The San Cristóbal of Huamanga National University (in Spanish, ''Universidad Nacional de San Cristóbal de Huamanga'') is a public university located in the city of

Ayacucho Ayacucho (, qu, Ayak'uchu) is the capital city of Ayacucho Region and of Huamanga Province, Ayacucho Region, Peru. During the Inca Empire and Viceroyalty of Peru periods the city was known by the name of Huamanga (Quechua: Wamanga), and it c ...

(formerly known as Huamanga) in southern

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

. The university was established in 1677 by Cristóbal de Castilla y Zamora, the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

archbishop of La Plata o Charcas. Until it was closed in the mid-19th century, it operated mostly as a seminary for the training of Catholic priests. The government of Perú reopened it in 1959 as a national university. In the 1960s, the university became a breeding ground for communist organizations, including the

Shining Path The Shining Path ( es, Sendero Luminoso), officially the Communist Party of Peru (, abbr. PCP), is a communist guerrilla group in Peru following Marxism–Leninism–Maoism and Gonzalo Thought. Academics often refer to the group as the Commun ...

. This group, led by philosophy professor Abimael Guzmán, started there before growing into a violent guerrilla movement that conducted a bloody campaign against the government of Perú and against rival leftists groups. (See also

Efraín Morote Best Efraín Morote Best (8 July 1921 7 April 1989) was a Peruvian lawyer, anthropologist, and academic administrator. From 1962 to 1968 he served as the Rector (i.e., chief administrator) of San Cristóbal of Huamanga University in Ayacucho, Perú. ...

.) The rector of the university is Homero Ango Aguilar, a biologist.

References

External links

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Official website
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Ayacucho República Aristocrática photo gallery
Universities in Peru 1677 establishments in the Spanish Empire Internal conflict in Peru Educational institutions established in the 1670s {{Peru-university-stub