Isla de Maipo is a town 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 ...

of the

Talagante Province Talagante Province ( es, Provincia de Talagante, ) is one of six provinces of the Santiago Metropolitan Region in central Chile. The capital is the city of Talagante, located approximately southwest of the national capital of Santiago. The most ...

in 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 ...

Geography

Isla de Maipo can be found in the

Chilean Central Valley The Central Valley ( es, Valle Central), Intermediate Depression, or Longitudinal Valley is the depression between the Chilean Coastal Range and the Andes Mountains. The Chilean Central Valley extends from the border with Peru to Puerto Montt in ...

approximately southwest of the metropolitan area 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, whos ...

and about from the city 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 ...

. The commune spans an area of . In general, the commune is characterized as predominantly rural, which is reflected in its landscape of colonial houses, cultivated farms, vineyards, natural sites and the predominance of agricultural activities, which is carried out by the majority of its population. The Maipo River is the most important in the whole metropolitan area, because it supports the highest population density in Chile and is also the main stream which irrigates the area.

Economy

Isla de Maipo is an agricultural community, primarily devoted to growing vines and other fruits typical of Mediterranean climate, such as lemons, avocados and apples. ¨The most important wineries in the town are De Martino (Santa Inés), Canepa, Viña Tarapacá, Santa Ema and Terramater. Also, there are other small companies that produce wine for bigger wineries. However, one of the most important problems in Isla de Maipo is still the unemployment and the small number of qualified jobs.

Traditions

One of its traditions is the ''Fiesta de La Virgen de La Merced''. This feast is celebrated the last Sunday of September each year and attracts more than 80,000 pilgrims from all parts of the region, across the country and abroad. Also, ''La Fiesta de la Vendimia'' (Grape harvest feast) is celebrated every year, calling together local inhabitants and foreign tourists. The festival allows tourists to familiarize themselves with the culinary art of the commune, especially the high quality of its wines. The ''Plaza de Armas'' is converted into a large dining room, where one can hear folk and other varieties of music.

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 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 ...

, Isla de Maipo had 25,798 inhabitants (13,095 men and 12,703 women). Of these, 18,865 (73.1%) 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 6,933 (26.9%) 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 26.8% (5,454 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a

, Isla de Maipo is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by

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 counc ...

, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. For the years 2012-2016, the alcalde is Carlos Adasme Godoy ( PDC), and his council members are: * Pedro Montalva Montalva ( PS) * Maximiliano Genskowski Inostroza (

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 ...

) * Emilio Astudillo Rojas ( PPD) * José Riquelme Herrera ( PDC) * Katherinne Flores Trincado ( RN) * Valeria Manríquez Urrea ( PS) Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Isla de Maipo is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Denise Pascal ( PS) and Gonzalo Uriarte (UDI) as part of the 31st electoral district, (together with

, Peñaflor, El Monte,

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 Acco ...

, María Pinto,

Curacaví Curacaví () is a city and commune in the Melipilla Province of central Chile's Santiago Metropolitan Region. Its climate is temperate Mediterranean with a long dry season, experiencing high temperatures in summer and low temperatures in winter. ...

, Alhué, San Pedro and

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 ...

). The commune is represented in the Senate by Guido Girardi Lavín (PPD) and Jovino Novoa Vásquez (UDI) as part of the 7th senatorial constituency (Santiago-West).

References

External links

Official link
- Municipality of Isla de Maipo {{Communes in Santiago Metropolitan Region Communes of Chile Populated places in Talagante Province