Villa El Salvador

Infobox District Peru
district = Villa el Salvador




image_size =
image_caption =
cofarms = COA Villa El Salvador District in Lima Province.png

region =
province = Lima
founded = June 1, 1983
capital = Villa El Salvador
elevation = 175
hamlets =
ubigeo = 150142
pop = 367,436
density = 10,362
area = 35.46
mayor = Jaime Alejandro Zea Usca
web = www.munives.gob.pe

Villa El Salvador (VES) is an urban, largely residential district on the outskirts of Lima, Peru. It borders the district of Chorrillos on the east; the Pacific Ocean on the southwest; Lurín on the southeast; Villa María del Triunfo on the east and San Juan de Miraflores on the north.

It began as a shantytown in the vast, empty sand flats to the south of Lima in 1970 because of the urgent housing needs of immigrant families who had left the sierra of Peru. Villa El Salvador evolved into a huge urban zone, largely self-organizing, for which it won some fame. Largely through the efforts of its inhabitants, the neighborhood was supplied with electricity, water, and sewage.

Villa El Salvador served as the home base for the activist María Elena Moyano, who helped organize the "Federación Popular de Mujeres de Villa El Salvador" (Fepomuves), a federation of women, which grew to encompass activities such as public kitchens, health committees, the "Vaso de Leche" program (which supplied children with milk), income-generating projects, and committees for basic education. Moyano was killed by members of the Shining Path, which used Villa El Salvador as a base in Lima.

Since June 1, 1983, Villa El Salvador has been formally (by law №23605) established as a district within the Lima Province. In 1987, the community received a Prince of Asturias Award in recognition of its achievements. Villa El Salvador is twinned with Rezé, France and, since 2006, with Tübingen, Germany.

External links

*es icon [http://www.munives.gob.pe/ Municipalidad de Villa El Salvador] – Villa El Salvador district council official website