Department of Apurimac

Apurímac is a department of the Republic of Peru located in the south of the country, in the Andean region. It limits to the North and East with Cuzco, to the South with Arequipa and to the West with Ayacucho. With 20,896 km², it is the fifth smallest department, ahead of Tacna, Moquegua, Lambayeque and Tumbes, the least extensive. It was founded on April 28, 1873.

Geologically, it is located on the eastern slope of the Andes mountain range. Its territory is one of the most rugged in the country. It is furrowed from south to north by several rivers through deep canyons until it joins the Apurimac River in one of the largest depressions in the region.

The Apurimeño territory was occupied by the Chancas and the Incas until the Spanish occupation. It is administratively divided into seven provinces. It has a population of 449,365, the majority of which are Quechua-speaking and live in rural areas. The economy is based mainly on agriculture, services, and a growing mining activity.

Etymology

The name of the department comes from the Apurímac River that demarcates its limits on the North and West. In Quechua Apu Rimaq means "the god who speaks" or "greater oracle".

History

Sóndor

The legendary Chanca culture developed in this territory, extending to Ayacucho, especially in the current province of Andahuaylas. Notable warriors as well as farmers, got involved in a bloody fight against the Incas, whom they almost defeated; until the army of Pachacútec, in a bloody battle, decided by a very small difference, managed to push them back, the resistance and strength of the Chanca army was incredible, despite having crossed almost the entire Apurimeño territory and arrived at the gates of Cuzco, their mere presence made the Inca and his legal heir flee, leaving their capital Cuzco abandoned, it had to be an outcast who did not have much to lose, the one who dared to defend it, and the fact of pushing back the Chanca army was so celebrated, that it cost the life of the legal successor of the Inca, and that propaganda gave rise to the legend of the greatest Inca that existed, Pachacútec, if it were not for the courage of this unknown Titu Cusi Yupanqui, and the determined support of MAMA ANAHUARQUE, wife of the until then unknown Titu Cusi Yupanqui, at that time later transformed by such a formidable feat (at that time the Chanca army was the most respected in all of southern Peru) into Pachacutek, it is possible that now they were talking about the Chanka Empire, instead of the Inka empire. Apurímac was one of the few places where agriculture was perfected, after its inhabitants imposed an effective rational form of exploitation on the land, natural fertilizer, crop rotation, product barter.

Mining since pre-Inca times had an important place because since those times, before the Incas, it was already known about the huge mining resources available to the region, to date it has a mining boom that gives it performance, of the region with the highest mining production in the near future, unfortunately due to the deplorable conditions negotiated by the state, its exploitation may not benefit the Apurimeño people as it should. It was characterized by supplying other municipalities with takeaway bread products and derivatives of sugar cane, even to the mines of Potosí. In the first political organization of the Viceroyalty of Peru, almost all of Apurímac belonged to the jurisdiction of Huamanga. Later, this department belonged to the jurisdiction of Cuzco. During the fight for emancipation, Mateo Pumacahua from Cusco distinguished himself by leading a rebel movement to Andahuaylas. Micaela Bastidas, born in the district of Tamburco, had no less distinction, who fought alongside her husband José Gabriel Condorcanqui, Túpac Amaru II, a native of Canas, Cuzco.

On April 28, 1873, the department of Apurímac was created with Abancay as its capital. The department was made up of the provinces of Andahuaylas, Abancay, Aymares, Antabamba and Cotabambas.

Former President David Samanez Ocampo y Sobrino was born in this department in 1866 when it was still part of the Department of Cuzco. In general, the influence of Apurimac, in the Cuzco region, has been increasing, it is enough to know that most of the regional presidents had an Apurimeño for one or another ancestor, and the Apurimeño population to date exercise in the political entities administrations of the neighboring region of Cuzco, a great influence, this influence extends in time and space even to the capital of the Country, Lima, note that one of the most important avenues of the capital gets its name precisely from the capital city of Apurima, ABANCAY. The most illustrious Apurimeño is undoubtedly the writer and anthropologist José María Argüedas, who poured into his works the two worlds in which he lived since his solitary childhood: the Andean and the Western, part of which he spent in Abancay, The famous composer of Creole music Chabuca Granda was born in the Progreso district, specifically in the Cochasayhuas mines where his father worked. During his life, he showed great appreciation for his birthplace. She was a dignified Apurimeño, who even had a decisive influence on the forms and customs of her time in the capital of Peru, Lima, and in her comments she leaves wonderful data on the reality of mining in recent times before her birth and during her life..

