Remains of a history: The Santa Mar�a Convent in Chiclayo, Per�

Chiclayo is a city located in the north coast of Per�, and here there is an old and forgotten building waiting for somebody that finally save him.

The Santa Mar�a convent was the first construction in the city, this place dates back to the sixteenth century and it was constructed by a group of Spanish priests who came in search of a new future in 1538. They started this construction because they needed to teach their habits and religion to all the indigenous people that they found here. People belonged to ethnic groups named �Cinto� and �Collique�.

The Santa Maria Convent in Chiclayo, Perú

Through all these years my city has grown up and it has transformed itself around this important complex. Different situations was changing the use of the building, for example it was a refuge for soldiers in war and decades later it was a school for a long time, but in 1960 a very bad decision from the authorities ended with a vital part of the building because they planned to open a new street across this construction. A time later that year, we lost the first church in the city and a part of the convent.

The Santa Maria Convent in Chiclayo, Perú

The Santa Maria Convent in Chiclayo, Perú

Nowadays, remains of the convent are still standing here, but after demolition and around 1980 this place was closed and it is still closed now. Only some restorations have maintained the monument standing along all this time, its last intervention was in November 1995 by the architect Jorge Cosmopolis Bull�n and under the tutelage of the Ministry of Industry, Tourism, Integration and International Trade Negotiations as stated in plate located within the remaining cloister. But the current situation of the building is regrettable and the natural phenomena are threatening to destroy the construction.

The Santa Maria Convent in Chiclayo, Perú

In my opinion the care of the existing assets in a city is vital for the preservation of the cultural identity of the same. Its importance lies in being the channel for linking people with their history, being the key to understanding other societies. Progress and culture of a country is not about destroy old things for build new things, but to know how to take care and preserve all the artistic valuable and old things, constructions and habits who bequeathed their elders. Certainly is not perfected what is destroy.