Juliaca
Peru · Americas
About Juliaca
Juliaca is the capital of San Román Province in the Puno Region of southeastern Peru. It is the region's largest city, with a population of 276,110 inhabitants (2017). On the Altiplano, Juliaca is 3,825 metres (12,549 ft) above sea level, is located on the Collao Plateau and is northwest of Lake Titicaca (45 km), near Chachas Lake, the Maravillas river, and near the ruins of Sillustani. It is the largest trade center in the Puno region.
The city hosts Carnaval Juliaca each year between February and March. During this very popular event participants, dressed in colorful costumes, gather on the streets to dance in the style of the Collao Plateau. Saint Sebastian's feast is celebrated on 20 January of every year.
Like Chicago, Illinois, it is nicknamed "The Windy City", in its case, because of the city's location on the windy Collao Plateau. It is also called the "Sock City" or "Knitting City" because Juliaca was a major center of sock, sweater, and handicraft production. Now the production of clothes, wool and fabrics are industrial processes.
The historian Ramon Rios argues that Juliaca comes from the Quechua words Xullaskca...
Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.