Geography

Nevado de Ampay

Rio Apurímac

Laguna de Pacucha

Apurímac is located in the southeast sector of the central Andes. It borders on the north with the departments of Ayacucho and Cuzco; by the south with Arequipa; by the east with the department of Cuzco; to the west with the department of Ayacucho. The average altitude of the region is 2 900 m s. no. m..

Its coordinates are 13º 10' south latitude and between the meridians 73º 45' 20 and 73º 50' 44.5 west longitude.

Climate

Mostly its climate is temperate with an average temperature of 16 °C in the valleys. It can snow from 4200 m s. no. m.

Landforms

• Rivers: Apurímac, Santo Tomás, Chumbao, Pachaca and Pampas
• Lagunas: Lliullita in Chuquibambilla, Pacucha in Andahuaylas, Uspaccocha and Ankascocha in Abancay, Choyocca (Aymaraes)
• Abras: Piste (at 4.800 m. n. m.) in Aymaraes and Antabamba; Tunapita (at 4350 m. n. m.) in Aymaraes; Tablacruz (at 4.340 m. n. m.) in Abancay.
• Pongos: Apurímac (1,500 m) in Abancay and the Convention.
• Nevados: Chancohuana Chico (5,331 m. n. m.) and Tetón (5,300 m. n. m.).

Location

Northwest: Department of Ayacucho	North: Department of Cusco	Northeast: Department of Cusco
West: Department of Ayacucho		This: Department of Cusco
Southwest: Department of Ayacucho	South: Department of Arequipa	Sureste: Department of Cusco

Administrative division

Political Division of Apurímac.

The department of Apurímac is made up of seven provinces and 85 districts.

Authorities

Regionals

Like all the other departments of Peru and the Constitutional Province of Callao, it constitutes a de facto region with its own Regional Government as well as an electoral district that elects two congressmen.

• 2019 - 2022
  • Regional Governor: Baltazar Lantarón Núñez, of the Llankasun Kuska Regional Movement.
  • Regional Deputy Governor: Henry Miguel León Moscoso, of the Llankasun Kuska Regional Movement.
  • Counsellors:
  1. Abancay:
     • Emerson Huashua Cahuana (Llankasun Kuska Regional Movement)
     • Guido Huamán Sarmiento (The Broad Front for Justice, Life and Freedom)
  2. Aymaraes: Lucio Simeón Mallma Cahuana (Alliance for Progress)
  3. Andahuaylas:
     • Laureano Aparco Cuevas (Llankasun Kuska Regional Movement)
     • Santos Huamán Guillén (Kallpa Popular Movement)
  4. Antabamba: Carlos Emilio Tume Avendaño (The Broad Front for Justice, Life and Freedom)
  5. Cotabambas: Faustino Ccoscco García (Alianza para el Progreso)
  6. Grau: Wilfredo Couple Yesterdayve (Alliance for Progress)
  7. Chincheros:
     • Pascual Huamanñahui Alegría (Alianza para el Progreso)
     • Roos Mery Najarro Saavedra (Alliance for Progress)

Congressmen

• Lenin Checco of [[]].
• Omar Merino of the [[]].

Police

PNP General Víctor Raúl Rucoba Tello

Religious

Of the Catholic religion:

• Mons. Gilberto Gómez González (Obispo de Abancay).

Population

In the year 2020, Apurímac has a population of 430,736 inhabitants, of which 49.8% of its inhabitants are men, while 50.2% are women. The population of this department is mostly rural. According to the results of the 2007 census, 71% of the Apurimeña population is Quechua-speaking, this being the department with the highest percentage of people who speak this language.

Graphic of demographic evolution from 1940 to 2017

Total population (1940-2007) according to population censuses of the INEI.

Economy

According to the INEI, Apurímac contributed 0.5 percent to the national Gross Value Added (VAB) in 2011, being the penultimate place at the departmental level.

The main economic activities to the Gross Value Added of the department in 2011 are agriculture, government services, construction and commerce. 70.3% of the EAP work in agriculture and 11.8% in services, the latter generates a little more than half of the regional GDP.

