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The
beautiful Trujillo is a friendly and colonial city, which is at the same time one of the main economic and cultural centers of northern
Peru. What is more, it is the capital of the marinera dance
and Peruvian El Paso horse breeding. It was the center of
the Chimú culture (1100-1400 AD), whose Chan Chan citadel
is the largest pre-Hispanic mud-brick construction in the
Americas.
Trujillo was founded in 1534 as one of the main cities in
the vice-regency. The old quarter features many fine colonial
buildings such as the Cathedral, the El Carmen monastery,
churches and mansions which symbolize the beauty and architectural
harmony of the city.
On the city's outskirts, visitors can take in an older style
of architecture, where the remains of a pre-Hispanic civilization
still rear above the green fields and desert sands. The Chan
Chan citadel, the El Brujo complex and the temples of the
Sun, the Moon and the Dragon, amongst others, are evidence
of highly advanced northern civilizations.
Beaches near Trujillo are ideal for visitors, not just because
of the superb local seafood, fresh caught, or the cool sea
breeze, but also for the opportunities to be had for adventure
sports and contact with tradition. Huanchaco is a picturesque
fishing cove where one can find the ancient craft that appeared
on Mochica pottery and on friezes at Chan Chan: the caballitos
de totora, rafts woven from the totora reed in an art that
has been handed down over generations. Similar skill is shown
by the surfing crowd, which year after year gather in the
port of Malabrigo, where a surfing championship is staged
every March. The local beaches feature the world's longest
waves.
But above all, Trujillo is the land of the marinera, and the
townspeople hold the National Marinera Contest every March,
In September, the streets and houses are festooned with decorations
to receive a procession of floats, competitions and parties.
This is the International Spring Festival, which celebrates
the arrival of spring in Peru. |
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