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Lima the City of Experiences

Lima is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, on a coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It forms a contiguous urban area with the seaport of Callao. Lima is the 5th–largest city in Latin America, behind São Paulo, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, and Rio de Janeiro.

It was baptized as the City of Kings on January 15, 1535, but it was more a seat of viceroys, nobles and down-on-their-luck aristocrats, who arrived in this land attracted by news of the inexhaustible gold of the Incas. Emulating the opulence and splendor of the Spanish courts, they made the ancient capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru into the center of Hispanic influence in South America.

But Lima does not stick to formality, it prefers to dress for a party in October, and then it does not wear the patriotic red-and-white of the Peruvian flag. But it prefers a purple that is both mystical and happy, that expresses the enduring fervor with which the city gives itself over each year to the venerated Lord of Miracles, a humble and dark-skinned Christ, an ancestral cult that reflects the many-faceted humanity of a young country that finds in the old residence of the conquistador Francisco Pizarro a fundamental axis for the constant forging of the complex Peruvian nationality.

Lima dresses up in October and the city turns out gaily in a show of faith that mixes pagan and sacred rituals, and the multitudinous procession of the Lord of Miracles lives alongside the traditional Fair of the Lord of Miracles, that revives the deeply-rooted passion of the Limeans for the savage fiesta.

The devotion of the Limeans for the Lord of the Miracles dates back to the early days of the colony when an Angolan slave painted the image of a black Christ on the walls of a humble dwelling in the old rural estate of Pachacamilla, on the outskirts of Lima. In spite of numerous attempts, to erase it no-one could. The faith which this Christ started to awaken converted him into a local patron after the devastating earthquake of 1746 when the sorrowful wall of the Christ of Pachacamilla was one of the few that remained standing after the tremor Today, the procession of the Lord of Miracles summons hundreds of thousands of believers, who, dressed in simple, purple robes, flood the streets of Lima with their songs, prayers, food and aromas of burning incense and myrrh. The bier, which weighs more than 2 tons, leaves from the church of La Merced, passes through the main streets of the Damero de Pizarro, including, of course, the renovated Plaza Mayor (where the Government Palace, the Town Hall, the Archbishopric and Lima's Cathedral are located) and the Plaza San Martin, a reflection of the French-style refinement that characterized Lima at the start of the century.

And the purple tide, present in the decoration of the humblest shops, grocers, bars and other establishments, invades and pervades everything. Even Alianza Lima, the popular football club that belongs to the black district of La Victoria, hangs up its characteristic blue- and-white outfit for the month of celebration and wears instead one of purple and white stripes. This is the faith of a black and mixed-race people, the long-suffering homage of the loyal fans who fill the stands for the evening matches during the Sundays in October.

But Lima in October does not only renew its religious feeling. October is also synonomous with bulls. And it is then that the Fair of the Lord of Miracles, takes place in the bicentennial Plaza de Acho, built by Viceroy Amat in 1766. Since that time, the old bullfighting ring has seen memorable performances by the most celebrated bullfighters of different eras, who year after year put on their sequined jackets to compete for the coveted Gold Scapular of the Lord of the Miracles. Beauty, tradition, courage, class, color and a very demanding audience give Lima's bull ring ring an atmosphere without equal.

Peruvian food, one of the most varied and tasty of the continent, also dresses up for the occasion; which is more apt than ever to prepare Mazamorra and Chicha morada, a dessert and drink respectively prepared from purple corn, which grows in these lands (and was taken into space by Peruvian astronaut Carlos Noriega during a recent mission on the Discovery spaceshuttle). Perhaps another dish achieves greater fame during the October celebrations: the delicious Turron de Dona Pepa, made with exquisite manjar blanco bathed in honey and confectioners sweets, created in homage to the Lord of the Miracles by a fervent devotee who, according to the story, recovered the use her arms during a procession.

Without doubt, Lima at the end of the century is high-spirited and cosmopolitan, and it is proud of its modernity that has made it into a dynamic and hybrid metropolis that is home to around eight million inhabitants, witnesses to as well as participants in its giddy transformation. But each October; the city recreates and at the same time modernizes the coquettish, elegant

Tourism in Lima Lima, as the point of entry to the country, has developed an important tourism industry, characterized by its historic center, archeological sites, nightlife, museums, art galleries, festivals, and popular traditions. Lima is home to an ample range of restaurants and bars where local as well as international cuisine is served.

The Historic Center of Lima, made up of the districts of Lima and Rimac, was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1988 due to its importance during the colonial era leaving a testimony to architectural achievement. Some examples of this historical colonial architecture include the Monastery of San Francisco, the Plaza Mayor, the Cathedral, Covenant of Santo Domingo, the Palace of Torre Tagle, and much more.

Gastronomy in Lima Lima is known as Gastronomical Capital of the Americas. A center of immigration and the center of the Spanish Viceroyalty, Lima has incorporated unique dishes brought from the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadors and the receiving of many waves of immigrants: African, European, Chinese, and Japanese. Besides international immigration—a large portion of which happened in Lima—there has been, since the second half of the 20th century, a strong internal flow from rural areas to cities, in particular to Lima. This has strongly influenced Lima's cuisine with the incorporation of the immigrant's ingredients and techniques (for example, the Chinese extensive use of rice or the Japanese approach to preparing raw fish. The genres of restaurants in Lima include Creole food, Chifas, Cebicherias, and Pollerias. Peruvian cuisine, widely represented in Lima, holds various Guinness World Records, for its diversity and quality.