Bienvenida.- Why, when people from outside Moquegua visit it do we dream of staying there forever?

Ismael Pinto.- Moquegua is a little oasis, with a good climate and very welcoming, friendly people. The Moqueguans get to know you and you quickly settle in, it’s a tradition, something very old. In Moquegua the indigenous and the Spanish have created a continual dialog between the local and the external. Forget the theory, I’ll give you an example. One night, several decades ago, a stranger arrived carrying two cases. My father, who was a senior official, found him and took him and his luggage to his hotel. The stranger thanked him and asked how he could reasonably reward him. My father said nothing, that he was... the council treasurer of Moquegua!

The 2001 earthquake caused a tremendous amount of damage to the city, that was the perfect excuse for those who didn’t want to know about its traditional architecture, and who had the opportunity to complete the destruction of the great town houses and monuments in order to replace them with buildings having no identity at all.

Bv. How can you explain the survival of that provincial climate that strangers notice as soon as they arrive?

I.P.- Moquegua has been isolated for a long time from neighboring large towns. This has had consequences both good and bad. Among the good ones is the preservation of the city and, above all, its provincial spirit. Among the negative one we can perhaps mention the lack of development. What is certain is that after such a long period of isolation the city has begun to fill up with neo-Moqueguans, especially from Puno. They have brought with them a concept now generalized in Peru, that of false modernization, the dissemination of that Miami style that we see all over the place.

Bv. So Moquegua not only suffered from isolation, but also from a powerful earthquake. Is it possible, realistically, to talk of a restoration of Moquegua?

I.P.- The principal obstacle to the restoration of Moquegua is not the cost which is enormous, but people. No restoration program can function without the consent of the population. If Moqueguans see that it is possible and profitable to convert their old houses into lodges or hostels I’m sure they will back a good scheme to protect and preserve their architectural heritage, which is unique in Peru. So I think it’s not just a matter of local bylaws but, and above all, of developing awareness of the advantages of restoring the city on the basis of its traditional styles because that will encourage tourism - good tourists, who appreciate the value of places with these characteristics. We shouldn’t forget, thinking of tourism, that Moquegua has two first class museums: Contisuyo and Algarrobal, the latter in Ilo.

The Contisuyo Museum is behind the great wall that survived the destruction of the cathedral in the earthquake of 1868. You won’t believe what it cost us at the time to convince the authorities not to demolish the wall but to preserve it and include it in new urban developments. In the end there it stayed, an excellent outcome. But this is an example of how difficult it is for the authorities to understand how to go about conserving and restoring resources correctly.

One restoration project is worth mentioning, the Belen complex consisting of a church, a small square and a group of gabled houses. I was involved in obtaining funds for this complex, which was severely damaged in the earthquake. We obtained financing from Telefonica and Icpna, which we handed over to Unesco for administration and spending. That was good, but it was an isolated case, there is no coherent plan for the whole of the town center. The gable-ended houses in Santo Domingo Square will be restored, but what about the rest? And by the way, a good deal of money has been channeled through the diocese for Santo Domingo Square, but we still haven’t seen any work being done. According to the diocese, this money has been invested in churches in the highlands, but everyone knows that in fact it has been used for other purposes. The same thing happened to the marvelous doors of the houses that were destroyed. they’ve disappeared, they’ve all been sold...

Bv.- The Moqueguan middle classes left a legacy that was never appreciated or even understood, which perhaps also explains the isolation of the city.

I.P.- Moquegua throughout its history has been both cultured and provincial; cosmopolitan and inward-looking. Mercedes Cabello and Narciso Alayza are two important pillars of this type of paradox. Mercedes Cabello is a writer of international status, whilst Alayza left for France and, on his return, joined Peruvian magazine writers such as Ulloa, Palma, Tomas Davila and others. I’m talking about a core of intellectuals and politicians who developed a national project unique in Peru, especially because it had a strong educational element. Moquegua, as Mercedes Cabello’s biography tells, suffered two great crises during the 19th Century. The first involved the struggle for independence, in which both sides competed to sack, demand money and destroy a society. The people of Moquegua, however, rebuilt the town and just when they had finished the Pacific War came along. During post-independence reconstruction, the Barrios winery had completely replaced its equipment in order to work under better, more modern conditions. The Chileans destroyed this new infrastructure and stopped production of pisco and wines; and, therefore, the mainstay of the local economy. Moqueguan producers were small but very prosperous, which had generated well-distributed wealth. It seems incredible that war could have destroyed such wealth.

Casa de las Culebras

Bv.- Up to now we are talking about tangible things; nevertheless, the intangible is perhaps the more attractive thing about Moquegua, its spirit, its history.

Moquegua is not just architecture, it also has an extraordinary history, the evidence is there wherever you turn. To quote some facts: the relation between Moquegua and its port, Ilo. Everything came in and went out through Ilo and it was also the place to go in Summer. Many families camped in the hills round Ilo, and that is something that is also worth remembering. Another very interesting element is the patron saint of Moquegua, Santa Fortunata. We mustn’t forget that the arrival of the corpse of the saint in the 18th Century displaced the traditional veneration of Santa Catalina. A statue was never going to compete with a real relic, especially when it was said that her hair and nails continued growing. I remember that Angela Barrios Espinoza, the headmistress of the girls school at the time my sister went there, let the pupils with the best conduct cut the saint’s hair and nails.

The old Los Limoneros hotel also has its history. It was built by Luis Velasquez, known as "Chispilla" because of his short temper. Velasquez, they say, found a burial site and this allowed him to travel all over the world. After extensive travels he returned to Moquegua and built the fine hotel around the 1950s, when the city was busy and prosperous. In addition to what you see today, the hotel had a great veranda and a tennis court. Cerro Baul is another historically important place. Know it’s known as an ancient burial ground but we shouldn’t forget that there used to be a hermitage on the summit, built during colonial times by an eccentric, Gaspar Lugo Cabeza de Vaca. It isn’t there now, but to prove that history never stays still, the hill is continually visited by people from Puno who come to leave offerings.

Bv. How do you imagine the city’s future?

I.P.- I imagine it as a place for tourists and fully restored, although I know that that is untenable. Nevertheless, Moquegua has an intangible heritage that ought to be added to what little of the city’s architecture has been able to be preserved. I mean that spell which strangers - perhaps because they are just that - feel more strongly. That Moquegua is a city with a soul.