Toponymy

In the Yunga dialect the word "ika" has as its root "ik" meaning "lake", in reference to the ancient times when Ica was surrounded by magnificent lakes now disappeared.

Symbols

Flag

After Peru declared independence (July 28, 1821), the city's flag was defined. Diagonally divided, its green triangle represents the vegetation and the fertile soil, its yellow part represents the sun still present in the city of Ica.

Blason

The city of Ica did not originally have a coat of arms, but it was inspired by that of the city's founder Don Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera, who was carved in an old house in the city of Cuzco.

Among the heraldic symbols, you can see the goat (cabrera = deer = goat keeper), the grape that represents the grapes and undulations that are found in the region's crystal-clear lakes.

Hymn

The anthem to Ica was composed in 1975 by Sara Lama Lama (music) and Raquel Meneses Villagra (lyrics). They describe the history of Ica, the illustrious characters, the tourist attractions and highlight the religious and patriotic fervor of the population.

Pre-Inca

Icadyptes salasi is the oldest resident of Ica.

In 2007, researchers discovered near Ica the fossil remains of a prehistoric penguin, Icadyptes salasi, that lived in the Atacama Desert about 36 million years ago. Scientists estimate that it was between 1.30 and 1.5 m high, with a 30 cm bill.

The first inhabitants settled in the Ica region about 9,000 years ago. The "man of Paracas", discovered in the Pampa of Santo-Domingo, dates from 6870 BC.

Later, three important pre-Inca cultures developed in the region, the Paracas culture between 800 BC and 200 BC, the Nazca culture 100 BC to 800 and the Chincha culture from 800 at 1476.

Paracas culture

Renowned for their mastery of weaving, the Paracas have left as artifacts coats made of cotton and wool fiber, preserved in their colors and texture thanks to the climatic and soil conditions of the region, as well as funerary ballots (or fardo) with mummies that show the progress of the technique not only of mummification, but also of the knowledge of the medicine and surgery through trepanation. These mummies were found mainly in Cerro Colorado, where the rock was carved in the form of a reverse cut to place each bundle underground.

Nazca Culture

The most remarkable vestiges of the Nazca culture are the geoglyphs drawn in the pampa of the same name, the most famous being the hummingbird, the spider and the monkey. María Reiche, a German mathematician who devoted 50 years of her life to studying and preserving the Nazca lines, concluded that it was a huge agricultural calendar linked to the movements of the sun, the moon and the constellations.

Contrary to the Palpa lines, in Nazca there is only one anthropomorphic figure, better known as the "astronaut" because we see a human being wearing a kind of diving suit, whose figure is very similar to that of today's astronauts.

In 1994, the Nazca lines were declared a World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO (^No. 700) and are one of the region's main tourist attractions. The Nazca culture has also bequeathed a network of aqueducts that are used up to now and that have enabled the development of the indigenous cotton farming, the species Gossypium barbadense.

Chincha culture

Then comes the Chincha culture that spreads throughout the region with the Chincha Valley as a political center. In 1476, the Inca Pachacutec extended its empire over the region and formed the Chinchay Suyu, which covered the entire region of Ica up to the valley of the river Majes. The Chincha culture has not left many references in Spanish chronicles, nor artifacts on the ground.

It seems that it was a civilization that was very devoted to land and sea trade, as it traded goods between the mountains and the coastal zone, and then its field of action apparently spread to the whole Inca empire and perhaps even to Ecuador and Chile, by cabotage through a large fleet of boats.

Inca period

After the Incas took control of Ica under Pachacutec in the ^15th century, settlements were established throughout the valley, in order to ensure the taxation of agricultural products for the benefit of Cuzco, the imperial capital of Tahuantinsuyo.

The desert around Ica.

The Achirana del Inca

The Incas have completed the existing aqueducts, the most important being La Achirana del Inca, which diverts a part of the waters of the Río Ica and whose construction is attributed, according to the legend, "at the request of a beautiful young woman from the region who captivated Pachacutec, the latter accepted the construction of the aqueduct although it was not reciprocal in her feelings towards the young woman". Achirana means "what goes properly to what is beautiful".

