San Carlos, Chile

San Carlos is the name of a city and municipality ("comuna") of Ñuble Province in the Bío-Bío Region (8th Region) of Chile.

Geography and agriculture

San Carlos is a bustling market town located roughly in the center of Chile's agricultural heartland about 365 km south of Santiago, 133 km northeast of Concepción, the regional capital and 32 km north of Chillán, the provincial capital. It sits on an alluvial plain between nearby Chillán and the Perquilauquén river. The municipality covers an area of 874 km². Its territory lies almost entirely within the fertile, central plain or "depresión intermedia", (Chilean Central Valley). Its countryside is reputed for its bountiful production of various crops as well as orchards (apple, grapes, berries, and more recently, kiwi).

San Carlos is bordered on the west by the "comuna" of Ninhue; on the north by Ñiquén and Cauquenes (the latter in Cauquenes province); on the east, by San Fabián, and on the south, by San Nicolás, Chillán and Coihueco.

Geographic Coordinates

* Altitude: 151 mt.
* Latitude: 36° 25' 60S
* Longitude: 72° 2' 60W

Climate

San Carlos has a mild Mediterranean climate. The summers are hot and mainly dry (November to March) with temperatures reaching up to 34 degrees Celsius on the months of December, January and February.

Demography

Today, San Carlos is the second most populated city of Ñuble Province. According to the 2002 census the population of the city was 29,359 (14,035 male, 15,324 female) while that of the "comuna" of San Carlos was 50,088 (24,910 male, 25,178 female). Roughly, 62% of the population is urban and 38% is rural. According to recent estimations ("SUBDERE", Chile) the "comuna" has a population of 51,119 in 2006. Between the 1992 census and that of 2002, the population of San Carlos grew at a 4.1% rate (.41% annual rate).

The municipality encompasses a large number of villages, hamlets and other rural entities. Its second most populated locality, after San Carlos, is Cachapoal, with 1,164 residents in 2002 (578 male, 586 female). This village has been considered as "urban" in the 2002 census by the Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Chile.

History

The city was founded by a Spaniard, don José Joaquín del Pino de Rozas y Negrete on July 3, 1800.

On May 15, 1813, San Carlos was the setting for one of the most important battles of the Chilean War of Independence, the Battle of San Carlos, where the patriot army, led by general José Miguel Carrera defeated the royalist army. The outcome of the battle set the ground for the patriot uprising in the whole region.

ociety

Education

San Carlos has about 50 elementary schools, 10 of them in the urban area, as well as 6 high schools, 5 of them in the urban area. The city also has a university (Universidad La República).

Religion

According to the 2002 census, 25,141 residents of San Carlos municipality aged 15 years or older identified themselves as Catholics, equivalent to 68.51% of the total population, while 22.01% described themselves as Evangelical protestants, 0.59% as Jehovah's Witnesses and 0.35% as Latter-day Saints. About 5.03% of the population identified themselves to be atheist or agnostic, while 3.19% declared to follow other religions.

Notable residents

San Carlos is the birthplace of one of the most widely recognized names in Chilean and Latin American folk music, Violeta Parra. She has long been acclaimed as a great folk artist, author, painter, researcher and singer. The house where this famous artist was born is located in the city of San Carlos. It was declared National Monument by Law Decree 668 on September 29, 1992. San Carlos is also the birthplace of other well-known artists. Among them there are painters such as Hernán Gazmuri and a popular band from the 1970s, "Los Ángeles Negros".San Carlos is also the birthplace of Paula Alejandra Gaete Ramirez, the Australian academic and humanist best known for her philosophical writings. Gaete Ramirez currently resides in Perth, Western Australia.

Local administration

Mayor

* Salvador Iván Rodríguez Rodríguez (PDC)

Municipal councillors

* Víctor Sepúlveda Aparicio: Independent - Humanist Party
* Pedro Méndez Sánchez: RN
* Carlos Cortés Fuentes: RN
* César Ortiz Gallegos: UDI
* Daniel García Binimelis: PDC
* Lucrecia Flores Rodríguez: PS

Twinning

San Carlos is twinned with the Spanish city of Baena located in Andalucia, southern Spain, in the province of Córdoba. San Carlos' founder José Joaquín del Pino de Rozas y Negrete was born in Baena.

External links

* [http://www.sancarlos.cl/ "Comuna" de San Carlos (in Spanish)]
* [http://www.fallingrain.com/world/CI/6/San_Carlos2.html Maps, weather for San Carlos]
* [http://local.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=San+Carlos,+Chile&ie=UTF8&z=12&ll=-36.429294,-71.955643&spn=0.143918,0.33577&t=k&om=1 Aerial view of San Carlos, Chile (Google maps)]
* [http://www.georgiasouthern.edu/~suazoj/sancar.htm About San Carlos (author: Jorge W Suazo, in Spanish and English)]
* [http://www.turistel.cl/v2/secciones/mapas/ruteros/biobio.htm Map of central Chile]