The main regional brands recognized in Apurímac are Tallarines de casa Leomi, Transportes Palomino, Diario Chaski and the Jams from the Technological University of the Andes.

In the future, it is expected that the region will experience a mining boom due to copper projects. It also stands out for its potential in tourism (experiential and adventure) and commerce, highlighting the latter, Andahuaylas.

Trade

Andahuaylas is the main commercial center of Apurímac. There several agricultural products are commercialized, especially the potato. Likewise, one of the problems that this city faces is smuggling. Lately, trade between Andahuaylas and Abancay has been developing, both have an offer of pharmacies and clothing stores.

Apurímac's main trading partners are the United States with the export of mining products, vegetables and handicrafts; Canada: silver and copper; Brazil: silver and wood and Japan with giant corn. At the national level, Lima buys wool, fiber, grains and other agricultural products and Ayacucho with wool, fiber and grains.

Agriculture

Quinua

The most important economic activities in Apurímac are cattle raising and agriculture. In agriculture, starchy corn, mashua, potato and barley are grown. Anise and capulí (Physalis pubescens) are also cultivated. There are, however, some export crops, such as sugar cane and coffee.

Apurímac produces 70,000 tons of potatoes per year and in vegetables it is the fourth region that produces the most in Peru. Likewise, the production of Haas avocado and kiwicha is being developed.

Almost half of the Economically Active Population (PEA) is dedicated to agriculture (49%), despite being the main source of employment, this activity only generates 18% of the total regional GDP. The challenges faced by the agricultural sector is the lack of high technology as deficiencies in the road infrastructure network that prevents the transfer of agricultural products.

Manufacturing

Sparkling honey wines are made in Andahuaylas, and cane brandy in Abancay. The small manufacturing is developed in the high provinces.

Energy and mining

Mina Las Bambas

Mining in Apurímac represents 9% of regional GDP. The exploitation of copper from Las Bambas and the iron from Andahuaylas and Aymaraes, is a hope for the local economy, very depressed. It has the Abancay hydroelectric plant, which uses the waters of the Pachachaca River, as well as the Pomacocha hydroelectric plant, with the waters of the Pampas River.

It stands out for its mining potential in terms of copper. This department is developing several mining projects, highlighting Las Bambas, which will be operational in 2016. Las Bambas is located in the Province of Cotabambas, where a series of minerals will be exploited, in which the foreign company MMG, with Chinese capital, expects to invest more than five billion dollars in the exploitation of this mining center.

The main companies dedicated to mining are Apurimac Ferrum (iron), Panoro Apurímac and Southern Copper Corporation, both dedicated to copper. In the energy sector, Electro Sur Este stands out, which distributes and sells electricity.

Services

Apurímac has hotel, restaurant and entertainment services. In Abancay and Andahuaylas it has hotels with basic services; Creole and typical food restaurants of the area and bars.

Health

Life expectancy in Apurímac is 70.6 years. Infant mortality is 27 per thousand births, higher than the national average. In malnutrition it exceeds double the national average with 22.7% in children under 5 years of age. Institutional deliveries is 96.7%. The Municipality of Andahuaylas identified the toxicity of the Chumbao and Challhuahuacho rivers due to solid and chemical residues present in agriculture.

Education

According to the Census Evaluation of Students of the Ministry of Education for the second grade of primary school, Apurímac ranked 22nd out of 26 regions in reading comprehension with a satisfactory level of 31.1 and in mathematics ranked 20th out of 26 regions with a satisfactory level of 20.8.

21% of the population is illiterate. 32.2% of the population has a secondary education. The cost per student in basic education is S/. 3,406

The department is the headquarters of two state universities, the Micaela Bastidas de Apurímac National University and José María Arguedas National University, a private university the Technological University of the Andes. Also, two affiliates of the Alas Peruanas University.

Regarding non-university higher education, Apurímac has 17 institutes of higher technological education and an artistic training school.

Places of interest

• Andahuaylas known as "La Pradera de los Celajes" is the most modern and developed city, it is also the main economic and commercial axis of the region, it has the only airport that connects it directly to the capital of the Republic. Andahuaylas has many tourist attractions both architectural and natural which lack to explode and that every traveller and visitor should not fail to know.