The swimming pool

Some Spaniards were reported to have arrived in the region in 1533 in search of a place to found the capital of the viceroyalty, creating the city of San Gallán in the area where Pisco is now located. But as it was decided that the capital would be installed in the Río Rímac valley (that will be Lima), this region was ceded to Nicolás de Ribera el Viejo, who in 1551 would be the first to produce a wine brandy from grape must in his Ica lands with grape varieties brought from the Canary Islands.

It was at this time that the quebranta type grape was developed on the basis of the European black grape, which gives its unique flavor to the brandy produced. The must was preserved in clay jars, called piskos, similar to those used in the Inca era to let the chicha ferment, a word whose name swimming is also supposed to derive. Soon, this alcohol began to be marketed in the entire vice-royalty, then the rest of America and finally Europe, the port of Pisco being the starting point of the boats.

This "brandy" has thus acquired the name Pisco, Peruvian national drink. It is a strong alcohol resembling the Italian grappa that the country's authorities declared in 1988 as part of the country's cultural heritage. In 2013, the Peruvian swimming pool was granted PGI status by the European Union.

Ica Foundation

Portrait of Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera.

The city was founded only in 1563 by Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera under the name Villa de Valverde del Valle de Ica in honor of the Dominican missionary Vicente Valverde (1498-1541). In disagreement with Vice-King Francisco de Toledo, Cabrera was beheaded in Lima on August 15, 1574.

After repeated earthquakes that destroyed the city, it had to change its place and finally in 1633, it was installed in the place it currently occupies and was recognized as a city.

Ica's colonial-style cathedral is called Saint Jerome in honor of its patron saint. It is now the seat of the diocese of Ica.

According to a tradition relating to a wooden christ, a miracle occurred in 1558 in the forest of Rurin, whose name became by deformation Luren, hence the name of Señor de Luren (es) given to this statue.This representation of Christ in the Cross is always the subject of intense devotion in the city where a sanctuary area is dedicated to it

Another tradition also mentions the moments when this statue miraculously survived the intense earthquakes that devastated the city and region over the past three and a half centuries, as well as a fire that darkened this wooden statue.

Around 1595, the Spanish slave trade began, slaves that were sold to the markets of the province of Chincha in southern Peru.

This trade - which will only cease with independence - marked this province where the Afro-Peruvian culture is still alive. This population was mainly occupied in agriculture, both in vineyards and later in cotton fields.

During the reorganization of 1783, the Viceroyalty of Peru was divided into "intendencies" and the Ica region was incorporated into the Lima region (1783).

Independence

The city of Ica declared its independence a few months before the arrival of the liberator San Martín in September 1820, who landed in the Bay of Paracas and set up his headquarters in Pisco. In July 1821, he left for Lima, but before that he decided on the drawing of the Peruvian national flag inspired by parihuanas, typical Paracas birds.

Pacific War

During the Pacific War (1865-1866), the Ica department was part of the resistance against the Chilean invasion, battles took place throughout the department, such as the battle of Cerillo in San José de los Molinos.

The Señor de Luren sanctuary after the 2007 earthquake.

Natural disasters

Ica has been the site of frequent earthquakes and floods, which have severely affected the city. The first large flood was recorded on March 17, 1908, when the Ica River was bordered only by willow and tamarisk hedges. In 1912, the first work to protect the city was undertaken and in 1916 a ^new law was passed to channel the river, but it was only after the floods of 1925, 1929 and 1932 that they were carried out from 1932 to 1935. Initial cement walls were built, but this was not enough to prevent the 1963 flood.

1998 flood: On January 29, 1998, the city was affected by the overflow of the Ica River, caused by 3 landslides in the Santiago de Chocorvos mountain range, 60 km northeast. After several warnings on January 23 and 24, a torrential rain began at 3 p.m. that surprised citizens, leaving 80 % of the city full of mud, debris and an average of one meter of water.

After the flooding, river defenses were built during Alberto Fujimori's presidency, the banks were strengthened by engineering work, for example in the Puente los Maestros bridge area where the South Pan American passes. Then there were other floods but with less destructive effect.

2007 Earthquake: On August 15, 2007, the city was hit hard by a major earthquake. The Peruvian Geophysical Institute recorded a local magnitude (ML) of 7.0 on the Richter scale. The magnitude of the moment (Mw), characteristic of the energy involved in the earthquake, was estimated at 8.0. The maximum damage intensity assessed on the Mercalli scale was from VII to VIII within a radius of 100 km around the epicenter.

