Small city, but big in spirit
When Baldomero Alejos arrived in Ayacucho in 1924, it was a city of 20,000 inhabitants, few streets and 33 churches. Ayacucho was a small town, but big in spirit and religious fervor, known for having the largest number of churches in the urban area in all of Peru.
It had few public services and businesses, like wood-fired ovens, 2 soda factories, an ice sales company, 7 river mills, and also 2 photographers, one of them being Baldomero Alejos.
Ayacucho has always been the center of a rich cultural tradition, being one of the few Andean cities that to this day has a Conservatory of Music and a School of Fine Arts. Furthermore, its craftsmanship, characterized by its color and beauty, enjoys great recognition and admiration all over the world.
Ayacucho was a city in which everyone knew each other. At that time it only had two districts: Cercado, where part of the elite; and Carmen Alto, inhabited by employees and artisans. It had 12 artisan and commercial neighborhoods.