Moyobamba

From Freepedia

Moyobamba is a city in North Peru. It is located in the eponymous district of Moyobamba Province in the San Martín Region, of which it is the capital. There are about 50 thousand inhabitants. Some 3,500 species of orchid are native to the area, which has led to the city's nickname of The City of Orchids.

Home to the San Juan Festival, "Moyobambinos" celebrate the region's patron saint every June. Locals celebrate with traditional dances and dishes, most notably Juane, a dish that is meant to resemble the head of John the Baptist on a platter before Herod. It is made by stuffing a ball of sticky green rice with chicken and wrapping it in Bijao leaves for cooking. Then, celebrants dance the "Pandilla" around wooden poles dug into the ground before chopping them down with an axe and collecting the treasures from the top.

Moyobamba is one of the major trading centers for the Aguaruna Native Communities, which inhabit the surrounding valley known as the Upper Mayo River Valley. The major cash crops grown in the region are rice, coffee and corn. The historic "Punto de Tahuishco" was once a vibrant port along the Mayo River, but has since become one of the last waning vestiges of the river trade route.

After the slow demise of its airport, this regional capital began to fall behind the faster-developing Tarapoto, a neighboring city further up-river. Farmers and regional government workers often clash in a geopolitical battle over local control and access to outside markets.

The city was established by Juan Pérez de Guevara in 1540.