Rancagua () 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 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 ...

and part of the

Rancagua conurbation Rancagua conurbation, or Greater Rancagua, is a Chilean conurbation in the O'Higgins Region composed of Rancagua and some parts of Machalí and Gultro. It has an estimated population of 307,004 inhabitants for 2008. Several villages are expec ...

. It is the capital of the Cachapoal Province and of the

O'Higgins Region The Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins Region ( es, Región del Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins, ), often shortened to O'Higgins Region ( es, Región de O'Higgins), is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions. It is subdi ...

, located south of the

national capital A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses the g ...

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 ...

. It was originally named Santa Cruz de Triana by Spanish colonists. In 2012, its population was 232,211. The main economic activities range from

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, wi ...

food production The food industry is a complex, global network of diverse businesses that supplies most of the food consumed by the world's population. The food industry today has become highly diversified, with manufacturing ranging from small, traditional, ...

and services to minor industrial activities. The city also serves as the administrative and legal center of the region. Together with

Machalí Machalí is a Chilean commune and city in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Machalí spans an area of and has 28,628 inhabitants (14,297 men and 14,331 women ...

and Gultro, it forms the

. After

Curicó Curicó (), meaning "Black Waters" in Mapudungun (originally meaning "Land of Black Water"), is the capital city of the Curicó Province, part of the Maule Region in Chile's central valley. The province lies between the provinces of Colcha ...

Talca Talca () is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune in Chile located about south of Santiago, Chile, Santiago, and is the capital of both Talca Province and Maule Region (7th Region of Chile). As of the 2012 census, the ...

and Concepción, it is one of the most important and densely populated cities of the south central zone of Chile.

History

Foundation period

The Rancagua Valley was occupied by the local

Picunche The Picunche (a Mapudungun word meaning "North People"), also referred to as ''picones'' by the Spanish, were a Mapudungun-speaking people living to the north of the Mapuches or Araucanians (a name given to those Mapuche living between the Itata an ...

. They fell briefly under the control of the

Inca Empire The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...

in the 15th century. Its remains in structures can still be found near the city today. Through their civil engineering, the Inca accomplished expeditions to the south of their empire. Rancagua was founded by Spanish explorer

José Antonio Manso de Velasco José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

, who founded several cities in the central area of Chile. The settlement was first called Villa Santa Cruz de Triana. The city is notable in

Chilean history The territory of Chile has been populated since at least 3000 BC. By the 16th century, Spanish conquistadors began to colonize the region of present-day Chile, and the territory was a colony between 1540 and 1818, when it gained independence from ...

as the scene of the

Disaster of Rancagua The Battle of Rancagua, also known in Chile as the Disaster of Rancagua, occurred on October 1, 1814, to October 2, 1814, when the Spanish Army under the command of Mariano Osorio defeated the rebel Chilean forces led by Bernardo O’Higgins ...

of 1814, when Chilean forces fighting for independence from Spain were defeated. This marked the beginning of the period known as the ''Reconquista'' (Reconquest), an attempt by Spain to regain control of Chile.

Today

In recent years the city has become one of the most attractive cultural and tourist centers in the

, largely because of the vineyards that have been developed in the area. Rancagua also offers sports centers and easy access to smaller villages and towns. Other visitors are attracted to the archeological sites, such as

Pukara de La Compañia Pukara (Aymara and Quechuan "fortress", Hispanicized spellings ''pucara, pucará'') is a defensive hilltop site or fortification built by the prehispanic and historic inhabitants of the central Andean area (from Ecuador to central Chile and no ...

and the nearby Rio Cipreses nature reserve. Both can be visited by private vehicle or with local tour companies. The city is connected to the capital,

, by the

Panamerican 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 to ...

(

Chile Route 5 Chile Highway 5 or Route 5 known locally as ''Ruta 5'' is Chile's longest route, . It is part of the Pan-American Highway. Stretch It runs from the Peruvian border connecting with Peru Highway 1 north of Arica to Puerto Montt where it connects ...

