Pedro Manuel Venturo Zapata (born February 18, 1896,

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

; died December 12, 1952) was an

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

agronomist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.), is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the ...

, paso horse breeder,

vintner A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. They are generally employed by wineries or wine companies, where their work includes: *Cooperating with viticulturists *Monitoring the maturity of grapes to ensure their quality and to dete ...

and Minister of Agriculture. He was the CEO of

Hacienda Higuereta Pedro Manuel Venturo Zapata was the CEO of "Hacienda Higuereta y Anexos - Negociacion Vinicola Pedro Venturo S.A." from 1925 to 1952. Creation and Construction (1539) When establishing the doctrine of the town of Surco. The parish jurisdict ...

y Anexos - Negociacion Vinicola Pedro Venturo S.A. from 1925 to 1952.

Biography

Venturo was born the son of an Italian immigrant Pedro Celso Venturo Toledo (1821-1925) and his wife Elia Zapata. He completed his primary and secondary studies at the College of La Recoleta in Lima. In 1912, he enrolled at the

National Agrarian University The National Agrarian University, also formally called National Agrarian University – La Molina (Spanish: ''Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina'') (UNALM), is a public university in Lima, Peru. It is the country's best university in the fi ...

in Peru and studied

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

and

veterinary medicine Veterinary medicine is the branch of medicine that deals with the prevention, management, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, disorder, and injury in animals. Along with this, it deals with animal rearing, husbandry, breeding, research on nutri ...

, finishing his studies in 1917. After graduation he was immediately appointed assistant at the National Institute of Microbiology where he worked on his dissertation on " cattle tuberculosis in Peru". At 21 he was elected to the City Council of the Barranco district in the popular election of 1918. He became president of the Peruvian Association of Agricultural Engineers and was a member of the Departmental Census Board, a member of The Miraflores City Council and a chairman of the board of the Cattlemen's Association Peru on two occasions. He belonged to the Technical Body of Appraisals, the Higher Council at the

Ministry of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister ...

, the National Board of Food of Peru. He was Vice President of The Rotary Club of Lima and was linked to various agricultural societies, Livestock and Industrial.

The Hacienda Higuereta

In 1925 Venturo acquired " The Hacienda Higuereta" from his father who had died that same year. He led the Hacienda to increased levels of productivity of

Pisco Pisco is a colorless or yellowish-to-amber colored brandy produced in winemaking regions of Peru and Chile. Made by distilling fermented grape juice into a high-proof spirit, it was developed by 16th-century Spanish settlers as an alternative ...

Brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...

Cognac Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the Communes of France, commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the Departments of France, departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime. Cog ...

Champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

, red and white

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

( Albilla Superior, Oporto, Moscato Dulce),

Vermouth Vermouth (, ) is an aromatized fortified wine, flavoured with various botanicals (roots, barks, flowers, seeds, herbs, and spices) and sometimes colored. The modern versions of the beverage were first produced in the mid- to late 18th centur ...

and other products such as balsamic

vinegar Vinegar is an aqueous solution of acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains 5–8% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting simple sugars to et ...

, grape juice and Martini. He also raised livestock, with over 300 holsteins, 2 bulls, chickens, turkeys and pigs, They produced eggs, milk and meat for the community. Venturo was also one of the largest breeders of the Peruvian Paso Horse. Venturo was an honorary member of various labor organizations and he improved living conditions of his employees, building houses for his workers and funding the construction of sports fields and a cinema. The Hacienda was in some ways a small town with homes for the employees, comprising a school, a park, a wood shed, a machine shop, a pool, soccer fields, a chapel, a bodega, and public restrooms in addition to the work spaces. Venturo was a member of the Wine Committee of the National

Agrarian Society An agrarian society, or agricultural society, is any community whose economy is based on producing and maintaining crops and farmland. Another way to define an agrarian society is by seeing how much of a nation's total production is in agriculture ...

and organizer of the Advisory Mission, in 1930, to study the law of alcoholic beverages and promotion of national viticulture. He organized the first Harvest Festival in Peru called "La Vendimia", chairing the Organizing Committee in 1937 in

Santiago de Surco Santiago de Surco, commonly known simply as Surco, is a district of Lima, Peru. It is bordered on the north with the district of Ate Vitarte and La Molina; on the east with San Juan de Miraflores, on the west with San Borja, Surquillo, Mirafl ...

. La Vendimia Wine Festival continues today. After Venturo's death in 1952 the company and hacienda were split and sold to different investors. In 1967 General Juan Velasco Alvarado took power in a

coup d'état A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...

against President

Fernando Belaúnde Terry Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...

. As part of Velasco's agrarian reforms, small, non-producing haciendas including The

were demolished.

Innovation and final years

Venturo traveled throughout the national territory, covering the various areas of coast, highlands and mountains. He chaired the Fourth Agronomic Convention which took place in Tingo María in 1945. He became Minister of Agriculture during the government rule of president

José Bustamante y Rivero José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacu ...

from 1947 to 1948. He made several trips abroad, visiting the United States, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia and Uruguay, while working selectively on viticulture, adapting valuable wine varieties for cultivation in Peru. He chronicled the progress of Agriculture and Livestock items in Peru and gave lectures on important topics related to agricultural activity. He dealt with the problem of drinking water in Lima and utilization of urban waste and sewage, creating the way to transform them into useful fertilizers. often designing new processes for the city. He spent his last years conducting agricultural experiments including investigations into the possibility of cultivating the beach sands. Based on these investigations, Venturo was invited to present at The Sixth International Congress of Rangeland organized by the United States in August 1952. He died on December 12, 1952 in the district of San Isidro, because of

hepatic The liver is a major organ only found in vertebrates which performs many essential biological functions such as detoxification of the organism, and the synthesis of proteins and biochemicals necessary for digestion and growth. In humans, it i ...

coma. He was buried in El Ángel Cemetery in Lima.

Legacy

In 1965 the School that was part of the property Hacienda Higuereta in Surco (still stands there today) changed its name to "Colegio Pedro Venturo". In 1975 a street was named after Pedro Venturo Zapata to honor the man and what he accomplished in his Hacienda Higuereta in Lima, Peru.

References

http://blog.pucp.edu.pe/blog/juanluisorrego/2008/06/10/la-hacienda-higuereta/
http://blog.pucp.edu.pe/blog/juanluisorrego/2010/02/10/foto-de-la-hacienda-higuereta/
http://limalaunica.blogspot.com/2010/04/la-hacienda-higuereta.html
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hacienda_higuereta.jpg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCtoD_ubPbU {{DEFAULTSORT:Venturo Zapata, Pedro Peruvian agronomists