searched day and night until a shepherd found the statue standing above an immense boulder by the valley. The people believed that the thieves had left the statue in fear of being discovered by the search parties. The statue was returned in a procession back into town. A few weeks later, the same disappearance occurred again and another search ensued. The statue was again found in the same spot where it was found before. Lo and behold, the disappearance happened a third time. The people never understood why or how this was happening. Finally, it was suggested that maybe the statue was asking for a shrine in the valley at the location where it was being found. The town then built a small Chapel there, and it became a place of constant visits by the people. Before long, it became the center of activity, and the entire town was moved to where is located today. The statue of Our Lady of the Rosary still sits above the immense boulder which is located on the right side of the Cathedral. Economy Abancay is the agricultural center, as well as the industrial center of most of Apurímac. Sugar is milled, along with rum and other liquor distillation. There are copper mines in the area, and they are also known for their sericulture. Population The population as of 2014 is 58 000 which has more than doubled the city in size since 1990 when the population was 29,200. Tourism The Carnival is the town's main celebration festival. It is famous as one of the best Peruvian ethnomusical festivals. It takes place from the last week of February through the last week of March. The comparsas contest and Yunsa games, with people dressing in local traditional costumes, fill the streets of the city. Every social group, from market vendors, students, government officials, teachers, etc., participate in the games which also have the support from the local and regional government due its cultural relevance. The city's surroundings have some astonishingly beautiful landscapes, such as the Ampay National Sanctuary, a wildlife sanctuary and a frontier within the Andes, and the Clouded Forest of the Amazonian Basin, located north of the city where the mountain called Apu Ampay (the Lord of Ampay, in the indigenous cosmology) is also located. Apu Ampay reaches heights of approximately 5,300 meters above sea level. There are also cave paintings, meteorite crash