Fun Facts About Peru

DID YOU KNOW…
Peru has had many famous visitors: Rosalynn Carter (ex-First Lady of the United States); Neil Armstrong (astronaut); Edwin Aldrin (astronaut); Michael Collins (astronaut); John Wayne (actor); Dennis Hopper (actor);Shirley MacLaine (actress); Yasuhiro Nakasone (Prime Minister of Japan);George W.Bush (President of the United States); Charles de Gaulle (President of France); Claudia Schiffer (supermodel); Mohammed Mahatthir (Prime Minister of Malaysia);Kim Young-sam (President of South Korea);Ernest Hemingway (writer); Gloria Estefan (singer); Julio Iglesias (singer); and Mother Theresa (religious)…

DID YOU KNOW…
The Hawaiian Hiram Bingham (1875-1956) discovered Machu Picchu, one of the wonders of the world.

DID YOU KNOW…
Miss Peru, Gladys Rosa Zender Urbina, was supported by the artist Alberto Joaquin Vargas y Chavez, who was international judge at the Miss Universe pageant in 1957. Gladys Zender became the first Latin-American to win the Miss Universe…

DID YOU KNOW…
Writer Ciro Alegria (1909-1967) was born in Trujillo, a city in the north of Peru. His best seller was "The Golden Serpent".

DID YOU KNOW…
Different from Venezuela and Cuba, Peru is a democratic country in the Third World. Alan García Perez is one of the most popular presidents in South America.

DID YOU KNOW…
Peru maintains good relations with France, Colombia, Brazil, Chile, Canada, Spain, Italy, China, and the United States.

DID YOU KNOW…
Mario Vargas Llosa is one of the most important writers in the world. He has written several novels and essays. Beginning the 1980s Vargas Llosa attracted international attention when he wrote perhaps his most famous novel "The War of the End of the World".

Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa was born on March 28, 1936, in Arequipa, Peru. He was educated in Lima at the National University of San Marcos, where he studied literature. Literary recognition came gradually. His novels included: "The Green House" (1966), "Conversation in the Cathedral" (1969), "Captain Pantoja and the Special Service" (1972), "Aunt Julia & the Scriptwriter" (1977), "The War of End of the World" (1981),"The Real Life of Alejandro Mayta" (1984), "Who Killed Palomino Molero?" (1986), "Notebooks of Don Rigoberto" (1997), and "Feast of the Goat" (2000).Vargas Llosa’s latest work "The Way to Paradise" was published in 2003.He received Spain’s Miguel Cervantes Prize in 1994.

Since 1976 he became a spokesman for the democracy in Cuba. From 1987 to 1990 Vargas Llosa became active in the Peruvian democracy movement. During the 1990s, he was an outspoken critic of Alberto Kenya Fujimori’s dictatorship, as well as ardent supporter of the democratic revolution that brought Alejandro Toledo to power. During the Fujimori’s regime, Vargas Llosa went to exile in Spain.

DID YOU KNOW…
Peru has many famous people in Latin America: Bernardo Fort-Brescia (architect); Luis Dunker Lavalle (composer); Juan Giha (sportsman); Francisco Boza (sportsman);Luisa Fuentes (sportwoman); Madeleine Hartog-Bell (Miss World 1967); María Julia "Maju" Mantilla (Miss World 2004);Alberto Joaquín Vargas y Chávez (painter); Miguel Hart- Bedoya ( singer and composer); Boris Vallejo (painter); Luis Llosa (film maker); Phil Uriarte (entrepreneur); Carlos Baca Flor (painter).

DID YOU KNOW…
The City of Cuzco is considered a Cultural Heritage for Humanity by UNESCO. Like Mexico and China, Peru has many World Heritages Sites:
-Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu (1983)
-Chavin Ruins (1985)
-Huascaran National Park (1985)
-Chan Chan Archaelogical Zone (1986)
-Manú National Park (1987)
-Historic Centre of Lima (1988/1992)
-Lines Geoglyphs of Nasca and Pampas de Jumana (1994)
-Historical centre of the City of Arequipa (2000)

DID YOU KNOW…
The soccer is the most popular sport in Peru. Peru qualified for the 1970 FIFA Soccer World Championship.

DID YOU KNOW…
Lima, Peru’s capital, hosted the 1982 FIVB Volleyball World Championship. Under the leadership of Cecilia Tait Villacorta, Peru beat USA 3-0 in the semi-finals. Peru won the silver medal in the FIVB World Cup. The United States was the favorite until last second. The American Flora Hyman was elected the best player. The final ranking was: 1-China, 2-Peru, 3-USA, 4-Japan, 5-Cuba. In 1982, Cecilia Tait was considered one of the best athletes in Latin America.