La Calera 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
Quillota Province
Quillota Province ( es, Provincia de Quillota) is one of eight provinces of the central Chilean region of Valparaíso (V). Its capital is the city of Quillota (pop. 75,916).
Administration
As a province, Quillota is a second-level administrative ...
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 ...
's fifth
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
of
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 ...
.
Geography
La Calera is located northeast of
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 northwest of
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 ...
, in the
Aconcagua River
The Aconcagua River is a river in Chile that rises from the conflux of two minor tributary rivers at above sea level in the Andes, Juncal River from the east (which rise in the Nevado Juncal) and Blanco River from the south east. The Aconcagua ...
Valley. Its area is .
La Calera borders
Nogales to the north and west,
Hijuelas
Hijuelas () is a city and commune in the Quillota Province of central Chile's fifth region of Valparaíso.
Geography
Hijuelas spans an area of in Chile's Zona Central. It is known as The Capital of the Flowers (Spanish: ''La Capital de los F ...
to the east, and
La Cruz to the south.
The city of La Calera is partly enclosed by
Route 5 and
Route 60.
History
La Calera's name comes from the production of quicklime (Spanish "''cal''") that is obtained from the processed
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
(
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
: ''piedra caliza'') (calcium carbonate), extracted from the hills at the south of the town, which were already exploited by the Chilean and Peruvian natives for some 400 years previously. Therefore, La Calera means "quicklime mine".
Established by the Jesuits as a settlement of the
Jesuit reduction
Reductions ( es, reducciones, also called ; , pl. ) were settlements created by Spanish rulers and Roman Catholic missionaries in Spanish America and the Spanish East Indies (the Philippines). In Portuguese-speaking Latin America, such red ...
, the estate of La Calera belonged to the Jesuits up to 1767, to the
expulsion of Jesuits by the decree of King
Charles III of Spain
it, Carlo Sebastiano di Borbone e Farnese
, house = Bourbon-Anjou
, father = Philip V of Spain
, mother = Elisabeth Farnese
, birth_date = 20 January 1716
, birth_place = Royal Alcazar of Madrid, Spain
, death_d ...
from 1 March 1767. The
Bavaria
Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total lan ...
n Jesuit missionary
Karl von Haimhausen
Karl von Haimhausen (originally Aymausen) (28 May 1692, at Munich, of a noble Bavarian family – 7 April 1767, in Chile) was a German Jesuit theologian and missionary.
Life
On 20 October 1702, he entered the Society of Jesus, and, in 1724, went a ...
was prominent in the area's early development. The turning point came in 1842, when it was acquired by
Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
n citizen
Ildefonso Huici (father of socialite
Eugenia Errázuriz
Eugenia Huici Arguedas de Errázuriz (15 September 1860 – 1951) was a Chilean patron of modernism and a style leader of Paris from 1880 into the 20th century, who paved the way for the modernist minimalist aesthetic that would be taken up in fas ...
) who started industrialising it using local resources.
[Alvaro Mercado Jara. Paisaje re.creativo en la cuenca del Aconcagua. V. Reseña histórica de la calera surgimiento y desarrollo de la comuna desde el siglo xv al xxi. Universidad Católica de Valparaíso. 2010] By 1844, a small town had emerged consisting mainly in a number of workers' dwellings located around the factories and production centres established in it, giving life to what La Calera is today.
Economy
Due to its strategic crossroads location on the central valley and the pioneering and entrepreneurial work of locals and immigrants (
Palestinian immigrants, Germans, Italians), La Calera has managed to remain a significant commercial and services centre to the interior of the Valparaiso Region, even though it is not the capital city of the Province. It also remains an important industrial base, employing a fair share of the rural population around it.
Industries and commercial markets
*
Cemento MelónSopravalAlgamar*
Falabella
The Falabella is an Argentine list of horse breeds, breed of small horse. It is among the smallest of horse breeds, with a height at the withers in the range ..
History
The ancestral stock of the horse of South America descended from horses bro ...
Shopping Plaza
Ripley Shopping Plaza
Demographics
According to data from the Census 2002 by 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 ...
, the commune's population was 49,503 inhabitants (24,134 men and 25,369 women). Of these, 47,836 (96.6%) 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 1,667 (3.4%) 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.
Its 2007 estimated population was 50,644. La Calera holds 3.21% of the total population of the
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
. The city's central location in between
Santiago de Chile
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 ...
and
Valparaiso on the coast made the city of La Calera a true crossroads of industrial development.
Amongst the important
immigrant communities set in La Calera before 1950, Palestinians and Italians stand out, which makes the town with the largest proportion of Palestine people in
Latin America
Latin America or
* french: Amérique Latine, link=no
* ht, Amerik Latin, link=no
* pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
. The small but well prominent Palestinian community was recently reported in international news media. Even a former Mayor of the city was of Palestinian descent. As mentioned, Italians as well as
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
immigrants have established a thriving agricultural economy.
