El Agustino district of Lima
El Agustino, or “The lost treasure”
District between the hills: El Agustino – Limas districts
Small colorful houses cover the hills in the east of Lima. From a distance, confusing buildings have their own unique aesthetic. The speech is from El Agustino, one of the poorest districts of Lima. Once, it is said, a treasure was buried in the area, by Catalina Huanca, a rich woman from the central Peruvian mountains. She traveled to Lima again and again to financially support monasteries and hospitals. With 300 maids and 50 mules, she was on her way, so as not to be stolen, she buried the treasure in the hills that are today in El Agustino. It has not been found until now, although several attempts were made over the centuries. But the legend is still a legend.
El Agustino is a district of the province of Lima in the central area of the metropolitan area of Lima. It limits the north with the district of San Juan de Lurigancho, to the east with Ate and Santa Anita, to the south with La Victoria and San Luis and to the west with the Cercado de Lima.
Today, almost 50 years after its foundation, the district of El Agustino faces the challenge of its modernization and integral human development to increase the quality of life of all the inhabitants of the neighborhood.
La Agustinian order in Lima
Shortly after the founding of Lima, 1551, the Agustinian order was established on the outskirts of the city. Agriculture was carried out in the spacious lands, and since the second half of the 20th century, there arrived mainly migrants from the mountains of Peru, who promised more work and a better life in Lima. Settlements grew, large-scale food farming was abandoned. The name of the hacienda, “El Agustino”, remained, however.
Johannes Gutenberg Cultural Association
Districts like El Agustino need help. The Johannes Gutenberg Cultural Association is active in this area and helps people improve the quality of life of children living in poverty.
Music
What can a city do with a district like San Agustino to integrate it, improve living conditions and sanitary standards? The buried treasure could well use El Agustino.
The district is not only poor, it is also densely populated with about 14,000 people per square kilometer. Money, for example, to unearth the ancient Inca settlements and the lucrative present, is missing.
But something is happening. Every year, the Agustirock Festival takes place in El Agustino, and has been since 1989. The national rock bands perform their music, the festival is accompanied by art exhibitions. It is one of the few entertainment options in El Agustino, but it is worth each one
Restaurants
And if El Agustino is not the district that the visitor is looking for, it’s worth taking a drive. For a visit we recommend to do it with a guide. And if you are already there, you can also eat out, the restaurants are excellent. There is, for example, the Cevicheria El Anzuelo, which, as mentioned in the name, is known for the Peruvian national dish, the ceviche. Of course homemade.
District of El Agustino
Population: 183798
Area: 12,54 km²
Height: 150 m – 811 m
Municipalidad
Lima`s Districts
- Comas – district in the limit of the northern city of Lima
- Independencia – poverty and economic recovery
- Puente Piedra, or the bridges from the Inca period
- San Martín de Porres – Huacas and a Peruvian saint
- Barranco – romance and a touch of nostalgia in Lima
- Breña – Streets and squares in the neighborhood of the locals
- Jesús María and his popular places
- La Victoria – Clothes make people
- Lima the city of kings
- Lince: The “Heart of Lima”
- Magdalena del Mar – The quiet west of Lima
- Miraflores – the district of the beautiful and wealthy in Lima
- Pueblo Libre: Small but fine
- Rímac – bullfighting and happy parties
- San Isidro – Lima’s Garden District and Financial Center
- Santiago de Surco – From gold and weapons to horses
- Chorrillos – When the sun sinks into the sea
- Punta Negra – surfing, swimming, high waves and beaches
- Ate Vitarte, or: “The past empire of ancient cultures”
- La Molina – the sunniest district in Lima
- San Luis: sports, markets and parks