Peru was heavily indebted, and political in-fighting was again on the rise. Peru embarked on a railroad-building program that helped but also bankrupted the country. In 1879, Peru entered the War of the Pacific which lasted until 1884. Bolivia invoked its alliance with Peru against Chile. The Peruvian Government tried to mediate the dispute by sending a diplomatic team to negotiate with the Chilean government, but the committee concluded that war was inevitable. Chile declared war on 5 April 1879. Almost five years of war ended with the loss of the department of Tarapacá and the provinces of Tacna and Arica,
Miss Peru Miss Peru Miss Peru is a national beauty pageant in Peru. Peru has been competing in the Miss Universe pageant from 1952 and in the Miss World pageant from 1959. In the Miss Universe pageant, their first representative was Ada Gabriela Bueno who was crowned as the first Miss Peru in a ceremony at the Lawn Tennis Club of Lima and competed in Miss Universe 1952. Ada Gabriela traveled to Long Beach, California to represent her country, but failed to enter the group of semifinalists. The other candidates participating in the Miss Peru pageant -the first 10- are sent to