History of Malingas – Starting up a town

Because of conversations with with some locals, the upcoming detailed story has been written. In some places, two fictional characters play short dialogues – Memory & Notes.

 

By Ernaldo Maza Juárez

 

Malingas Village is the capital of 20 villages, 297 feet altitude above sea level, in the jurisdiction of Tambogrande District, Province and Department of Piura. It’s part of the San Lorenzo agricultural valley. It produces mango, lime, papaya, tamarind, cacao, coconut, orange, banana, beans, yucca, sweet potato, etc. It provides health services at the medical post, education at two schools and the headquarters of Fe y Alegría 48 Rural Educational Programme (PERFYA 48, as its acronyme in Spanish), agriculture at the Malingas Irrigators Commission. Its people is hard-working, joining more than 20 organizations:

• Cup of Milk Club.
• Mothers Club.
• Social Promoters.
• Health Committee.
• Malingas Irrigators Commission.
• Elementary school teachers.
• High-school Teachers.
• Sport Comercio Club.
• San Francisco de Asís Fraternity.
• Elementary school’s parents association.
• High-school’s parents association.
• PERFYA 48.
• Bodas de Caná Religious Group.
• Local Governor.
• Health Post.
• Elementary school’s municipality.
• High-school’s municipality.
• Health promoters.
• Mototaxis Committee.
• Automobiles Committee.
• United Youth to Fe y Alegría (Jufasca).
• Civile Protection Local Committee.
• El Néctar de Malingas Apicultors Committee (Asapnema)

 

According to Historia de Tambogrande (History of Tambogrande) book, it’s stated that in the Inca times, the Piura River’s name was Lengash. Of course, it was a word of our ancestors that I don’t know what meaned. Surely, the Spanish when heard that name, called Ma-Lingas to this zone. Of those fertile lands, the Spaniards took in calling them haciendas (estates). The river’s left bank was Hacienda San Sebastián de Malingas, and the right bank, where our village is located, was called Santa Teresa de Malingas. The first owner was Andrés de Urbina Quiroz, 1705 AD.

 

Neptalí Juárez Márquez tells he born in this land when all this territory was hacienda. His father Miguel and his mother Teolinda had a rustic house by the zone where is actual Márquez-Maza Family’s parcel. There were more houses right there but disperse. Families Nima-Maza, Maza-Pulache, Arrunátegui-Nima, Márquez-Juárez, Rufino-Bereche were with other families joining Little groups.

 

The estate owner allowed them to take the necessary land for home and for farmyards of their cattle. They just had to notify him or his employees. In exchange, they had to work for the hacienda. They also could have a cropland at the river’s rim where they planted sweet potatoes, onion, beans, daily food in other words. There was few money at that time, there was much work, there was a little freedom, the zone’s resources were best advantaged, and the feeding of our families was better, especially in rainy years.

 

Every time ever, there aare God-lighting people like Hildebrando Castro Pozo who pulled the San Lorenzo’s irrigation and colonization project. Peru’s President Manuel A. Odría in his administration builds the reservoir named San Lorenzo. Then, the land sales are open giving preference to the residents after an evaluation. Some received a parcel, otherrs didn’t, because the rich people of that time who like to abuse and take advantage of the poor, lied them by saying that who received lands were going to be marked like in slavery, that they wouldn’t be owners, that the government would be the only owner.

 

Before this fear, when Miss Fanny visited them, they hid for not being registered. When they got without lands, they had to leave where their they owned their houses because these lands were parcels, then they go settling down in spaces the Ministry of Agriculture went assigning  them where they could build their homes. So, the first villages were forming: Chicha Fría (actual Pueblo Libre), Los Zapatas, Cocha Muerta (actual Guaraguaos Alto), El Zapote (actual Guaraguaos Bajo),

 

Monte Borracho

Pablo Sandoval is one of the inhabitants who settled down many years ago in Monte Borracho (Drunk Tree). He tells the existence of a pretty leafy carob tree, the only one in this spacewhere the vivanderas (waitresses) offered food and chicha de jora (fermented corn juice) to the farmers, salesmen, and settlers who passed through there, rested, and shared  a good talk enjoying the tasty nectar of the Incas. and the tasty meals. Sometimes, almost ever, remained chicha that they brought in their tonnels and left capped and held on the tree’s trunk.

 

When the peasants passed by, they perceived the nice odor to heavy chicha, then they said “that monte (tree) is drunk.” It was the only monte in this place. The other trees were huge muyuyos, cuncuns, charáns, and others. The first ones who lived in this place were Fernando Hernandez and Mrs Rosa Nima, Mr Ricardo Rosas and wife.

 

Mr Juan Núñez, former worker of the brick-&-cement rooms building of Malingas Services Center, worked as storer, watchman of the work during three years, and two years as a gardener when the work started to use. Don Juan says is Mrs Mercedes Nima Flores, the first vivandera who begins to sale under this leafy tree. Later, Paccha-natives arrived as The Alamas, Lucha de Erasmo. They brought a lot of chicha in tonnels. As the road was not well conserved yet, the people moved by their feet and by donkeys.

 

Don Juan had a house where Jaime Sandoval’s house is currently. Even today, he remembers el muerto (a ghost) scared him. “In the silence of the night, I heard the rumor of an animal that slided something like it were a hyde, it made much noise, the dogs barked. It came out the rocks where today is the José Estevez’s house is and walked on toward Paccha.” Others tell about a woman in a black dress, long hair covering her face who comes out at midnight in this right place.

 

Oh Memory! Some charm could be at those rocks.

Let’s leave this mistery, Notes. Continue writing Don Juan’s tale.

 

“In 1960, when with money of Agrarian Reform, San Lorenzo Colonization in other words, is started the construction work of houses, offices, and school, all in brick & cement. Worked on this, Teobaldo Núñez, Peralta The Carpenter, Octavio Rufino also known as Cataba, and many more. The work was made by Woodman & Mohme.”

 

“It was built a commercial facility (store), 4 rural houses, 4 houses for managers and doctors, 4 for workers, 1residence for teachers, 1 dining-room for teachers, 1 dining-room for employees, one medical post, a yard for the machinery pool, offices, elementary school, a high-school, a store house, a power plant house, running water wells, electric energy system with a powerful generator, as wel as water and wreckage. This place was named Malingas Services Center, everything very implemented.”

 

“The people who came to serve didn’t bring anything, just personal stuff. There was electric energy, running water, wreckage system, telephone in offices, very good cared gardens. It began to work in 1963.

 

“In 1970s, when there is no colonization’s budget already to support all the services, some are transferred to other sectors. The school, that was funded by Agriculture, passed to Ministry of Education. The post passed to the Health sector. The light and the water were difficult to support – they’re fading out little by little”.

 

What a pain, Ña Memory… nothing’s forever, they say good.

Only God, my friend Notes!

The history is so – oit never stops. Time passes, a little hate, a little love, and God’s glory awakes, Fray Martín says.

 

Ernaldo Maza Juárez has been a teacher with Daniel Alcides Carrión Elementary School in Malingas.

Original post-production by Alpasal. Translated by Nelson Peñaherrera.