3 basic reasons to save Casona de Sojo
The centennial building, in the edge of Sullana Province, seems to be counting its last hours.
The following photographs
show the structural damages as found on February 9th, 2024, distributed
by FACTORTIERRA.
SOJO, Peru – The house that
was the headquarters of the estate managed by Miguel Checa Checa (tambograndé,
Jul. 5, 1861 – Piura City, Oct. 19, 1935), that extended across 111,192 acres
(like 10 Jersey Cities) along actual Piura Department , is bringing down
in pieces.
It has left vulnerable because of three extraordinary El Niño events (1983, 1997, 2017), two strong and nearby earthquakes (2021, 2022), and the lack of maintenance.
According to Carlos Checa
Leigh, grand-grandson of Miguel Checa Checa and actual manager of the house,
one of the major threats is the indifference of authorities and citizens. Maybe
not at all. As much as FACTTORTIERRA learned, , there are cultural
collectives interested in participating to recover the estate, but they don’t
have clear how.
Key facts
The house (“la casona”) and
the whole surrounding property are located beside the west of Sojo Town,
capital of Miguel Checa District, practically at the southwest corner of
Sullana Province, which borders Paita Province. Its actual land is 67 acres (like ¾
parts of Vatican City).
It’s 11 miles by car from Sullana Main Square, beside the road connecting it to Paita City.
The official history
substantiates it started to build in 1910, it reigned majestic about half a
century. It was expropriated in 1968 after the Agrarian Reform ruled by
Piura-native Juan Velasco Alvarado, Peru’s de-factum President (1968 to 1975).
The farmers who Benefit with the Reform managed for a decade more, until it was returned to Checa Family in 1980.
Why it must be saved
- It owns an official
protection from the Peruvian Government: In fact, it was declared Monumental Patrimony of the Nation
in 1974. Later, in 2023, the Peruvian Government enacted a law urging its restoration and its availability for the
public, that it assigned to the joint work of Ministries of Culture, and
Industry, Foreign Trade, and Tourism.
Also, to the Regional Government of Piura as well as the Municipalities of Sullana Province and Miguel Checa District. At this closure, it’s ignored if any of these institutions plan
to apply this rule.
- It’s a mixed structure
despite its Republican design: Indeed, it combines in harmony finishings in Italian marble,
plague-proof wood, bricks, stucco, and qincha (mix of cane and mud). In
other words, the best of the European engineering of that time with the
millennial tradition of Peruvian Northern to build homes resistant to almost everything… except heavy rains,
intense quakes, and fires.
- It’s organically matched to
the environment: First of
all, it takes advantage of a little elevation in the terrain but it adds very
well to the green landscape of Lower Chira Valley, that is watched from its backyard’s balcony toward the west (La
Huaca District, Paita Province, actually). At its side, there is La Mariposa
Huaca, evidence of Pre-Hispanic occupation. It’s close to Chira River,
just in front of the historic Tangarará Town (Marcavelica District), just few
steps crossing the river. If all this is integrated in an experiential
tourism circuit (the casona has a long tradition by cropping
cotton), it would empower any restoration and availability effort. Anything
else? Actual Sullana-Paita Road wwas, until 1962, the Trail of the railroad
that connected both cities.
Go into it if you want to have further information about the casona
(in Spanish).
Entra
aquí si deseas tener más información sobre la casona.
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