Plazas de Armas

Plaza, meaning "plaza" in English (jk), and armas, meaning "weapons", are two words you will always need to know in any town or city you visit in Peru. That’s because every single village, town, and city in Peru has a Plaza de Armas of its own. It took me awhile to realize that, but once I did, I started to wonder why. I asked around and the best explanation I got was this: In the good old days in Peru, people always had to be ready for war, or at least armed conflict, with enemy nations or perhaps rival towns. When crises emerged, all the townspeople knew to gather in the central plaza, with weapons in hand. Time was of the essence in many cases, and given that communication technology had yet to make its debut, the most efficient way to mobilize people was to make their meeting point a well-known large location in the center of town. Now, I’m not sure how accurate that explanation is, but I do know that it’s what common Peruvian opinion is on the matter. And that’s good enough for me.

As rustic as this type of organization may seem, it still works well to this day. People may not gather with their weapons at the Plaza anymore, but it certainly is a great point of geographical reference for anybody—tourist and resident alike—when traversing the city. Everything can be described in relation to its relative location with the Plaza. Anytime you need to find an important building or agency, chances are its on or near the Plaza. If you ever get lost, just ask people where the Plaza is and you’ll always find your way to where you need to go.

Here’s some of the Plazas de Armas Milene and I have been to while in Peru:

Lima:

Our Town:

Carhuaz, Ancash:

Cajamarca City: