Surquillo
Surquillo is a district of Lima, Peru. The district is bordered by the districts of San Isidro and San Borja on the north; by Miraflores on the south and west; and by Santiago de Surco on the east.
Name
In times past, this part of Lima was already known as the "Chacras de Surquillo". At present, the exact origin of this name has not yet been found, although it is believed that the name "Surquillo" is a diminutive of Surco. After the founding of Lima in 1535, Francisco Pizarro found, apart from the curacazgo of Lima, other lordships and chiefdoms in the area, such as Rimactampu, Maranga, Carabayllo, Lurigancho, Linche, Surquillo and Surco. According to the researcher and historian of the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru, Juan Luis Orrego Penagos, the origin of the name Surquillo comes from the viceregal era, when a community of indigenous people emerged in this place that bore similarities to the town of Santiago de Surco. As a result of this, the authorities began to refer to the new settlement as Surquillo.History
Surquillo was first inhabited by people from different cultures during the Pre-Incan Era. This is evidenced by the discovery of small pre-Inca ruins such as the Huaca La Merced, which dates back to approximately the Late Intermediate period.During the Conquest of Peru, the inhabitants of the area surrounding the La Merced huaca were possibly moved to the Surco reduction due to its proximity. In this period, the conqueror Francisco Pizarro, using a royal decree, on May 22, 1534, transferred the land of a part of the current Surquillo to the Convent of Our Lady of La Merced to use it as farmland. Eventually, Surquillo evolved as a marginalized neighborhood, populated mainly by people of limited resources, located on the route that connected Lima with San Miguel de Miraflores. Later, the hacienda of the same name arose, belonging to the Mercedarians. On February 16, 1849, the Convent of La Merced transferred the land of the estate to General Martínez de Aparacio, who would transfer the land to another owner some time later.
During the War of the Pacific, President Nicolás de Piérola ordered the construction of a defense line made up of fortifications called 'redoubts' to defend the city of Lima from invading Chilean troops. Among them, one was built in Surquillo called "Reducto N°5", which is currently located in the park of the same name, on Angamos Avenue, near the border with the San Borja district. In this fortification, the Battalion No. 8 of the Reserve, composed of 300 men, fought, which were able to initially repel and stop the attack of the Chilean troops commanded by the Chilean general Patricio Lynch. However, the defenders were forced to evacuate their positions, due to the Chilean troops that outnumbered and outgunned them. Eventually, a Peruvian soldier by the name of Manuel Castañeda blew up the redoubt, preventing Chilean troops from capturing the arsenal.
20th century
At the beginning of the 20th century, Tomás Marsano would begin to urbanize part of Miraflores and Surquillo, the latter with the founding of the urbanization known as "Surquillo", through the Compañía Urbanizadora Surquillo, which owned land in this part of the capital, including the La Calera de La Merced and Primavera haciendas.However, Surquillo was urbanized differently than that used in Miraflores. Surquillo was designed with blocks of the same size as those from Miraflores, but with long, narrow and more economical lots. Likewise, no park was laid out unlike what happened in Miraflores. These lands were sold mainly to low-income migrants from the south of the country. Furthermore, the urban authorization for which the inhabitants of Surquillo paid was not delivered. According to the former mayor of Miraflores, Eduardo Villena Rey, Tomás Marsano promised to implement the area with water, drainage, paving and sidewalks, but he failed to fulfill said contract. Miraflores proposed providing basic services to the Surquillo neighborhood, but the residents refused because they believed it would exempt Tomás Marsano from his obligations as an urban developer. Eventually, Miraflores reached an agreement with Tomás Marsano, where he gave up a 10,000m2 land on the La Calera de la Merced farm for the construction of the new Miraflores Municipal Cemetery.
In the first years since its urbanization, the proliferation of narrow alleys and small country houses was generated, due to the typology of large lots for people with limited resources. Subsequently, the population of Surquillo grew rapidly, going from 7,000 inhabitants in 1935 to 40,000 in 1949. Prior to its urbanization, according to the Gazetteer of Peru, Surquillo had a population of 120 inhabitants in 1922. In the 1930s, large industrial factories appeared, due to the fact that it had a working-class neighborhood with large, low-cost land and the lack of zoning in the area.
Before 1949, Surquillo belonged to the Miraflores district as the "Fundo de Surquillo", from which it would be separated on July 15 of that same year at the request of a group of owners, during the presidency of Manuel Odría, by means of the Decree Law No. 11058 for being a district that is too large to take care of the needs of its increasingly growing population, as well as for not providing basic services to Surquillo. The limits established for the district were the following:
In the 1950s, the informal occupation of Casas Huertas occurred, which were originally agricultural fields that, eventually, the new owners converted into tenements for rent. Some time later, this part would be consolidated with a layout of large blocks and narrow alleys. The sale of small plots of land and the alley-type urbanization without any property title led to the consolidation of the neighborhood as a "barriada." Likewise, in the 60s the invasion of Villa Victoria would be consolidated. On the other hand, given the concentration of the population and the appearance of the so-called "barriadas", in turn the appearance of the phenomenon of urban violence where the nickname "Chicago Chico" appears, a term that increased the bad reputation of Surquillo and will place it as an ineligible district for residence.
Several years later, the La Calera estate began to be urbanized in 1968 through small developments by business groups. New urbanizations would be founded such as Jorge Chávez, Los Sauces, El Pedregal, La Calera de la Merced, VIPEP, Los Jardines de Higuereta, Las Orquídeas, among others.
On June 1, 1983, during the second government of Fernando Belaúnde, Surquillo would lose more than half of its territory, due to the creation of the San Borja district, through Law No. 23604. San Borja established its limits between the avenues Canada, Circunvalación, the Panamericana Sur highway, and Primavera - Angamos, Miguel Iglesias, José Gálvez Barrenechea and Guardia Civil avenues. The new district is segregated from the district of Surquillo, and at the same time, absorbs territories from the districts of Santiago de Surco and San Luis.
File:Ex-Casa "El Castillo" Suquillo.jpg|left|thumb|240x240px|Facade of the house where Abimael Guzmán was captured.
In June 1992, during the Internal conflict in Peru, Operation Huascaura took place, in which members of the GEIN captured Luis Alberto Arana Franco, known as "Sotil". During his interrogation, Arana Franco revealed the location of Abimael Guzmán.
In July, GEIN agents had set up shop in front of the house which was Abimael Guzmán's refuge. This house belonged to a colonel of the Peruvian Investigative Police. After two months of surveillance and monitoring, on September 12 at 5:30 p.m., GEIN agents broke into the building, thus capturing Abimael Guzmán, leader and founder of Sendero Luminoso, and other members of the terrorist organization.
Recent history
During the 90s the district began to migrate from factories and large industries to a greater number of services. This process was completed in the 2000s, when the majority of factories were relocated to the peripheries. Currently the district is focused on the gastronomic sector with the consolidation of restaurants. Likewise, the commercial sector has increased within the district, highlighting the inauguration of the Open Plaza Angamos shopping center in 2010.Politics
Surquillo is under the jurisdiction of its own district municipality, as well as that of the Metropolitan Municipality of Lima.List of mayors
Since 2023, the incumbent mayor is Cintia Loayza.Twin cities
Surquillo is twinned with the following municipalities:The district of Surquillo is located west of the city of Lima, forming part of the subregion called Lima Centro. It has an area of 4.49 km², which makes it one of the smallest districts in the province of Lima. Meanwhile, its average height is 105 meters above sea level.