• The lagoon of Pacucha and Hualalachi for its very rich thermal water (both in Andahuaylas) are the favourites of tourists and locals. In the funerary caverns of Allhuanzo = Huaquirca (in Antabamba), they were discovered, trepanados skulls and preincas mummy. Flamed are the medicinal baths in Qoñepuquio and Cconoc. Sóndor is a monumental ensemble from which you can see the Ausangate snow. Every year Sóndor Raymi attracts thousands of visitors with a historic staging. In the canyon of the Apurímac River, canoeing is made and is attracting experts from the world in this adventure sport. It also has the majestic snowfall of the Ampay, with a forest of Intimpas, unique in Peru, considered by the National Institute of Culture as a geographical sanctuary.

• The Apurímac River canyon is the deepest in the world (overpassing the Colca and Cotahuasi in Arequipa). The beauty of the landscapes of the Pachachaca River (bridge over the world in Quechua and very mentioned by Arguedas in its "Deep Rivers"), the National Sanctuary of Ampay on whose skirts rests Abancay, the capital of Apurímac; make the valley of the amancaes a very favorable place for rest and relaxation. In addition, it is indicated that you should visit the district of Circa at 1 hour's journey from Abancay, it stands out its beautiful landscape following the route of the river Circón, and the old haciendas of Yaca and Ocobamba as well as those of Esperanza and Vilcabamba. The party of Circa is December 8th day of the Immaculate Conception patron of this beautiful district.

• Abancay has always been and will be a resting point of the traveler, who on the route to Cuzco finds in this peaceful and beautiful city the friendship and cordiality of its inhabitants. Apurímac has picturesque cities, white houses and red tile roofs. Andahuaylas (‘pradera de los celajes’) has wonderful landscapes and its Sunday fair is highly appreciated.

• One of the main centers of popular religiosity of great interest to the visitors is the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Cocharcas in the province of Chincheros, the pilgrimages take place from the 16th century to this day the rosemary in the annual holidays; the celebrations begin at the end of August and last until the fifteenth of September.

• 

  Andahuaylas

• 

  Laguna Pacucha

• 

  Condor (archaeological site)

• 

  Rio Apurímac

• 

  Sayhuite

• 

  Abancay

• 

  National Sanctuary of Ampay

Transportation

Ground transportation

Apurímac has a road network of 1,157.1 kilometers of national roads, 1,339.0 kilometers of departmental roads and 4,984.2 kilometers of land roads through the national road network Longitudinal de la Sierra Sur, National Route PE -30, National Route PE-3SF.

• Route 1: Lima - Pisco - Huaytara - Ayacucho - Andahuaylas - Abancay.
• Route 2: Lima - Pisco - Ica - Nazca - Puquio - Chalhuancay - Abancay.
• Route 3: Lima - La Oroya - Huancayo - Huancavelica - Huaytara – Ayacucho - Andahuaylas - Abancay.

Air transportation

Andahuaylas Airport

By air it is connected through the Andahuaylas Airport located on a natural plateau in the Huancabamba area. It is also the main air terminal in the department of Apurímac. Currently, an airline provides the service of regular flights to Lima.

Airport: Andahuaylas Airport.

• Route 1: Lima - Andahuaylas and vice versa.
• Route 2: Lima - Cusco - Abancay.

Media

The main written media with regional circulation in Apurímac are:

• Diario El Chaski
• Diario Pregón
• Daily Expression and
• Apurímac Monthly.

Regarding radios are:

• Corporación Radio TV Apurimeña SAC
• Radio Apurimeña 98.1 fm Pumamarca Cotabambas Apurímac
• Radio Apurimeña 100.5 fm Cocharcas Chincheros Apurímac
• Radio Urbana 95.7 fm La Mar - Ayacucho (Corporación Radio TV Apurimeña SAC)
• Radio Estación Solar y De Corporación Solar y De Corporación Solar
• several local radios.

On television is present:

• Chanka Vision,
• Surandina de Radio y Televisión
• Solar Journalistic Corporation
• TV Contact.

Culture

Carnival

Hymn to Apurímac

The hymn has music and lyrics by Monsignor Salvador Herrera Pinto

Regional classifications of Apurímac