History of Peru

José Pedro Castillo Terrones is a former member of the Rondas campesinas, elementary school teacher and union leader. He was the President of Peru from July 28, 2021 until he was removed from office on December 7, 2022.

On Acuri's thirteenth birthday, his father, the thunder god Paricaca, said: "My son, disguise yourself as a beggar and go down to earth. It is time you learned more than you know. Do not be afraid, for I will never be far away." Acuri disguised himself, said goodbye to his father, and set off.

Pacha, (in allusion to “Pachamama” is a goddess revered by the indigenous peoples of the Andes. In Inca mythology she is the “Earth Mother”), worked day and night to feed her three little fatherless children. In her farm there were many kinds of potatoes, broad beans, quinoa, oca and sweet potato.

A long time ago, the Shipibo of the Ucayali River lived in Cumancava, a place surrounded by rain forests, enchanted animals, and exotic plants. The Shipibo had repopulated the land after a great flood. The god of water, dressed in his blanket of scales, saved a woman and a man from the waters by pointing out a magical tree that grew to the sky. ...

Something or someone made a terrible noise in the bush. So long and deep was that noise that one of Paulita’s alpacas fled. Paulita had grown up high in the mountains, walking along the ravines, moving the stones on the road, and taking the alpacas along narrow paths on the edge of the abysses.

Near the sea in the area of the Peruvian desert coast lay one of the most beautiful vegetable gardens. It is said that in the same place a long time ago there was a great kingdom of Mochica princes, famous for living in green valleys surrounded by endless expanses of sand and stone.

Maria Reiche was born on the 15th of May 1903 in the historic city of Dresden, the German center of art and culture known as the “Florence of the Elbe”. Maria’s father, Max Felix, was a judge and her mother, Elizabeth, or Elli, as she was fondly called, had studied in both Hamburg and Edinburgh. In 1906, Maria’s younger sister Renate was born, a...

In the 1920s, when people first flew across southern Peru, they made an astonishing discovery. Stretching below them, written on the earth of this remote desert region, were thousands of gigantic drawings: animals, insects and birds; long, long straight lines and odd geometric shapes.

As a mixed-race man born in Peru, Saint Martin de Porres is a representative of three continents; his mother was of African descent, his father was from Spain, and he himself was born in the New World. A highly esteemed healer and friend to all living creatures, Martin is one of the most popular saints in Latin America.

Ana Velázquez hurried out of the barrios of Lima and onto the plaza. She carried a quiet baby, wrapped closely so that no one could see him - but no one was looking. The enslaved boys sweeping the plaza saw only the dusty cobblestones. The Spanish royals sipping lemon ices saw only their ruby rings. And the priests standing on the cathedral step...