Villa El Salvador

Villa el Salvador

Distrito de Villa El Salvador
Villa el Salvador Distrito de Villa El Salvador
District
	Coat of arms
	Location of Villa el Salvador in Lima
Country	Peru
Region	Lima
Province	Lima
Founded	June 1, 1983
Capital	Cercado de Villa El Salvador
Government
• Mayor	Santiago Mozo Quispe
Area
• Total	35.46 km2 (13.69 sq mi)
Elevation	143 m (469 ft)
Population (2007 census)
• Total	381,790
• Density	11,000/km2 (28,000/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-5 (PET)
UBIGEO	150142
Website	munives.gob.pe

Villa El Salvador (VES) is an urban, largely residential coastal district on the outskirts of Lima, Peru. It borders the district of Chorrillos on the east; the Pacific Ocean on the southwest; Lurín on the southeast; Villa María del Triunfo on the east and San Juan de Miraflores on the north.

History

It began as a pueblo joven (shantytown) in the vast, empty sand flats to the south of Lima in 1970 because of the urgent housing needs of immigrant families who had left the sierra of Peru. 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 sewage.

Villa El Salvador served as the home base for the activist María Elena Moyano, 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, 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. In 1987, the community received a Prince of Asturias Award in recognition of its achievements. Villa El Salvador is twinned with Rezé, France and, since 2006, with Tübingen, Germany.