La Cruz () 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 an ...

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

The Mediterranean climate of Chile's Zona Central allows for a rich quality and variety of

flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' ...

and

fauna Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as ''Biota (ecology ...

. Because of this climate, La Cruz produces many fruits and vegetables, and is known as the "National Capital of the Avocado", The town is also one of the main producers of chirimoya, a fruit with a green shell and white meat. The commune of La Cruz spans an area of .

Demographics and culture

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 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 ...

, La Cruz spans has 12,851 inhabitants (6,348 men and 6,503 women). Of these, 10,611 (82.6%) 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 ...

s and 2,240 (17.4%) 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 descr ...

s. The population grew by 19.3% (2,080 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses. The Camilo Henríquez Municipal Library, created in 1954, has over 9,000 books and multimedia.

Economy

The economy is sustained principally through agriculture, highlighted by avocados and chirimoyas, and flower cultivation. Beginning in the year 2001, various changes were made in road infrastructure, urban and territorial improvements and significant advances in the areas of health and education.

Administration

As a

, La Cruz is a third-level administrative division of Chile, administered by a communal council (''consejo comunal''), which is headed by a directly elected alcalde. The current alcalde is Filomena Navia Hevia. The communal council has the following members: * Amaia Arrazota Larrondo * Edmundo Olivares Perez * Alejandra Espinoza Díaz * Filomena Navia Hevia * Brenda Cataldo Gaete * Hector Cerda Vergara Within the electoral divisions of Chile, La Cruz is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Eduardo Cerda ( PDC) and Andrea Molina ( UDI) 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 o ...

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 limi ...

, 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 ...

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,

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, Calera,

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, Pococ ...

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 by Ignacio Walker Prieto ( PDC) and Lily Pérez San Martín ( RN) as part of the 5th senatorial constituency (Valparaíso-Cordillera).

Health

The local health center has experienced since 2001 a profound transformation in infrastructure, medical equipment and increased staffing of attention, which places it among the best in the region. It has specialists in the field of Pediatrics and Gynecology, is open Monday through Saturday and his appearance is that of a true private clinic. There psychologists, physiotherapists, nutritionists, podiatrists to provide comprehensive care for crucinos. It offers health care programs at country pioneers such as home delivery of psychiatric liaison, visiting bedridden patients, mammography, dental, ultrasound, providing lenses, sterilization of dogs and cats among others.

Education

In recent years, education in the district has experienced a major change in infrastructure and educational achievements. They have built classrooms, new restrooms, playgrounds, sports Multicanchas roofing, replacement of furniture and interactive whiteboards. They have integrated the municipal gardens that serve children 3 to 5 years. It also has three nurseries located in the Leonardo da Vinci School, Bologna and Mary Alonso Chacón. From 2007 taught computer classes, physical education and English with teachers specializing in the subject from kindergarten level to fourth means, pioneering program in the municipal education. Students have SIMCE and psu workshops to reinforce their learning. Besides the curriculum prescribed by the ministry students have workshops and psubanda SIMCE instrumental art rock, handball, table tennis, catechesis, dance, chess, folklore, football, volleyball, basketball, since its formation on trial of the former Mrs. Maite Larrondo Laborde community "must be comprehensive." In the commune are the following establishments municipal elementary and secondary education: *College Bologna (CITY), with nursery, garden, prekindergarten, kindergarten, elementary and adult education. *Wilson College Domingo Santa Cruz Pocochay sector (municipal), with garden, prekindergarten, kindergarten and elementary. *School Leonardo da Vinci (CITY), with nursery, garden, prekindergarten, kindergarten, elementary, secondary and adult education. *The College Rojas (CITY), with garden, prekindergarten, kindergarten and elementary. *Colegio María Alonso Chacon (CITY), with nursery, garden, prekindergarten, kindergarten, elementary and adult education (primary and secondary) *Liceo San Isidro (subsidized private) ODEC Foundation., Preschool, kindergarten, elementary, secondary. *School High School, (Private), Basic. *Agricultural technical school Bishop Rafael Infante Lira (subsidized private), Media.

References

External links

Municipality of La Cruz
{{Authority control Communes of Chile Populated places in Quillota Province