Curacaví () is a

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 ...

and

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Melipilla Province Melipilla Province ( es, Provincia de Melipilla) is one of six provinces in the Santiago Metropolitan Region of central Chile. The provincial capital is the city of Melipilla. Administration As a province, Melipilla is a second-level administra ...

of central

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

Santiago Metropolitan Region Santiago Metropolitan Region ( es, link=no, Región Metropolitana de Santiago) is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions. It is the country's only landlocked administrative region and contains the nation's capital, Santiago. Mos ...

. Its climate is temperate Mediterranean with a long dry season, experiencing high temperatures in summer and low temperatures in winter. Curacaví is located on the Ruta 68 between the coastal conurbation of

Viña del Mar Viña del Mar (; meaning "Vineyard of the Sea") is a city and commune on central Chile's Pacific coast. Often referred to as ("The Garden City"), Viña del Mar is located within the Valparaíso Region, and it is Chile's fourth largest city w ...

and

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

and

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

which has proved a popular home for expats working in Santiago. Curacaví is a

situated between the hills of the coastal mountain range in central

, located in the Metropolitan Region of Santiago, specifically in

Melipilla Melipilla (Mapudungun for "four Pillans") is a Chilean commune and capital city of the province of the same name, located in the Santiago Metropolitan Region southwest of the nation's capital. The commune spans an area of . Demographics Accord ...

Province, with an area of 693 km² and borders the following municipalities:

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

Quilpué Quilpué is a city and capital of the Marga Marga Province in central Chile's Valparaíso Region. It is part of the Greater Valparaíso metropolitan area. It is widely known as "City of the Sun" (''Ciudad del Sol'') and the urban part of it als ...

, Lampa,

Pudahuel Pudahuel (, Mapudungun "place of pools/water" or "place where seagulls gather") is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. Santiago's international airport Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez is located there. ...

, Maipú,

Padre Hurtado Padre Hurtado () is a Chilean commune in the Talagante Province, in the Metropolitan Region. Part of the Greater Santiago conurbation and one of the outermost communes of it, the commune is named after Saint Alberto Hurtado, who was popularly k ...

, and Maria Pinto. Curacaví is integrated along with the communes of

Talagante Talagante () is a commune and the capital city of the province of the same name in the Santiago Metropolitan Region of central Chile. The word ''Talagante'' in Quechua comes from ''talacanta'', meaning "Lazo de Hechicero", which was the proper n ...

, Peñaflor,

Isla de Maipo Isla de Maipo is a town and commune of the Talagante Province in central Chile's Santiago Metropolitan Region. Geography Isla de Maipo can be found in the Chilean Central Valley approximately southwest of the metropolitan area of Santiago and ab ...

, Maria Pinto, El Monte, San Pedro and

Alhué Alhué () is a Chilean town and commune located in Melipilla Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Alhué spans an area of and has 4,435 inhabitants (2,343 men an ...

in the number 31 Electoral District and also belongs to the 7th Chilean Senate District ( Santiago west). The commune covers five districts: Curacaví, Bustamante,

Lo Prado Lo Prado () is a Chilean commune located in Santiago, which is itself part of the Metropolitan region of Chile. It is part of the Greater Santiago urban area. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Lo P ...

, Zapata and Caren.

Rapid Expansion

Curacaví is now home to various exclusiv

gated communities A gated community (or walled community) is a form of residential community or housing estate containing strictly controlled entrances for pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles, and often characterized by a closed perimeter of walls and fences. ...

called condominios

These large luxury developments range from 500 hectares upwards with each individual property starting at around 1 hectare. The development of the condominios began in the 1990s but has accelerated dramatically in recent years. The area is therefore home to increasing numbers of wealthy

commuters who are both Chilean and foreign. The momentum is largely due to fast transport links and a better quality of life in the face of Santiago's increasing pollution problems. Fast commuting times are now offered through the Ruta 68 and the Lo Prado tunnel which offers journey times of 35 minutes to Santiago.

Geography and climate

Immersed among the hills of the coastal mountain range, Curacaví occupies an area of and borders the following communes:

, Lampa,

, Maipú,

, and María Pinto. The climate is mild Mediterranean with a long dry season with high temperatures in the summer and low temperatures in the winter.

Demographics

According to the 2002

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of the

National Statistics Institute National Institute of Statistics may refer to: *National Institute of Statistics of Bolivia *National Institute of Statistics of Cambodia *National Institute of Statistics and Census of Costa Rica *National Institute of Statistics and Census of Nica ...

