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The Barefoot Alameda

Posted On: 28 February 2024 #TierrasVivas 838

Alamedas were called those places surrounded by populars, but during the 16th and 17th centuries this was the name given to public spaces that had several rows of trees forming streets and that could also have some decorative elements, especially water fountains, whose purpose was the walk, the meeting and the enjoyment of citizens.

The Alameda Grande, today of the Descalzos, was the entrance door to the convent of the Franciscan brothers. Located in the Rímac, this avenue is remembered for the walks that Viceroy Amat took with Micaela Villegas, La Perricholi. For two hundred years, the Alameda de los Descalzos shone with splendor. However, the apathy of the governments caused the mall to fall into the hands of vandals. From time to time, the municipal authorities promote its remodeling, as demonstrated by this postcard from 1960.

History

During the Viceroyalty and a good part of the Republic, the capital of Peru had three malls located in what is now the Rímac district, the Descalzos, the Alameda de Acho and the Tajamar; Only the first survives today, the other two were located on what is now the avoidance route.

Lima owes to Juan De Mendoza y Luna—Marquis of Montesclaros eleventh Viceroy of Peru (1607-1615)—two of its oldest public monuments that we still find in use: the Puente de Piedra (1610) and the Alameda de Los Descalzos (1611). Both were related to the occupation of the northern bank of the Rímac River and with the purpose of facilitating access to the road that led to Trujillo.

This shore was inhabited by some Indians dedicated to shrimp fishing in the so-called Arrabal de San Pedro and which was later vacated to move them to the town of El Cercado (1590). Once this was done, plots of land began to be allocated in what was known as the Arrabal de San Lázaro, because a Hospital for lepers called San Lázaro was located there (1563).

It was in 1609 that Montesclaros proposed to the Cabildo the construction of an Alameda that could join the neighborhood of San Lázaro with the Convent of Our Lady of Los Angeles (1592) located at the foot of the hills, “to beautify the place and facilitate traffic of visitors to said Convent.” The ordinary mayor Juan Dávalos de Ribera was commissioned to carry out a project that lasted two years. For this, the land was prepared with the planting of eight rows of trees, and the construction of irrigation ditches and pipes for the three stone fountains that he once had. By 1639, Bernabé Cobo described a promenade with three wide streets, the central one having three water sources. This same author pointed out that “it was very frequented by the inhabitants in summer, especially in the afternoons, to take in the fresh air.” It soon became a point of attraction for important families to build recreational plots around the Alameda, even the Viceroy himself had a Quinta built where literary gatherings were held. Even so, it still has its rustic appearance.

Over time, the Church of Patrocinio (1688) and the Church of Santa Liberata (1711) were installed around the Alameda, both still exist.

From that time its use is described for entertainment and rest, the celebration of the festivities of San Juan and the Porziuncola, the latter still carried out by the monks of the Convent of the Descalzos on August 2, and the walk to the pampas of Amancaes. It continued to maintain its same structure of three streets: the central one for carriages and two sides for those on foot.

During the period of Viceroy Amat, concerned about public works, the improvement of this walk was undertaken because it was in poor condition, with deforestation and its pipes and fountains damaged. It was equipped with benches and three bronze fountains, as well as its three streets repaired and forested.

This Viceroy of the Bourbon period tried to improve recreational areas for a population that lived enclosed in a city surrounded by walls, for this he created in the vicinity of the Alameda, the Paseo de Aguas (1770), the Plaza de Toros de Acho (1766) and allow access from the Lurigancho area with the Alameda de Acho (1773).

Next to the Alameda and the Paseo de Aguas, Micaela Villegas —“La Perricholi”— established her residence in what was El Molino de Portillo (corner of Jr. Chiclayo and Madera) and which in the 19th century would be occupied by the first factory of beer from Backus and Johnston.

In 1856, President Castilla ordered the destruction of the viceregal avenue and in its replacement he created a new one, commissioned by a certain Felipe Barreda. The new Alameda would have around 42,000 square meters with a central street of 13.30 meters and two lateral strips of 2.50 meters planted with plants and enclosed by an iron fence brought from England; At its end it had a fountain five meters in diameter.” Additionally, 50 marble benches, 100 iron vases were placed at the edge of the fields, 12 gas lamps and 12 statues purchased in Italy that symbolized the signs of the zodiac in the figure of Greek gods. This is how we know it today, as you might imagine, it was already a republican Alameda with the taste of that time and the result of the bonanza that was experienced with the exploitation of guano.

