Lebu is a port

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 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 ...

administered by the Municipality of Lebu. Lebu is also the capital of

Arauco Province Arauco Province ( es, Provincia de Arauco) is one of four provinces of the Chilean region of Bío Bío. It spans a coastal area of just south of the mouth of the Biobío River, the traditional demarcation between the nation's major natural reg ...

in Bío Bío Region. It lies on the south bank of the mouth of the

Lebu River Lebu River an important river of the Arauco Province. It has his sources in the western slope of the Nahuelbuta Range to the east of the city and port of Lebu, capital of the province and named for the river. The Lebu is formed from the confluen ...

. The commune includes Mocha Island.

History

Lebu was first settled a little up the

from the site of the current city at Fort Santa Margarita built by García Hurtado de Mendoza at the beginning of 1557 on the north bank of the Lebu River by the salto de Gualgalén, to the west of the ford of Cupaño. In 1566 Governor

Rodrigo de Quiroga Rodrigo de Quiroga López de Ulloa (c. 1512 – February 20, 1580) was a Spanish conquistador of Galician origin. He was twice the Royal Governor of Chile. Early life He was the son of Hernado Camba de Quiroga and of María López de Ulloa. In ...

built a fort almost in the same place as the present city of Lebu under the command of captain Agustín de Ahumada. Besieged here by the

Mapuche The Mapuche ( (Mapuche & Spanish: )) are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who s ...

it was finally abandoned in 1569. Fort Santa Margarita was destroyed in 1599, in 1603 it was rebuilt as Fort ''Santa Margarita de Austria'' by the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Alonso de Ribera Alonso de Ribera y Zambrano (; 1560 – March 9, 1617) was a Spanish soldier and twice Spanish royal governor of Chile (1601–1605 and 1612–1617). Early life Born in Úbeda, he was the illegitimate son of Hidalgo and Captain Jorge de Ribera Za ...

. In the 20th century the town developed as coal mining centre. The

1960 Valdivia earthquake The 1960 Valdivia earthquake and tsunami ( es, link=no, Terremoto de Valdivia) or the Great Chilean earthquake (''Gran terremoto de Chile'') on 22 May 1960 was the most powerful earthquake ever recorded. Various studies have placed it at 9.4– ...

destroyed numerous houses in the town.

Culture

Every summer, since 2001, the Lebu International Film Festival is held inside the cave. The commune has three museums: The Lebu Mining Museum, which stores pieces related to the history of coal mining in the area; the Tamaya Museum, inaugurated in 1998, oriented to the natural history of the commune and the province, and the Ethnographic and Historical Archaeological Museum of Punta Morhuilla. In addition, annually, the Gonzalo Rojas Pizarro Literary Contest is held, international literary contest that is organized by Club de amigos de la Biblioteca Municipal de Lebu, Samuel Lillo Figueroa, and sponsored by the Regional Government of the Region of Biobío, the Municipality of Lebu and Impresos Lebu. Among its winners are named writers such as Alejandro Pla (Spain), José Baroja (Chile), Daniel Matul (Guatemala), Boris Rozas (Argentina), among others. The foregoing led to the appearance of two literary-artistic magazines: ''Chonchón'' 32 and ''Sudras y Parias''. Likewise, during the years 2018 and 2019, the realization of the I and II Latin American Meeting of poets and narrators in Lebu, events which were attended by authors from the Province of Arauco and from

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, El Salvador and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, among others.

Climate

Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as

warm-summer Mediterranean A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

(Csb).

Demographics

As a commune, Lebu is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Carlos González Anjari (PS). 2] Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Lebu is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Manuel Monsalve (PS) and Iván Norambuena (UDI) as part of the 46th electoral district, (together with Lota, Arauco, Curanilahue, Los Álamos, Cañete, Contulmo and Tirúa). The commune is represented in the Senate by Victor Pérez Varela (UDI) and Mariano Ruiz -Esquide Jara (PDC) as part of the 13th senatorial constituency (Biobío-Coast).

Administration

As a commune, Lebu is a third-level administrative division of Chile 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 counc ...

, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Carlos González Anjari ( PS). Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Lebu is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Manuel Monsalve (PS) and Iván Norambuena ( UDI) as part of the 46th electoral district, together with Lota, Arauco,

Curanilahue Curanilahue () is a Chilean commune and city in Arauco Province, Biobío Region. Its name comes from Mapundungun "Cura", meaning "Stone", and "Nilahue" meaning "Ford". Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Instit ...

Los Álamos Los Álamos is a Chilean commune and city in Arauco Province, Biobío Region. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Los Álamos spans an area of and has 18,632 inhabitants (9,456 men and 9,176 women). Of ...

, Cañete, Contulmo and Tirúa. The commune is represented in the Senate by Victor Pérez Varela (UDI) and Mariano Ruiz-Esquide Jara ( PDC) as part of the 13th senatorial constituency (Biobío-Coast).

References

External links

*
Municipality of Lebu
{{Authority control Geography of Biobío Region Communes of Chile Capitals of Chilean provinces Populated places established in 1862 Port cities in Chile Colonial fortifications in Chile Populated places in Arauco Province 1862 establishments in Chile Coasts of Biobío Region