). In addition, the Metrotren connects the metro service in Santiago to Rancagua by train. Rancagua is home of the University of Rancagua (in Spanish), the first private university to be established in the

. The region is known for ''

El Teniente El Teniente ("The Lieutenant") is an underground copper mine located in the Chilean Andes, above mean sea level. It is in the commune of Machalí in Cachapoal Province, Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins Region, near the company town of ...

'' in the nearby

Andes mountain range 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 l ...

: it is the "largest underground copper mine in the world." It is located about to the east of the city. El Teniente is a division of the state-owned mining enterprise,

Codelco Codelco (''Corporación Nacional'' ''del'' ''Cobre de Chile'' or, in English, the National Copper Corporation of Chile) is a Chilean state-owned copper mining company. It was formed in 1976 from foreign-owned copper companies that were nationali ...

. The city's Braden Copper Stadium, named for the American company that developed the mine through the first half of the 20th century, was one of the four venues of the

1962 FIFA World Cup The 1962 FIFA World Cup was the seventh edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It was held from 30 May to 17 June 1962 in Chile. The qualification rounds took place bet ...

. More recently, it houses the O'Higgins professional football (soccer) club, one of the leading teams in Chilean professional football. Every year, the

National Championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

of Chilean rodeo is held in the

Medialuna Monumental de Rancagua A medialuna (literally ''half moon'') is crescent-shaped corral used for rodeos, the official sport in Chile. They are generally in diameter. Chilean rodeos are not quite the same sport famous in the American West; they involve two riders on hor ...

. In 2015, the city hosted the

2015 Copa América The 2015 Copa América was the 44th edition of the Copa América, the main international football tournament for national teams in South America, and took place in Chile between 11 June and 4 July 2015. The competition was organized by CONMEBOL, ...

, receiving two matches of the tournament.

Demographics

The population of Rancagua is primarily either of Spanish descent or

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 ...

, with a particularly strong Basque influence. There are also residents of German, Croatian, Italian, Greek, Levantine Arab, Swiss, French, English or Irish ancestry living in the city. Indigenous Mapuche workers migrate from the south and there are also some

Roma gypsies The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with si ...

. In addition, there has been increasing immigration to the city from neighbouring South American countries such as

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 ...

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

and

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

. According to the 2002 census 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 ...

, Rancagua spans an area of and has 214,344 inhabitants (104,879 men and 109,465 women). Of these, 206,971 (96.6%) lived in urban areas and 7,373 (3.4%) in rural areas. The population grew by 14.4% (27,020 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Notable people born in Rancagua

Germán Riesco Germán Riesco Errázuriz (; May 28, 1854 – December 8, 1916) was a Chilean political figure, and he served as President of Chile between 1901 and 1906. Early life He was born in Rancagua, the son of Mauricio Riesco, a Spanish merchant and o ...

(1854–1916), President of Chile between 1901 and 1906. *

Lucho Gatica Luis Enrique Gatica Silva (11 August 1928 – 13 November 2018),
''The New York Times''. Retriev ...

bolero Bolero is a genre of song which originated in eastern Cuba in the late 19th century as part of the trova tradition. Unrelated to the older Spanish dance of the same name, bolero is characterized by sophisticated lyrics dealing with love. It has ...

singer. * Cristóbal González, footballer. *

José Victorino Lastarria José Victorino Lastarria (; 23 March 1817 – 14 June 1888) was a Chilean writer, legislative deputy, senator, diplomat, and finance minister. Early life José Victorino Lastarria was the son of Francisco Lastarria y Cortés and Carmen Santander ...

(1817–1888), writer and politician. *

Mariano Díaz Mariano Díaz Mejía (; born 1 August 1993), known as Mariano, is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for La Liga club Sevilla. Shortly after making his debut for Badalona in 2011, Mariano joined Real Madrid, where he played in ...

