the region
Cochas Grande is in the Huancayo region of Peru, on the left bank of the Mantaro River. At 3244 meters (over 10,600 feet), it is high in the Andes. The Huanca nation has farmed the fertile left bank of the Mantaro River for millenia, growing corn, broadbeans, and potatoes; artichoke production has been added in modern times. Centrally located between the jungle and the Inca capital, Cusco; and between Cusco and the Spanish Imperial and modern capital, Lima, the city of Huancayo is the commercial center of inland Peru. While the traditional local language is Quechua, many local people were not raised speaking it, and are native-speakers of Spanish.
The Huanca lost their independence in the fifteenth century to the Inca imperial juggernaut, under King Pachacutec. In 1533, during the reign of his grandson, the Spanish invaded Peru, and the Huancayo aided in their overthrow of the Inca. This alliance kept them safe only temporarily from the brutal suppression practiced by the Spanish conquistadors elsewhere. The Huanca were in the forefront of the long struggle for independence from Spanish rule.
It is a religious region, and since the Spanish invasion, overwhelmingly Catholic. There is a full calendar of saint's days and festivals, the celebration of which often involves traditional dancing that makes statements, often satirical, about the history of local people. The 1000-year-old Warivilca temple, discovered in 1935 and the subject of study and restoration since then, attests to the long civilization of the region and the traditional forms of worship that preceded the colonial era.
information from Rubén D. Gutiérrez, Huancayo: Plentiful Land, Proud Nation; http://www.rumbosperu.com/articles/8-08-destinohyancayo.htm , undated";