, Curacaví spans an area of and has 24,298 inhabitants (12,351 men and 11,947 women). Of these, 15,645 (64.4%) lived in

urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, t ...

s and 8,653 (35.6%) in

rural area In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are descri ...

s. The population grew by 27.5% (5,245 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses. There is a fast growing expat community in Curacav�

Notable people

Juan Williams Rebolledo Juan Williams Rebolledo (1825 in Curacaví, Melipilla Province – 24 June 1910 in Santiago), was a Chilean rear admiral who was the organizer and commander-in-chief of the Chilean navy in 1879 at the beginning of the War of the Pacific. ...

– Commander-in-chief of the

Chilean Navy The Chilean Navy ( es, Armada de Chile) is the naval warfare service branch of the Chilean Armed Forces. It is under the Ministry of National Defense. Its headquarters are at Edificio Armada de Chile, Valparaiso. History Origins and the Wars ...

at the beginning of the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific ( es, link=no, Guerra del Pacífico), also known as the Saltpeter War ( es, link=no, Guerra del salitre) and by multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought ...

* Rosamel del Valle –

Avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

poet

Administration

As a

, Curacaví is a third-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 A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counci ...

, 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 Juan Pablo Barros Basso (IND), and the council members are: * Lidia Araos Henriquez (

UDI Udi may refer to: Places * Udi, Enugu, a local government areas and city in Nigeria * Udi, a place in the Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh, India People * Udi Gal (born 1979), Israeli Olympic sailor * Udi Vaks (born 1979), Israeli Olympic judoka ...

) * Cristian Galdames Santibañez ( PS) * Paul Alvarado Muñoz ( PDC) * Marco Antonio Guzmán Márquez (

) * Sandra Ponce Baeza ( RN) * Francisco Carrasco González ( PC) 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 ...

, Curacaví 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 Denise Pascal ( PS) and Gonzalo Uriarte (UDI) as part of the 31st electoral district, (together with

, Peñaflor, El Monte,

, María Pinto,

, San Pedro and

). 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 Guido Girardi Lavín ( PPD) and Jovino Novoa Vásquez (UDI) as part of the 7th senatorial constituency (Santiago-West).

Airport

Curacavi is home to a small airport situated by the motorway Ruta 68br>

Chicha

Curacaví is famous in Chile for its

Chicha ''Chicha'' is a fermented (alcoholic) or non-fermented beverage of Latin America, emerging from the Andes and Amazonia regions. In both the pre- and post-Spanish conquest periods, corn beer (''chicha de jora'') made from a variety of maize land ...

productio

There is a popular Chilean song which sings about the Chicha from Curacaví

Kross Brewery

Curacaví is home to the Beer in Chile, Kross brand of

craft beers Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis o ...

Road from Santiago to Valparaiso

Curacaví is on the most-used old horse trail between Valparaiso and Santiago which had been formed during the

Inca The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...

period. Since 1553 it was called the royal highway. The old road crossed

, the Zapata road and Curacaví finally entering

on the road of San Pablo. The original royal highway was made between the years 1792 and 1797 however

Ambrosio O'Higgins Ambrosio Bernardo O'Higgins y O'Higgins, 1st Marquess of Osorno (c. 1720 – 19 March 1801) born Ambrose Bernard O'Higgins (''Ambrós Bearnárd Ó hUiginn'', in Irish), was an Irish-Spanish colonial administrator and a member of the O'Higgins fa ...

changed the old road by the current

route.

Mercedes Canal

The Mercedes Canal (Spanish: '' Canal de las Mercedes''), which irrigates the whole valley of Curacavi was built by Jose Manuel Balmaceda before becoming president. The

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow un ...

was started in 1854 and finished 30 years later with a total length of 120 km and with a flow rate 10 m³/s.

Parish School

The first Parish School was built by the priest Don Eduardo Miles in 1885 which is still working and has done so almost without interruption educating much of the local population.

Gallery

File:Curacavi Puangue Alhue.jpg, alt=Puangue at Alhue, Ford of the Puangue River at

near Curacaví. File:Curacavi Puangue Piedra Tacita.jpg, alt=Puangue Piedra Tacita, "Tacitas" (cupules) on a boulder at the banks of the Puangue River. File:Curacavi Museo de la Vivienda.jpg, alt=Museo de la Vivienda, A house at the museum ''Museo de la Vivienda Tradicional Rural Unifamiliar Chilena''.

References

External links

*
Municipality of Curacaví

Curacavi.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Curacavi Communes of Chile Populated places in Melipilla Province