Villa El Salvador in the context of Villa María del Triunfo

Pueblos jóvenes (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈpweβlos ˈxoβenes] , lit. 'young towns') is the term used for the shanty towns that surround Lima and other cities of Peru. Many of these towns have developed into districts of Lima such as Comas, Los Olivos and Villa El Salvador.

The Cono Sur or Lima Sur (South Lima in English) is one of the five areas that make up the Lima Metropolitan Area. It is located in the southern part of the metropolis hence its name. This socioeconomic levels of this district are varied. Most of the population however belongs to the lower and middle classes. But it is the area closest to the districts of the modern zone and residential areas like Miraflores, La Molina, Santiago de Surco, etc. Many of the residents belonging to these districts are immigrants from various regions of the country. As they settled there, some developed successful communities such as Villa El Salvador, while others still live in poor housing known as Pueblos jóvenes. The area is popular for its beaches, farms and factories in that population greatly increases during the summer months.

San Juan de Miraflores is one of the forty-three districts that make up the province of Lima, located in the department of the same name, in Peru. It is a new town, having been formed by the massive number of people moving from other towns of Metropolitan Lima (such as Miraflores, Surquillo, La Victoria, among others) and from the countryside. During the early 1960s, San Juan de Miraflores was mostly a desert area.

San Juan de Miraflores is divided into zones ("A", "B", "C", "D", "E", and "K"). In the early 80's, people from Cuzco, Ayacucho, Pasco, and many of the other departments that were under the attack of terrorists chose San Juan and Villa El Salvador as their new home. As new residents were coming into SJM, two new zones were created: Pamplona Alta and Pamplona Baja. This name was taken in honor of some of the Spanish missionaries (who were from Pamplona, Spain) who offered their help to the residents. One of Pamplona Alta's mains streets, "Pista Nueva" or "New Street", is an example of how new the area is. When it was first settled, many people lived without electricity, water or plumbing, often building their houses from reed mats into the steep hills, with treacherous paths leading to the houses at the top. As residents could afford building materials, they would begin to reinforce these reed mats with plywood, bricks, or whatever else they could find.