| Samuel Cárdenas Meijers |
co Villareal, the National University of San Marcos,
RU WKH 3RQWLÀFDO &DWKROLF 8QLYHUVLW\ RI 3HUX DQG
their students whom studies are related to archaeology and heritage management. By doing so, future
archaeologists will gather experience in the ability
of engaging the community into their heritage.
Sadly enough, because of the formation
of a new metropolitan municipal government this
January (2015), 40 percent of the employees of the
Board of Culture have been discharged. Furthermore, all cultural programs are going to be revised
(El Comercio 10 January 2015). Up until now, it is
not clear which programs are going to be continued.
For this reason it is uncertain if the plan My Huaca,
legacy that unites us will be executed. By cancelling the plan, the opportunity to merge the efforts of
different actors (Ministry of Culture, MML, Civil
Initiatives) into one model will be lost. The loss will
be big, given the fact that a cultural centre approach
seems to be effective: the cultural, educational, and
entertaining roles of the huacas are being exploited
through programs and activities, giving the comPXQLW\WKHRSSRUWXQLW\WRIXOÀOVHYHUDOUROHVZLWKLQ
the management of huacas (managers, users, preservers). The engagement of the community is essential in the management of huacas and needs to
be encouraged, especially because of the growing
willingness of the community to be involved with
this management.
Conclusion
To conclude, a big part of the 447 archaeological sites in Lima is in danger of being destructed or invaded. In addition, they are used as waste dumps, public toilets, and mountain bike tracks, among other
things. However, managing the huacas of Lima in
the view of a cultural centre approach seems to have
great potential. An example of this is the archaeological on-site museum Huaca Pucllana, which
exploits the different roles that a huaca FDQ IXOÀO
(cultural, educational, and entertaining). This has
two results: a) the preservation of the site, and b) the
development of the community. Regarding the cultural heritage management of other huacas in Lima,
three actors are involved: the Ministry of Culture,
the Metropolitan Municipality of Lima (MML), and
civil initiatives. This is done by engaging the local
community with its cultural heritage in an active
way through guided tours, cleaning of sites, workshops, and organising events, among other things.
By organising activities and programs the three
actors exploit the cultural, educational, and entertaining functions of huacas. The combination of a
‘cultural centre’ approach with the programs and
activities that are offered reveal the several roles
p.12 | VOL I | INTER-SECTION | 2015
that the community can take in the management
of archaeological sites, namely: managers, users,
and preservers. The only thing that is missing is a
management model for huacas as a whole. Sadly
enough, a management plan including all huacas
is cancelled up until now. Hopefully the future will
change this situation, because there is a great potential in the current management of huacas, and
maybe more importantly, the community seems to
be willing to be involved in this management.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the following persons and
institutions whom have helped me to realise this
study: The edi