The Alameda continued to be preferred by Lima residents for Sunday walks, until the city opened up to new recreational spaces such as the Exhibition Park in the second half of the 19th century, with which its importance began to decline.

Throughout its 400 years of history, the Alameda has been restored on multiple occasions. Always, since its creation, it was a victim of abandonment and predation. At the beginning of the 20th century it was in a deplorable state with several benches and vases missing, its rusty lattice showing and several of its cloths missing. It was during the Leguía government that a new restoration was undertaken in order to replace the ornaments and the missing lattice, as well as pave its entire surroundings.

Already in this century, I remember seeing it very much in disrepair: some broken benches, the incomplete trellis, missing vases and the statues full of graffiti and some mutilated, signs of abandonment and vandalism.

In 2016, the Municipality of Lima delivered a completely restored Alameda with special lighting for nighttime lighting. Even so, there is a lack of greater interest on the part of the authorities in creating a program that values the environment and that Help with its maintenance, in addition to providing greater security to make your visit attractive. It is enough to remember that it is part of the Historic Center declared by UNESCO as World Heritage.

The Alameda Grande

Built by order of Viceroy Juan de Mendoza y Luna, who ordered its creation in 1611, the originally called 'Alameda Grande' was built with the aim of beautifying the path that led to the Convent of the Descalzos (1595), another of the most emblematic of the district. Its original design was inspired by the Alameda de Hércules (1574), located in Seville, and made it considered the first urban space in the City of the Kings to have an elongated shape and be flanked by rows of trees. In fact, its original conception included eight rows of trees that formed seven streets: three were so wide that six floats could roll in a row, and the other four streets, one.

Located a little less than a kilometer from the Plaza Mayor of Lima, following the route traced by the Puente de Piedra and the Trujillo jirón, the Alameda de los Descalzos would have, over the years, two key remodelings for its current configuration. In 1770, Viceroy Manuel de Amat y Junyent rebuilt it by planting capulíes, aromas, ñorbos and jasmines.

At that time, Lima oral tradition, spoken but not necessarily written, began to describe the beautiful space as a meeting point for furtive loves in the capital of the viceroyalty. Those were the days of Viceroy Amat, Micaela Villegas and the also traditional Paseo de Aguas, built between 1770 and 1776, and complementary to the mall.

The sculptures that have been recovered by the Municipality of Lima were contemplated in the remodeling of the space carried out by former president Ramón Castilla during his second term, in 1856. Twelve Carrara marble statues were installed on the sides and along the avenue. stone pedestals. Those have a particular duality: they represent the zodiac signs through characters from Greek mythology.

The first one to the left, for example, personifies the sign of Scorpio through the god Eros, who carries a bouquet of flowers in his right hand, a gift for his beloved Psyche (according to Greek mythology). The first sculpture to the right, for its part, represents the zodiac sign of Libra through the god Hermes. In this way, the twelve sculptures are distributed throughout the entire space. In the entrance portal, smaller in size but equally relevant, are located the six pieces that, also in Carrara marble, represent deities of Greek culture: Hebe, Demeter, Artemis, Aphrodite, Kronos and Hephaestus.

During the remodeling commissioned by former President Castilla, 100 marble benches, flower pots with iron bases, a gazebo and 50 ornamental iron vases were also installed, as well as an English iron fence, placed around the avenue.

The restoration of the sculptures of the Alameda de los Descalzos is part of a plan that also encompasses the recovery and enhancement of the intangible heritage of the CHL: this space in the heart of the Rímac will be the future stage of the October Fair, a festival of the Identity Calendar that last October was held again in the capital after more than 70 years, that time in the Santa Rosa and Nicolás de Ribera el Viejo passages. Its upcoming transfer to the Alameda de los Descalzos and Paseo de Aguas will allow the celebration to increase, including traditions such as the paso horses, recitals of décimas, proclamations by Rosa Mercedes and musical competitions, among others.

Best Tours in Peru

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If you want to visit Machu Picchu, we recommend you to book your Machu Picchu ticket in advance, so you will enjoy your vacation in Machu Picchu without any problem. 

Edwin Caviedes Profesional guide

Edwin Caviedes is the founder and manager of Tierras Vivas, a company that benefits native people communities.