This earthquake was felt with intensities of VI in the capital Lima and II-III in the cities of Arequipa (330 miles) and Chiclayo (600 miles). In Ica this disaster killed 387 people, injured 1,050, destroyed 76,000 houses completely and uninhabitable, 80 % of buildings, and hundreds of thousands of homeless people. 75 % of the Ica department was affected and the earthquake was felt as far as Lima.

In 2010, only about 35 % of the damage caused by the earthquake was fixed, with parts of the city still affected by the shortage of drinking water.

Huacachina.

The Ica district that includes the metropolitan area is one of the fourteen districts that make up the province of Ica.

The territory is desert and rugged, with oases and vast plains, surrounded by mountain ranges, valleys, hills and dunes.

Hydrography

The city, located at an altitude of 406 m, is crossed by the Río Ica, one of the four rivers with the Río Chincha or Río San JuanRío San Juan, the Río Pisco and the Río GrandeRío Grande, which, from north to south, descend in parallel to the Andes towards the Pacific and constitute the hydrographic network of the department of Ica.

The city has long drained water for its domestic and agricultural needs from an aquifer fed by the melting water of glaciers. But regional consumption exceeds the inflow of water into the rapidly drying aquifer. Residents and environmental activists are now calling for more efficient irrigation and the addition of dams and aqueducts

The Ica River caused catastrophic flooding in the city in 1941, 1963 and especially in 1998.

Geology

Peruvian deserts.

The area is located on the "Gran Tablazo de Ica (es)", an epirogen formation of the south-central coast of Peru, which extends between the beds of the rivers Río Pisco and Río Ica (es) and the Pacific Ocean, with a maximum altitude of 1,000 meters above sea level. The local epirogenic movement results in an altitude that increases at an average speed of 2.5 mm per year, or ¹/₄ meters per century.

Around Ica is also the Peruvian coastal desert, one of the great American deserts, which stretches over nearly 185,000 km² from Lambayeque to Ica and connects the Sechura desert (or the Nazca desert) to the north to the Atacama desert to the south.

Demographics

The Ica metropolitan area includes the districts of Ica with 155,247 inhabitants, Los Aquijes with 22,882 inhabitants, Subtanjalla with 28,595 inhabitants, La Tinguiña with 41,583 inhabitants and Parcona with 56,767 inhabitants.

According to the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics, in 2017 Peru's eleventh most populous city housed a population of 305,074.

Climate

Ica has a hot and dry climate - hot desert (BWh) in the Köppen classification - with an average temperature of 27°C in summer and 18°C in winter. Normally, the maximum temperature in the summer exceeds 30°C and the minimum temperature does not fall below 8°C. The city's climate can help relieve asthma, which is compounded by wet and humid climates and their associated allergens. One characteristic of its climate is the strong winds called paracas, which usually raise large sandstorms.

Agro-export

Ica is a wine-growing center that produces mainly swimming pool since the Spanish colonization. There are tanneries and textile industries. But the province is mainly a major exporter of agricultural products. Agriculture in Ica is one of the most efficient in Peru, producing mainly alfalfa, cotton, sweet potatoes, onions, asparagus, chickpeas, corn, durum corn, mandarins, mangoes, apples, oranges, dried palar, avocados, tomatoes, pomegranates, date palms, date palms, pecan (or pecan) nuts from olives and grapes. The Ica herd is not important, except for poultry, which account for 5.66 % of the Peruvian total.

Production is concentrated in the valley, located in the middle of the Pacific desert, thanks to permanent sunshine. The province is for Peruvians, the "Land of the Sun".

Communication channels

The city is well connected by the Pan American Highway. It also has a small aerodrome, from where tourist flights take off over the Nazca lines.

A former railway connected it to the city of Pisco, but it was destroyed during the Chilean invasion during the Pacific War. Under President Martín Vizcarra, there is a regional train project that would connect the cities of Chincha Alta, Pisco, and Ica.

Folklore

Among the traditions that are preserved in Ica are the breed of Peruvian Paso horses, declared a cultural heritage of the nation by the National Institute of Culture (INC), cockroach fights and above all Afro-Peruvian music and dances, such as the festejo (accompanied by the quijada), the AlcatrazAlcatraz and the dance of Neapolitos gritos (es) , the latter being considered the typical dance of the region.

