146 147 cerro de pasco The greatest investment of the XXth century in La Oroya. Compared to the section in Spanish, where there were more hours of Peruvian history and religion, the difference lay in a broader emphasis on universal history. Although these differences existed, it was the worker’s personal decision to send his son to either of the two sections that, in reality, functioned as a single school, since they shared the same site, the playground at the same time, the same services and the same transport buses with boys who lived in the same town and who inevitably met in and out of school for study and fun, for baseball and football. In the case of the Spanish-speaking school section, training there was only up to the fifth grade, but it had a particular feature. The Spanish section used as an example the educational reform of the United States, which implemented the policy of meeting with both parents every semester. That is, they questioned each of the teachers in detail about the performance and behaviour of their children and, if the student was behind in any course, the work and plans for catching up were sent to the parents so that they could make themselves responsible for them. Additionally, there was a very close link between the school and the Chulec Hospital, since vaccination campaigns and periodic medical check-ups were constantly carried out to provide for the good health of the students. Once the cycle of their children in the La Oroya school was completed, some parents sent their children to continue their secondary studies in Huancayo and others in Lima. “I was in the Peruvian school until fourth grade and my father put me in the North American in fifth grade. Then he sent me to Lima to continue high school at the Roosevelt School. And the thing is that most of the boys who lived in La Oroya were fluent in English; otherwise, when you played Cowboys and Indians, they captured or killed you immediately”, remembers Carlos Arana, an environmental biologist who works in the mining sector and is the son of one of the Peruvian high-ranking staff members in the company during his school years. In search of black gold In the eastern region of Peru, east of the Andes mountain range, the company established in 1955 a subsidiary under the name of Cerro de Pasco Petroleum Corporation, with the purpose of carrying out geological and geophysical works in search of gas reserves and oil in an area of more than 900,000 hectares. The concession was guaranteed by the government itself, but it had many problems for access, since the lands were located twelve kilometres from the town of Iscozacín, in the middle of the Pasco jungle. La Cerro had already taken an interest in oil by acquiring interests in North American companies in the states of Illinois, Texas and Louisiana. However, the five concessions it had in Peru were, until then, its biggest bet in the sector. If enough reserves were found, the company planned to transport and use the product very economically in the metallurgical complex that consumed around 550,000 barrels annually. There was much expectation about the company’s foray into this activity, since within a year of starting the work it had mapped a series of apparently promising geological structures, carrying out seismic studies and aeromagnetic surveys in most of the concessions. Later, part of the required equipment was airlifted to the area and some other machinery transported by land from Lima to Pucallpa and then by barge to the concession. Although a drilling plan had been programmed since the first year, it was postponed until January 28, 1961, For several years the oil unit explored in the east but was unsuccessful in its concessions. THE COMPANY PLANNED TO TRANSPORT AND USE OIL VERY CHEAPLY IN THE LA OROYA METALLURGICAL COMPLEX, WHICH ALREADY CONSUMED AROUND 550,000 BARRELS PER YEAR.
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