Longaví (in

Mapudungun Mapuche (, Mapuche & Spanish: , or Mapudungun; from ' 'land' and ' 'speak, speech') is an Araucanian language related to Huilliche spoken in south-central Chile and west-central Argentina by the Mapuche people (from ''mapu'' 'land' and ''che ...

: ''snake's head'') is a

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 eas ...

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 de ...

and commune located in

Linares Province Linares ( es, Provincia de Linares) is one of four provinces of the central Chilean region of Maule (VII). The provincial capital and most populous center is the city of Linares. Administration As a province, Cachapoal is a second-level administ ...

, one of the four

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

s that make up the

Maule Region The Maule Region ( es, Región del Maule, ) is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions. Its capital is Talca. The region derives its name from the Maule River which, running westward from the Andes, bisects the region and spans a ...

, in the geographical center of Chile.

Geography

The commune has a surface of and is bordered by

Linares Linares may refer to: People *Fernando de Alencastre, 1st Duke of Linares (1641–1717), Spanish nobleman and military officer; viceroy of New Spain from 1711 to 1716 *Andreu Linares (born 1975), Spanish futsal player * Art Linares, American polit ...

in the north, Retiro and Parral in the south, San Javier in the west and Colbún in the east. The

Achibueno River Achibueno is a river, tributary of the Loncomilla, in Linares Province, Maule Region of Chile, where it forms the border between the municipalities of Linares and Longaví. It is born from the homonym glacial lake, situated to the east of the ...

separates Longaví from Linares while the Longaví River separates it from Retiro. The city of Longaví lies on the left margin of the Liguay River, in the fertile

central plain Central Plain or Central Plains may refer to: Regions * Zhongyuan, a plain in Northern China in the lower reaches of the Yellow River which was the cradle of Chinese civilisation ** Central Plains Economic Zone * Central Plain (Wisconsin), one ...

, and is located to the south 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, who ...

, the nation's capital, and to the south of Linares, the provincial

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 fo ...

. Longaví is linked with the rest of the country by the

Pan-American Highway The Pan-American Highway (french: (Auto)route panaméricaine/transaméricaine; pt, Rodovia/Auto-estrada Pan-americana; es, Autopista/Carretera/Ruta Panamericana) is a network of roads stretching across the Americas and measuring about in ...

('' Ruta 5 Sur''). The

foothills Foothills or piedmont are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range, higher hill range or an upland area. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills and the adjacent topographi ...

of the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

occupy the eastern part of the commune. The terrain there is mountainous and hilly, with beautiful landscapes, a well-developed hydrographic network and dense woods on the hills. Among the snow-covered mountains, the mountain Longaví (

Nevado de Longaví Nevado de Longaví is a volcano in the Andes of central Chile. The high volcano lies in the Linares Province, which is part of the Maule Region. It features a summit crater and several parasitic vents. The volcano is constructed principally fr ...

), a

stratovolcano A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a conical volcano built up by many layers (strata) of hardened lava and tephra. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile with a summit crater and p ...

, stands for its beauty and characteristic conical shape. It is a scenic spot seen from virtually every point of the central plain of the province and its neighboring ones.

Demography

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 in ...

of the National Statistics Institute, the Longaví commune has 28,161 inhabitants (14,649 men and 13,512 women). Of these, 21,955 (78.0%) lived in

rural 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 ...

areas, while the city of Longaví had a population of 6,206 (22.0%). Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 0.5% (143 persons).

Notable people born in Longaví

* Arturo Alessandri Palma: politician, statesman and twice the President of Chile

History

Most of what is today the commune of Longaví occupies what was formerly a vast Jesuit estate, The land had been granted to the

Society of Jesus , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

in 1639. After the Jesuits' expulsion from South America in 1767, the estate passed to the hands of Mateo Sotomayor. In 1904, the village of Longaví was officially created and the commune was founded in 1937.

Economy

Agriculture, in particular the cultivation of

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly '' Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and ''Porteresia'', both wild and domestica ...

and other

cereal A cereal is any grass cultivated for the edible components of its grain (botanically, a type of fruit called a caryopsis), composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran. Cereal grain crops are grown in greater quantities and provide more foo ...

s, constitutes the main economic activity of Longaví.

Administration

As a commune, Longaví 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 coun ...

, 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) ...

who is directly elected every four years. The 2012-2016 alcalde is Mario Briones Araice ( PPD).The municipal council has the following members: * Matusalen Villar Morales( DC) * Manuel San Martín Romero ( RN) * Robín Araya Acevedo ( UDI) * Luis Briones Araice ( PRSD) * Gonzalo Jara Reyes ( PPD) * Lisandro Villalobos Tapia ( UDI) 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 t ...

, Longaví 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 ...

by Guillermo Ceroni ( PPD) and Ignacio Urrutia ( UDI) as part of the 40th electoral district, together with Retiro, Parral, Cauquenes, Pelluhue and Chanco. 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 e ...

by Hernán Larraín UDI and Manuel Matta (

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 11th senatorial constituency (Maule-South).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Longavi Populated places in Linares Province Communes of Chile Populated places established in 1937 1937 establishments in Chile