History
of “Luján de Cuyo”
Luján de Cuyo has a territory of 4,847 km2 and more than 110,000 inhabitants. The Department is adjacent in the North with Godoy Cruz, Las Heras and Maipú, in the East with Junín and Rivadavia, and in the West with the Republic of Chile. Luján is composed of 14 Districts : Luján de Cuyo, La Puntilla, Carrodilla, Mayor Drummond, Chacras de Coria, Vistalba, Potrerillos, Industrial, Agrelo, Perdriel, Ugarteche, El Carrizal, Las Compuertas and Cacheuta.
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History
The “Huarpes,
dark-skinned men, thin and of great stature, as well as their beautiful
long-haired women, very agile and resistant, were peaceful indigenous
people who historically occupied the territory of Luján.
The Huarpes excelled in the ceramics art and craft and apparently used
to barter it for maize. They had a system of irrigation for their lands
devised by Incas engineers. Through this system, they modified the course
of the Mendoza River, dividing it into three channels.
When the Spaniards arrived in 1552, and 1561, they found this ingenious
system they later called “The Dike of Spaniards Occupation”
(“Dique de la Toma de los españoles”)
In the beginning of the 18th century, Mendoza had significantly developed its trade relationships with other Provinces. Wine, brandy and olives were taken to Buenos Aires to be sold. In those years, the goods were transported by wooden carts, covered with leather awnings and “quinchas” of “totora” or straw.
It was at that time, that Don Pedro Molina y Vasconcelos, on his way to Buenos Aires, became seriously ill in the neighborhoods of the locality of Luján. He promised to the Virgin of Luján, to bring an image of her and to raise a chapel in her name if his health improved. He actually did recover, and so he kept his promise.
The chapel
was built at a side of the main square where the building of the municipality
is nowadays located. Unfortunately, in 1861 an earthquake destroyed the
chapel.
The current church was built between 1909 and 1917.
“In the sanctuary of Luján de Cuyo, lies “the founding” image of the Virgin of Luján. It is done in a wood carving from the early 18th century, decorated with a scapular using the Spanish colors. In its inferior part, it has a sun carved, an Argentine emblem and the shields of Uruguay and Paraguay. The dress and the mantle were made in Sevilla, in 1914.”
The Department of Luján de Cuyo was founded on the 11th of May 1855, with the name “Villa de Luján”; under General Pedro Pascual Segura’s government. Its Municipality was founded in 1872. The town of Luján played an important role in the history of the Argentinean Independence: It had, indeed, an essential participation in the organisation of the Army of The Andes, led by the General San Martín.
:: Church of Luján de Cuyo. Drawing in pencil of Borget, 1837. Marianetti, 2000
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At that time, the Villa of Luján counted 4700 inhabitants. Today, its population ascends to more than 95.000 inhabitants. In
October 1949, the Villa of Luján was formally declared
a “Town” and 1964 marked the Department’s
new denomination “Luján de Cuyo”.
The
Spanish The
Spaniards arrived in an expedition at the valley of Huentota,
by order of the governor García Hurtado de Mendoza and
headed by Captain Pedro Del Castillo. The irrigation system derived from a channel they used to call GOAZAP MAYU or POTU DEL INCA. Further in time, the Spaniards called it “Main Drain” (Acequia) or “River of the town”. The town was located at the right side of the channel. When
Hurtado de Mendoza was replaced in Chile by Captain Villagra,
the new governor organised a new expedition under the orders
of Captain Juan Jufré, who, attempting to eliminate what
had been done by Del Castillo, moved the town to the left side
of the river, at “two arquebus shoots ” south-Westwards
because he found the place more suitable. He re-baptized the
town with the name of “Resurrection - Province of Huarpes”.
Nevertheless, time and the customs took over and the name of
“Mendoza” eventually remained. |
Mendoza
at that time The good predisposition and peaceful moods of the indigenous made it possible for the “encomenderos” to stay there. But some Spaniards obliged the natives to go to Chile. These measures reduced the native’s workforce and forced their subsitution by slaves. This
consolidation period was long and difficult. Since then, the
limitating factor for expansion was the lack of water supply
– for the inhabitants as well as for agricultural activities.
As time went by, this continued to be a public concern.
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