage by the Peruvian government

See also

• Chimú culture
• Moche
• Cupisnique
• Marcahuamachuco
• 1970 Ancash earthquake