Coquimbo is a port

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

, commune and

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

of the Elqui Province, located on the Pan-American Highway, in the Coquimbo Region of Chile. Coquimbo is situated in a valley south of La Serena, with which it forms Greater La Serena with more than 400,000 inhabitants. The commune spans an area around the harbor of . The average temperature in the city lies around , and precipitation is low.

History

The area was originally occupied by indigenous people, who used it as a settlement and for fishing purposes. The natural harbour in Coquimbo was taken over by Pedro de Valdivia from Spain in 1550. The gold and copper industry in the region led to the city's importance as a port around 1840 and many Europeans especially from England settled in Coquimbo. In 1879 it was recognised as a town. The city was on the main path of totality of the Solar eclipse of July 2, 2019.

Demographics

According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Coquimbo had 163,036 inhabitants (79,428 men and 83,608 women). Of these, 154,316 (94.7%) lived in urban areas and 8,720 (5.3%) in rural areas. The population grew by 32.8% (40,270 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a commune, Coquimbo is a fourth-level

administrative division of Chile The administrative division or territorial organization of Chile exemplifies characteristics of a unitary state. State administration is functionally and geographically decentralized, as appropriate for each authority in accordance with the law. ...

administered by a municipal council, headed by an

alcalde Alcalde (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian '' cabildo'' (the municipal council) a ...

who is directly elected every four years. The 2012-2016 alcalde is Cristian Galleguillos Vega. Within the

electoral divisions of Chile Chile has two distinct electoral division systems: * To elect members of the Chamber of Deputies and of the Senate, Chile is divided into several electoral divisions, namely electoral districts and senatorial constituencies. * To elect members of ...

, Coquimbo is represented in the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

by Pedro Velásquez ( Ind.) and Matías Walker (

PDC PDC may refer to: In science and technology Chemistry, biology and medicine * Phosducin, a human protein and gene in the retina * Pyridinium dichromate (Cornforth reagent), a chromium-based oxidant * Pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, an enzyme ...

) as part of the 8th electoral district, (together with Ovalle and Río Hurtado). The commune is represented in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

by Gonzalo Uriarte ( UDI) and Jorge Pizarro Soto (

) as part of the 4th senatorial constituency (Coquimbo Region).

Economy

The city is an industrial and shipping center. It is growing quickly, registering a 32.8% growth rate from 1992 to 2002. Tourism has started to develop. It is an access point for beach towns to the south, such as Guanaqueros and

Tongoy Tongoy is a Chilean coastal town in the commune of Coquimbo in Elqui Province, Coquimbo Region. It is located to the south of Chile's second oldest city, La Serena, next to Guanaqueros beach, on a rocky promontory opposite the Pacific Oce ...

. The port is still important for shipping, especially fruit and copper from mines in the region. Wine is also produced in the area.

Sports

The city has a football team called Coquimbo Unido which plays in the

Chilean Primera División B Campeonato Primera B ( en, Chilean First B Division) is the second tier in the Chilean football league system, and is organized by the Asociación Nacional de Fútbol Profesional. It was established in 1952 as ''Segunda División'', and later rena ...

. Their home games are played at the Francisco Sánchez Rumoroso Municipal Stadium, which has a capacity of 17,750 seats. They are nicknamed "Los Piratas", because of the tradition of pirates that arrived to the coasts of Coquimbo. Their biggest rival is Club de Deportes La Serena.

International relations

Twin towns – Sister cities

Coquimbo is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: *

Elbląg Elbląg (; german: Elbing, Old Prussian: ''Elbings'') is a city in the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland, located in the eastern edge of the Żuławy region with 117,390 inhabitants, as of December 2021. It is the capital of Elbląg County. ...

, Poland

Gallery

File:Coquimbo.JPG, Aerial view File:Estadio Francisco Sanchez Rumoroso1.jpg, Estadio Municipal Francisco Sánchez Rumoroso File:Casino coquimbo.JPG, Casino of Coquimbo File:Coquimbo por la noche.JPG, Coquimbo at night File:CAM 0202.JPG, Coquimbo at night File:Mezquita de Coquimbo5.jpg,

Mohammed VI Mosque The Mohammed VI Center for Dialogue of Civilizations ( es, Centro Mohammed VI para el Diálogo de las Civilizaciones) is a mosque in Coquimbo, Chile. The structure is a replica of the Kutubiyya Mosque in Marrakesh. It was funded by the Kingdom of ...

File:Plaza de Coquimbo.JPG, Plaza de Coquimbo

References

External links

Municipality of Coquimbo

Travel Coquimbo

Photo of Coquimbo

Arriendo a Turistas

Arriendos en Coquimbo
Official website {{Authority control Communes of Chile Port cities in Chile 1879 establishments in Chile Capitals of Chilean provinces Populated places in Elqui Province Coasts of Coquimbo Region