Just one day to celebrate its 200th anniversary, the official newspaper "El Peruano" has become a bastion of institutionality and legality in Peru.Its history as a source of information for the Peruvian Republic has made it an inexhaustible source of knowledge for important research.
"I tell the general population that any topic related to Peru, not necessarily diplomatic or political, the newspaper El Peruano will always be used for school papers, university theses, master's or doctoral theses, to review the legal norms to complete the research about social, diplomatic or politics history” explained historian Arnaldo Mera.
In an interview with the program Somos Cultura on National Radio, the researcher highlighted the historical value of the newspaper El Peruano and the process that led it to become the official voice of everything happening in Peru.
“El Peruano has a format similar to the Government Gazette, which circulated since the viceregal era. The first issues of El Peruano aimed to be a source of fresh news about what was happening outside of Peru, in addition to begin incorporating the legal norms” Mera explained.
He also indicated that its creation coincided with a changing Lima city, with the recent independence of what used to be Upper Peru.
“It was only a couple of months old. The national coat of arms had just been reformulated. The current coat of arms dates from that year. Callao was still occupied by the Spaniard troops called royalists,” he noted.
International research
For his part, Félix Alberto Paz Quiroz, director of news media at Editora Perú, the company that owns the official newspaper El Peruano, highlights the role of the Venezuelan liberator in the founding of the newspaper he currently runs.
“Founded by Simón Bolívar, 10 months after consolidating Peru's independence at the Battle of Ayacucho, its bicentennial is commemorated on October 22 of this year, which falls on Wednesday,” he emphasized.
He also indicated that for a long time, it was believed that El Peruano began its print editions on May 13, 1826, until was found the issue dated October 22, 1825, under the name El Peruano Independiente.
However, May 13 is noted as the date the publication became an official newspaper.
“Until 2004, 2005, the story said that El Peruano was founded in 1826. However, there were references in journalism books to a previous publication called El Peruano Independiente (…) Research conducted by historian Víctor Arrambide at Yale University found copies of El Peruano Independiente, specifically, where the start date was determined to be October 22, 1825,” he explained.
Over these 200 years, the newspaper El Peruano has transformed, both in format and content, to present the journalistic characteristics that have made it one of the most relevant and respected media outlets in the country.
“The first edition had some articles printed in English, due to correspondence with the British Empire. Later, it would also have editions in Portuguese and French, because important content was taken from other media outlets that were initially distributed,” he indicated.
During the War of the Pacific, the newspaper went through difficult times, Félix Paz noted.
“When the invaders arrived in Lima, the workers of El Peruano closed their last edition, said goodbye to their families, went to take up positions, and participated, on January 13 and 15, in the battles of San Juan and Miraflores. They played an important role alongside students from San Marcos, Guadalupe residents, artisans, and teachers. The best citizens at that time went to defend Lima,” he explained.
In addition to Manuel Arana Fuentes, “El murciélago,” one of its most daring editors, who turned it into a daily publication, El Peruano had as editors prominent figures from the journalistic, literary, and cultural fields, who have shaped the history of the Peruvian newspaper.
“We have been digitizing the editions of El Peruano and have approximately half a million images or pages digitized, covering the period between 1826 and 1965. The period from 2000 to the present has already been digitized. We still have about 35 years to complete the entire digitization of El Peruano,” explained the director of the newspaper El Peruano.
Félix Paz also indicated that its editions are already part of the nation's cultural and documentary heritage, with respect to all 19th-century publications.
"We are also part of the Memory of the World, Peru, and Latin America registry for all 19th-century editions, so that researchers can access this information fairly. We hope to be able to launch our CMS, our content management system, by the end of this year. This will give us a greater presence in the digital world and allow us to share all this information with anyone who needs it, including many researchers," he concluded.
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(END) KGR / MDV
Published: 10/21/2025