The Casa Matusita is a building located at the intersection of Garcilaso de la Vega and España avenues in the center of Lima, Peru. It is known for the popular belief of being a place where paranormal activity exists.[1]
| Casa Matusita | |
|---|---|
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 | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Spanish Colonial |
| Address | Av. Garcilaso de la Vega 1390, Lima, Peru |
| Owner | Matusita S.A. (until 2005) |
History
editAn exact date on when the house was built does not exist. In 1862, the Lima Penitentiary was inaugurated in front of the house. The prison and its surroundings are claimed to have served in those times as interrogation centers for common and military criminals, especially in the days of the War of the Pacific.[2]
Its name comes from Matusita S.A., a hardware company that rented the first floor of the building as a warehouse from the 1950s until 2005.[3][4]
In 2016, the second floor was demolished due to the declaration of a dilapidated state issued by the Municipality of Lima. The building's owner, Ladislao Thierry Tiry, reached an agreement with the bank that rented the first level to remodel this floor, and rebuild the second with lightweight material.[4]
Urban legends
editThe legends associated with the building are varied, from its origin to paranormal events that supposedly occurred.
One such legend is one of Parvaneh Dervaspa, a Persian woman who is claimed to have arrived to the port of Callao on August 25, 1573, and settled in the house in the mid 18th century, being accused of witchcraft by the Holy Inquisition and burned at the stake on October 23 of the next year after her confession under duress.[5][6]
Another legend mentions a mass poisoning incident, where a family that lived in the building accidentally consumed a hallucinogenic substance that resulted in the deaths of all participants, being characterized by their screaming.[5] Similar stories feature claims of familicides in the building.[7]
At the end of the 1970s, the Argentine Humberto Vílchez Vera, host of the television program Los fantasmas se divierten, made a bet that he was capable of staying seven days on the second floor of the building. Vílchez allegedly left the place after two hours and had to be admitted to a mental hospital for a year, after which he disappeared.[8] Years later, in his book El cazador de fantasmas, the TV host denied the urban legend, saying that such events never happened, and the only thing he wanted was to increase his ratings.[9]
Conspiracy theories
editThere is a conspiracy theory that indicates that the origin of the urban legends of ghosts in the building were created and disseminated by the CIA to prevent the building's use for espionage, due to the fact that the U.S. embassy in Lima was located across the street from its construction in the late 1940s to the early 1990s,[10][11][12] after which it was replaced by a hospìtal.[13]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Conozca la verdadera historia de la casa Matusita". América Noticias. 2014-06-29.
- ^ Pino, David (2010-08-06). "La Casa Matusita". Lima La Única.
- ^ "¿Por qué se cree que hay actividad paranormal en la casa Matusita?". RPP Noticias. 2014-07-04.
- ^ a b Paz Campuzano, Oscar (2016-07-04). "Casa Matusita: ¿el fin de la leyenda más famosa de Lima?". El Comercio.
- ^ a b Mamani, María Elena (2022-07-03). "El origen de la leyenda de la Casa Matusita y qué tan real es". Infobae.
- ^ Ibáñez, José María (2009). Enigmas y misterios. 13 lugares malditos (in Spanish). ES Ediciones. pp. 49–50. ISBN 978-8492760039.
- ^ "Casa Matusita: ¿por qué se dice que estuvo 'embrujada' y cómo luce ahora tras su demolición?". La República. 2022-10-29.
- ^ Bedoya, Jaime (2016-06-19). "Conjuros cojudos". El Comercio.
- ^ "Una leyenda que no morirá: La Casa Matusita". Canal IPe. 2016-10-01.
- ^ "Tiempo de leer: 'CIA Perú, 1985. El espía sentimental' de Alejandro Neyra". Canal N. 2015-09-20.
- ^ Anuario bibliográfico peruano (in Spanish). Lima: Biblioteca nacional / Instituto Nacional de Cultura. 1967. p. 447.
Embajada de los Estados Unidos de América [...] Dirección: Av. Wilson s/n. Lima
- ^ Ramírez y Berrios, Manuel Guillermo (1999). Memorias...de Memo (in Spanish). Gráfica Horizonte. p. 352.
Ante esta situación que fue de dominio público, a pesar de las recomendaciones para que se guardara la mayor reserva, intervino la Embajada de los Estados Unidos de Norteamérica, a cuya sede de la avenida Wilson, hoy Garcilaso de la Vega, acudimos con Clyde, el jueves 18 de mayo de 1967, de lo que dan cuenta algunos diario [sic] como La Crónica, en su sección judicial del viernes 19 del indicado mes.
- ^ "Amor por la Salud" (PDF). Clínica Internacional: 6. 2014-11-27.
En la década de los ochenta, Clínica Internacional es adquirida por la familia Brescia, quienes le dieron un gran impulso a nivel tecnológico y de infraestructura. Luego se compró la antigua sede de la Embajada de Estados Unidos y finalmente la esquina de jirón Washington con avenida España que pertenecía a la familia Olaechea, y que es hoy parte de las oficinas administrativas en su sede de Lima.