, photographer, graphic designer, and writer. * Clarence Acuña, ex-footballer. * Bryan Rabello, footballer. * Mario Núñez, ex-footballer. * Francisco Javier Quintanilla, theologian * Ximena Cristi, painter

Administration

As a commune, Rancagua 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 counci ...

and 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) a ...

, who is directly elected by the people for a four-year term.

Culture

This area is known as the "huaso province" after the name of the Chilean cowboy, the ''

huaso A huaso () is a Chilean countryman and skilled horseman, similar to the American cowboy, the Mexican charro (and its northern equivalent, the vaquero), the gaucho of Argentina, Uruguay and Rio Grande Do Sul, and the Australian stockman. ...

.'' The population is a mixture of both

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

an (including

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

immigrants) and

indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...

races and cultures. The region has a homogeneous culture known as ''Chileanidad'' and a

influence is evident. Rancagua and the Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins Region was settled by Spaniards (notably Andalusian,

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

ese and

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

se) and other Europeans. French and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

families established agriculture, including the important

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

industry: the Wine Route is one of the main tourist attractions of the Colchagua valley. Breweries can be found as well, the legacy of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

and

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

immigration. Livestock development and herding was especially influenced by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

and

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

n settlers. Because the city is relatively close to Santiago, there has led to a growing urban influence in the local culture. Rancagua is fast becoming a suburb of Santiago's upper-class professional workforce.

Festivals

Transportation

Public Transport is provided by Trans O'Higgins by six lines of busses.

Mining - El Teniente

Situated 44 km east of Rancagua and 75 km south of the capital, Santiago,

claims to be the largest underground copper mine in the world (see below). The El Teniente orebody has been known and worked on a small scale for many years. In the 16th century it became the property of the Jesuits as it was located on their Hacienda de la Compañia de Jesús. They operated a small mine known as the Socavón de los Jesuitas. Following their expulsion, the hacienda was acquired in 1768 by Don Mateo de Toro y Zambrano y Ureta. Between 1819 and 1823 his heirs restarted and enlarged the workings, bringing in a mining engineer to help. However, these and subsequent attempts to establish anything more than a small scale mine failed for lack of capital and the property was eventually bought by the American, William Braden, for approximately US$100,000. The same year Braden formed Rancagua Mines, which became the Braden Copper Company, in association with old colleagues from ASARCO, including Barton Sewell. Work started on establishing a mine in 1905 after Government permission had been acquired but progress was slow because of difficulty of access and a hard winter climate. A small gravity plant was soon erected but it was not until 1912 that a flotation plant was erected at Sewell. Control passed to Kennecott in 1915 and it ran the mine until

nationalization Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...

in 1971.

Climate

Rancagua has a

Mediterranean climate 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 ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''Csb''), with clearly marked seasons. Summers are generally extremely dry, with cool mornings and hot afternoons, while winters are mild with cold mornings and occasional periods of heavy rainfall that averages around each year – almost all of which occurs during a handful of storms between May and August. In some years there can be a little snow.

Sports

Desfile 2 de Octubre Bicentenario Batalla Rancagua 01

The sport in the city is varied including football, basketball and hockey. The city's most famous football club is O'Higgins, who currently plays in the first category of Chilean soccer, the

Primera División de Chile Primera may refer to * Nissan Primera, a car * Primera Air, a former airline * Primera división (disambiguation), multiple top division football leagues * Primera, Texas, a town in Cameron County, Texas * Alí Primera Alí Rafael Primera Rosel ...

. O'Higgins had great past glories, with the help of

they became one of the leading teams of Chile during the 1970s, participating on several occasions in the

Copa Libertadores The CONMEBOL Libertadores, also known as the Copa Libertadores de América ( pt, Copa Libertadores da América), is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is the highest level of competition in S ...

