During the “rubber fever” of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when the demand for rubber products expanded tremendously around the world, Iquitos became the epicenter of rubber exportation from the Amazon to Europe. The “rubber fever” brought intense commercial attention to the city, providing it with basic services and European architecture. However, around 1914, the Amazonian rubber monopoly ended when other European plantations around the world began to produce more rubber, leaving Iquitos with lavish European-style buildings but little economy. Since then, Iquitos has experience small economic booms thanks to its oil and forest industries; however, it has struggled to return to the splendor of the early twentieth century.
Nonetheless, Iquitos continues to remain a city full of elegant restaurants that flank the riverside; motorized tricycles whiz manically through the streets; and locals that mill around the Plaza de Armas enjoying the rainforest cuisine. According to the 2007 census, 60% and 80% of the population is indigenous or is considered descendants of indigenous people. It is therefore often described as a cultural center that summarizes the arts of the Peruvian Amazon, and on the weekends, many indigenous people travel to the city to present dances and sell their handicrafts.
Popular tourist destinations in the city include the Mercado Belen, the central market famous for its jungle food; the Museum of Amazonian Indigenous Cultures, with its exhibitions promoting the culture and identity of native communities; and the Casa de Fiero, the majestic iron house designed by Gustave Eiffel (of Eiffel tower fame).