La Calera has a
mestizo
(; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed Ethnic groups in Europe, European and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also r ...
cultural identity and over half the people have some Amerindian ancestry. It is estimated that
Spanish descendants and
mestizo
(; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed Ethnic groups in Europe, European and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also r ...
s make up more than 90% of the population.
Notable Caleranos
The
demonym
A demonym (; ) or gentilic () is a word that identifies a group of people (inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place (hamlet, village, town, city, region, province, ...
for a person from La Calera is ''Calerano'' for a man, or ''Calerana'' for a woman. Notable Caleranos include:
*
Eugenia Errázuriz
Eugenia Huici Arguedas de Errázuriz (15 September 1860 – 1951) was a Chilean patron of modernism and a style leader of Paris from 1880 into the 20th century, who paved the way for the modernist minimalist aesthetic that would be taken up in fas ...
*
Elías Figueroa Branden
*
Manfred Max-Neef
Artur Manfred Max Neef (; 26 October 1932 – 8 August 2019) was a Chilean economist of German descent. Max-Neef was born in Valparaíso, Chile. He started his career as a professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley in the ea ...
Administration
As a commune, La Calera 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 communal council (''Concejo Comunal''), which is headed by a directly elected mayor. The current mayor, as of December 2008, is Dr. Eduardo Martínez Machuca (
Christian Democrat
Christian democracy (sometimes named Centrist democracy) is a political ideology that emerged in 19th-century Europe under the influence of Catholic social teaching and neo-Calvinism.
It was conceived as a combination of modern democratic ...
). The communal council has the following members:
* Trinidad Rojo (
RN)
* Margarita Osorio (independent)
* Ricardo Aliaga (
DC)
* Gustavo Arancibia (
PS)
* Orietta Valencia (
PRSD)
* Lautaro Correa (PS)
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 ...
, La Calera 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 Eduardo Cerda (
PDC) and
Andrea Molina
Andrea Molina Oliva (born 28 March 1970) is a Chilean actress, businesswoman, and politician. Early in her acting career, she gained popularity for her starring role in ''Las historias de Sussi'', a TV series adapted from the film '' Sussi''. She ...
(
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
...
) as part of the 10th electoral district, (together with
La Ligua
La Ligua () is a Chilean city and commune, capital of the Petorca Province in Valparaíso Region.
The city is known for its textile manufacturing and traditional Chilean pastry production.
Demographics
According to data from the 2002 Census of ...
,
Petorca
Petorca is a Chilean town and commune located in the Petorca Province, Valparaíso Region. The commune spans an area of . Since 2010 Petorca has been affected by a long-term drought aggravated by poor water administration that have allowed limit ...
,
Cabildo,
Papudo
Papudo is a Chilean commune located in the Petorca Province, Valparaíso Region. Most of its permanent residents live in the small town of the same name, whereas primarily new development for the affluent population of Santiago concentrates in th ...
,
Zapallar
The town and commune of Zapallar is in Chile's Petorca Province, which is part of the Valparaíso Region.
The community covers 288 km2 (111 square miles) of land.
A horseshoe bay protects the beach resort town of Zapallar, which was built alo ...
,
Puchuncaví
Puchuncaví is a town and commune in the Valparaíso Province of central Chile's fifth region of Valparaíso. It spans a coastal area of .
History
The history of Puchuncaví and its surroundings goes back over 500 years, being one of the oldest ...
,
Quintero
Quintero is a Chilean city and commune in Valparaíso Province, in the Valparaíso Region, 30 kilometers north of Valparaíso. The commune spans an area of . It was the first port in the country, created during the expedition of Diego de Almagr ...
,
Nogales La Cruz,
Quillota
Quillota is a city located in the Aconcagua River valley in central Chile's Valparaíso Region. It is the capital and largest city of Quillota Province, where many inhabitants live in the outlying farming areas of San Isidro, La Palma, Pocochay ...
and
Hijuelas
Hijuelas () is a city and commune in the Quillota Province of central Chile's fifth region of Valparaíso.
Geography
Hijuelas spans an area of in Chile's Zona Central. It is known as The Capital of the Flowers (Spanish: ''La Capital de los F ...
). 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
Ignacio Walker Prieto
Ignacio is a male Spanish and Galician name originating either from the Roman family name Egnatius, meaning born from the fire, of Etruscan origin, or from the Latin name "Ignatius" from the word "Ignis" meaning "fire". This was the name of sev ...
(
PDC) and
Lily Pérez San Martín (
RN) as part of the 5th senatorial constituency (Valparaíso-Cordillera).
Universities
Universidad AconcaguaUniversidad BolivarianaCTF Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso
References
External links
Municipality of La Calera
{{Authority control
Communes of Chile
Populated places in Quillota Province
Populated places established in 1844
1844 establishments in Chile