, their best performance being a semifinal appearance. In 2013, they won the

for the first time, followed by a win in the Supercopa de Chile in 2014. Amongst other football clubs in the city are Tomás Greig and Enfoque, both of which play in the

Tercera División de Chile Tercera División de Chile (Third Division of Chile), is the fourth tier of Chilean football (soccer). It is organized by the Federación de Fútbol de Chile and the Asociación Nacional de Fútbol Amateur de Chile. It is both the fourth level of ...

. Since 2015 the Autódromo Internacional de Codegua in the neighboring commune of

Codegua Codegua () is a Chilean commune and city in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region. According to the 2002 census, the commune population was 10,796 and has an area of 286.9 km². Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Sta ...

held the ''Chile Grand Prix'' in the

Superbike World Championship Superbike World Championship (also known as WorldSBK, SBK, World Superbike, WSB, or WSBK) is a silhouette-class road racing series based on heavily modified production motorcycles, also known as superbike racing. The championship was founded i ...

, the circuit was supposed to also host a race in the 2016 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season, although those plans were cancelled.

Stadiums and arenas

Estadio El Teniente Estadio El Teniente, also known as Estadio El Teniente-Codelco for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-purpose stadium in Rancagua, Chile. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium can fit 14,087 people and was built in 1945 with ...

, host of the

and

. *

, host the

Campeonato Nacional de Rodeo The National Championship of Chilean Rodeo (Campeonato Nacional de Rodeo chileno) is the highest-level rodeo competition in Chile. *Place: Medialuna de Rancagua *City: Rancagua *Riders with more titles: Juan Carlos Loaiza (9 titles), Ramón Card ...

and

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...

. * Autódromo Internacional de Codegua. * Gimnasio Hermógenes Lizana * Estadio Municipal de Rancagua * Gimnasio Asociación de Básquetbol de Rancagua * Estadio Guillermo Saavedra

Twin towns – sister cities

Rancagua is twinned with: *

Logroño Logroño () is the capital of the province of La Rioja, situated in northern Spain. Traversed in its northern part by the Ebro River, Logroño has historically been a place of passage, such as the Camino de Santiago. Its borders were disputed b ...

, Spain *

Paju Paju () is a city in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. Paju was made a city in 1997; it had previously been a county (''gun''). The city area of Paju is ,"Paju (Gyeonggi-do Province)." ''Naver Encyclopedia of Knowledge''. Naver, 2015. 4 Mar. 2016. ...

, South Korea *

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, Argentina

Gallery

Plaza de Los Héroes de Rancagua.JPG, Los Heroes Square Monumento a Bernardo O"Higgins en Plaza Los Héroes Rancagua.JPG,

Bernardo O'Higgins Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme (; August 20, 1778 – October 24, 1842) was a Chilean independence leader who freed Chile from Spanish rule in the Chilean War of Independence. He was a wealthy landowner of Basque-Spanish and Irish ancestry. Althou ...

Monument WLMCL - Plaza de Los Héroes 02.JPG, Rancagua cathedral at night Paseo Independencia.jpg, Paseo Independencia, Rancagua IntendenciaO'Higgins.JPG,

former Intendencia Gobernación de Provincia de Cachapoal 06.jpg, Cachapoal province government's building (currently the Regional Presidential Delegation) Medialuna de Rancagua.jpg,

Medialuna de Rancagua A medialuna (literally ''half moon'') is crescent-shaped corral used for rodeos, the official sport in Chile. They are generally in diameter. Chilean rodeos are not quite the same sport famous in the American West; they involve two riders on h ...

References

External links

*
Municipality of Rancagua
*
Official Newspaper`s City Website
*
Non-Official Website of Rancagua`s Soccer Team
{{Authority control Communes of Chile Capitals of Chilean regions Capitals of Chilean provinces Populated places established in 1743 Populated places in Cachapoal Province 1743 establishments in the Spanish Empire