Villa El Salvador

The Savior Town District Distrito de Villa El Salvador (Spanish)
District
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Villa el Salvador in Lima
Coordinates: 12°3′0″S 77°0′0″W / 12.05000°S 77.00000°W / -12.05000; -77.00000
Country	Peru
Region	Lima
Province	Lima
Founded	1971
Capital	Cercado de Villa El Salvador
Government
• Mayor	Guido Iñigo (2023–2026)
Area
• Total	35.46 km2 (13.69 sq mi)
Elevation	143 m (469 ft)
Population  (2023)[1]
• Total	441,794
Time zone	UTC-5 (PET)
UBIGEO	150142
Website	munives.gob.pe

The Savior Town District is an urban, largely residential coastal 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.

History

Villa El Salvador began in 1971 as a squatted pueblo joven (or shanty town) in the vast, empty sand flats to the south of Lima because of the urgent housing needs of immigrant families who had left the sierra of central Peru. A land invasion quickly created a town of 25,000 people. By 2008, it had grown to 350,000 people.^[2] 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.

Authorities

Mayors

• 2019–2022: Kevin Íñigo Peralta.
• 2011–2014: Guido Íñigo Peralta.
• 2003–2010: Jaime Zea Usca.
• 1999–2002: Martín Pumar Vílchez.

Festivities

• October: Lord of Miracles

Twin towns

• Arnhem in Gelderland, Netherlands
• Amstelveen in North Holland, Netherlands
• Tübingen in Baden-Württemberg, Germany^[3]

Historical slum photos

• 
  Overview of the El Salvador slum, 1975
• 
  Slum street, 1975
• 
  Sheds in El Salvador, 1975

See also

• Administrative divisions of Peru

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Villa El Salvador District.