UJ#5 Paracas

INTERVIEW
THE LARCO MUSEUM WAS CREATED IN 1926 AT THE CHICLIN
HACIENDA OUTSIDE OF TRUJILLO, ON PERU’S NORTHERN
COAST. RAFAEL LARCO HOYLE, ITS FOUNDER, HAD INHERITED A
COLLECTION OF OVER 600 ANCIENT PERUVIAN ARCHAEOLOGICAL
PIECES FROM HIS FATHER, RAFAEL LARCO HERRERA. HE USED
THEM AS THE MUSEUM’S FIRST EXHIBIT. IN 1960, THE LARCO
MUSEUM MOVED TO ITS PRESENT LOCATION IN PUEBLO LIBRE,
A DISTRICT OF LIMA. IN 2010, WITH OVER 44,000 PIECES
CATALOGUED, THE LARCO MUSEUM WAS RE-LAUNCHED WITH
AN UP-TO-DATE MUSEOGRAPHY THAT HAS TURNED IT INTO ONE
OF THE BEST MUSEUMS IN LIMA. BELOW, THE LARCO MUSEUM’S
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR ANDRÉS ÁLVAREZ CALDERÓN TALKS TO US
ABOUT THE LARCO TODAY AND ITS VISION FOR THE FUTURE.
By
Rodrigo Cabrera
What role does the Larco Museum play today
in Lima’s tourism-related offerings?
It would be wrong of me to say because I work
in the Larco Museum. I prefer to tell you what the
public says. The Larco Museum has been on Trip
Advisor for five years, always ranking in the top
five tourist attractions in Lima. In 2010, the year
we renovated and re-launched the Museum, we
moved into first place in Lima, and right now we are
ranked the number two tourist attraction in South
America. We’re filling a gap in Lima; some museums
are being remodelled, and others have fallen into
bureaucratic lethargy. The Larco Museum, recently
renovated, with a new, consumer friendly point of
view, has, without a doubt, positioned itself as a
not-to-be-missed, Lima attraction.
What has the evolution of the Larco Museum
been from its founding to today?
The Larco Museum has evolved in different ways; first
in its museographic vision. When the Larco Museum
was founded, its goal was to fill in the chronological
gaps between Peruvian cultures. Since the
remodelling in 2010, the Museum has moved into
a more narrative museological phase, attempting
to understand the ancient Peruvians through their
cosmovision, or vision of the world and their roles
in it. We want to tell history in an interesting and
fun way that ties together current, interdisciplinary
academic research. It is a huge evolution in how
museums relate to people and it will define this age,
though one does not see it yet. What is crystal clear
is that people today like learning about ancient Peru
by visiting the Larco Museum.
Álv