Ciudad Presidente Kennedy

There are three theories as to the origin of the name of our town. The first theory is that it comes from the Spanish word which refers to a type of marshy swamp land. Several areas in the lower part of our town fit this description. The second theory is that it comes from the name of an herb that was abundant in the valley for a long time. The herb was commonly used by medicine men for healing purposes. The third theory is that in the early era of Spanish colonization malaria was common throughout the valley. People who contracted malaria often suffered from fierce fits of shaking. The root word of our town name comes from the Spanish word meaning “to shake.” It is this third theory that is most commonly believed today to be the origin of the name.

Due to its unpleasant nature, there have been several occasions when certain citizen groups have tried to lead campaigns to change the town name. Interestingly in the 1960s, there was a group of citizens who led a newspaper campaign to change the name to Ciudad Presidente Kennedy, meaning President Kennedy City. The citizen group was reacting to a pro-communist mayor of our town at the time. By renaming the city, this group wanted to imply that the town was a land of democracy and freedom. However, due to the fact that the name was not native to Peru and Kennedy had little to due with the development of the town, the majority of citizens did not want to change the name. Of course, what makes this story even more interesting is that President Kennedy was the visionary and founder of Peace Corps. While our town wasn’t ready to accept Kennedy at the time, only a few decades later they have warmly welcomed his vision and taken in these two volunteers as one of their own.