Gastronomy

• Morusa de pallares (beans): Rustic purée of fresh or dried beans, cooked until they melt, then mixed with a Peruvian dressing to finish cooking. to be served with rosbif or pork.
• Spicy lighthouses: Pimentate beans purée.
• Carapulca: Native soup prepared with boiled dried potatoes and cooked with various meats and spices.
• Tejas: Dessert composed of a piece of fruit or pecan nuts, covered in white-eating.
• Chapanas: Peruvian confectionery made from cassava flour, anise and molasses. The combination is traditionally wrapped in a dry leaf, and the dish is served and consumed cold. The name chapana is derived from the word Quechua chapuni, which means kneading.
• Pisco: traditional grape brandy distilled from the varieties Quebranta, Uvina, Mollard, Negra Criolla, Albilla, Italia, Muscat and Torontel.
• Cashina: Traditional drink based on young wine (less than 30 days after pressing).

• Historical and cultural heritage of Ica.
• A donkey jaw - Traditional instrument.

• Jument and foal Peruvian Paso Alezans.

• On the Pan American between Ica and Nazca.

• Showcase of the Ica Regional Museum.

• An "Ica stone".

Education

In the region, there is a public university, the National University of San Luis Gonzaga and three annexes from private universities in Lima: Alas Peruanas University in the province of Ica and San Juan Bautista and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega Universities in Chincha.

There are also higher technological institutes such as the Catalina Buendía de Pecho Institute, a public institute recognized for its teachings in agronomy, or the Higher School of Public Artistic Training "Sérvulo Gutiérrez"[3] and the Higher School of Music "Francisco Pérez Anampa".

Training in the catering trade is provided by SENATI, which was inaugurated in Pisco, with the support of the Peruvian Society of Gastronomy, in order to satisfy the demand of restaurants, in particular that of the new hotels located in Paracas.

Between the 1981 and 2007 censuses, the illiteracy rate fell by 4 percentage points, from 6.8 to 2.8 %. The region's 2007 rate is thus well below the national average (7.1 %), making the Ica region the second-largest region, after Lima, with the lowest illiteracy rate in the country.

Tourism

Every March, a festival of the Vendanges takes place in the city with competitions, parades of tanks, music and Afro-Peruvian dances.

The city is home to an important museum, the Ica Regional Museum, with pre-Columbian mummies in particular, and an impressive collection of deformed skulls or signs of trepanation, as well as colonial furniture, paintings and other objects.

Around Ica is also one of the great Latin American deserts. The oasis of Huacachina attracts tourists. From the city of Ica you can get to the ocean through this desert in about three hours by buggy. In 2012 and 2013, then 2018 and 2019 this sand dune desert has been several times the stage of the Dakar Rally. The Huacachina oasis, located 3 miles from the city of Ica, is surrounded by large sand dunes, perfect for sandboarding, as well as other adventure sports.

Ica is known worldwide for the mysterious Ica Stones, a collection of 15,000 engraved pebbles.

In 2018, the influx of tourists to the city of Ica was 1,477,841 visitors, including 248,582 foreign tourists, according to the report of the Tourism Regions Portal.

Plaza de Armas d'Ica, at night.

• A city palace, its construction began in the Republican era, it retains a series of architectural features, such as arches and other ornaments of exceptional beauty. On the second floor is the city hall, entirely decorated with a series of ornamental figures in high relief wood representing the seasons of the year, as well as a large painting representing the proclamation of independence in 1820.
• The cathedral, dating from the ^18th century, was part of the monumental complex of the Society of Jesus. It was renovated in 1814. The church has two styles, outside the neoclassical represented on its façade and inside, the baroque of the pulpit and the altars. The monument was badly damaged during the 2007 earthquake. The restoration work only began in 2015, took 2 years and ended in 2018.
• Sanctuary of the Lord of Luren, the style of this temple is of neoclassical architecture with a plan in Latin cross. It is characterized by three portals with brick arcs. It is one of the most frequented churches in the city because it is home to the patron saint of Ica. The monument was badly damaged during the 2007 earthquake. It took 12 years for the reconstruction to be undertaken and completed.
  The (beneficial) witch of Hashiche.
• Regional Museum Adolfo Bermúdez Jenkins: The Museo Regional de Ica exhibits a collection of prehistoric and prehispanic artifacts from the Paracas, Nasca, Huari, Ica and Inca cultures, as well as colonial and Republican paintings and furniture. The museum is renowned for its pre-Columbian funeral packages (fardos), mummies and deformed skulls. The elongated skulls of the Paracas and pre-Inca cultures suggest ritual deformation, perhaps to mark an elite class. Some skulls also bear evidence of trepanation, a kind of early brain surgery to relieve internal pressure or remove damaged skull material during combat.
• The stone museum, founded by collector Dr. Javier Cabrera, presents a collection of mysterious stones (actually a fraud) and various engraved scenes of human activities.
• Casona del Marqués de Torre Hermosa, one of the rare examples of Victorian architecture that survived seismic movements and urban growth. Its rococo gate carved in stone stands out. It is known as La Casa Bolívar because it housed the Libertador when it was in the city.
• Casona Mendiola, which belonged to the Martínez Benvenuto sisters, has a beautiful vice-royal plan with a double patio on Bolívar street, was damaged by the 2007 earthquake.
• Cachiche, a place known for the mythical witches who lived there, like Julia Hernández Pecho Viuda de Díaz. There is also the palm tree with seven heads, whose trunks and roots take sinister forms, like gigantic snakes.
• Lake Huacachina, a traditional place of walking and rest for the inhabitants of Ica, and unmissable for foreigners. The laguna of Huacachina is one of the rare natural oases that exist in the country, which combines with a landscape that harmonizes dunes, palm trees and huarangos. In the past, healing properties were attributed to the waters of this lake by a mermaid who lived there.

Festivities

• Holy Week.
• Señor de Luren (es).
• Harvest Day.

Football

As in the rest of the country, the sport most practiced in the city of Ica is football. During the year several minor league championships are organized. The city's most popular clubs, both currently in the second division, are Sport Victoria and Octavio Espinoza.

Octavio Espinoza is the team with the greatest popular roots and was in first division from 1966 to 1971 and from 1984 to 1991. Another important team is the Club Deportivo Estudiantes de Medicina, the 2000 Peruvian Cup champion.

The main sports venue for football is the José Picasso Peratta stadium, owned by the Instituto Peruano del Deporte, where the Iqueños teams play their home games. It can only accommodate 8,000 spectators, but the population is proud of it.

• Alfredo Barnechea, journalist and politician, born in Ica in 1952. Candidate for the country's presidency in 2016.
• Eloy Campos, international footballer and coach, born in Ica in 1942.
• Guillermo Delgado (1931-2014), footballer, born in Ica.
• Domingo Elías (1805-1867), politician, born in Ica. President of the Republic of Peru, from 17 June to 10 August 1844.
• Jorge Olaechea, international footballer, born in Ica in 1956.
• Ana Jara, lawyer and politician, born in Ica in 1968. President of the Council of Ministers of Peru from 2014 to 2015.
• Gabriela Pérez del Solar, a volleyball player, born in Ica in 1968. Reverted into politics.
• Hugo Sotil, international footballer, born in Ica in 1949. He is considered one of the best football players in the history of Peru in the 1970s. He was a member of the Peruvian national team that won the 1975 Copa América.
• Adolfo Donayre (1933-2011), footballer, born in Ica. He defended his fair and elegant style of play, which earned him the nickname "Knight of Sports" and became an idol of the Iqueño Center, where he won the only title in his history.
• Abraham Valdelomar. Peruvian Narrator, Poet, Journalist, essayist and playwright. He is considered one of the main storytellers of Peru.
• José de la Torre Ugarte. Author of the lyrics of the national anthem, whose music was composed by José Bernardo Alcedo.
• Servulo Gutiérrez. Peruvian painter, boxer and poet. He is recognized as the most representative Peruvian painter of his generation.
• José Matías Manzanilla Barrientos. Lawyer, lawyer and Peruvian politician. He is remembered for having authored a series of draft labor laws, which have become the basis of the emerging labor legislation.
• Juan Manuel Pinelo. Peruvian Hero of Argentina's War of Independence.
• Antonia Moreno Leyva. The most authentic representative of women's heroism in the Pacific War.

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