Was Cerro Colorado once a quiet village known as “Cerro Colorado de la Parroquia de Cayma”? We are standing in what is now a sprawling district of Arequipa, but its history is anything but ordinary. Officially established in 1954 during the presidency of Manuel A. Odría, Cerro Colorado has roots stretching back centuries. Before its official founding, this land was likely part of Cayma, separated by a geographical quirk. Imagine, in 1628, the Viceroy Diego Fernández de Córdoba, Marquis of Guadalcázar, granted these lands, laying the foundation for both Cayma and what would become Cerro Colorado. The spirit of independence burned bright here. Twice, in 1797 and again in 1883, Cerro Colorado attempted to break away from Cayma. The names of those early advocates for independence – Juan Villanueva, Manuel Gamero, and José Santos Talavera – echo through the district’s story. Cerro Colorado was a place where hardworking people, farmers, and sillar quarrymen, made their lives. They extracted the volcanic stone, a gift from the ancient eruption of the Chachani volcano, which would become synonymous with Arequipa’s architecture. And the name “Cerro Colorado”? It’s said to originate from the red soil found here and the historical feats of General Sánchez Cerro.
Mirador de Cerro Salaverry
Can you picture it? The sun dipping below the horizon, painting the sky in fiery hues of orange and purple,