Cañete is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

and commune in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, located in the

Arauco Province Arauco Province () is one of three 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 regions, Zona Central and ...

of the

Biobío Region The Biobío Region ( ) is one of Chile's sixteen regions (first-order administrative divisions). With a population of 1.5 million, thus being the third most populated region in Chile, it is divided into three provinces: Arauco, Biobío and C ...

. It is located 135 km to the south of Concepción. Cañete is known as a "Historic City" (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

: ''ciudad histórica'') as it is one of the oldest cities in the country. The

Battle of Tucapel The Battle of Tucapel (also known as the Disaster of Tucapel) is the name given to a battle fought between Spanish conquistador forces led by Pedro de Valdivia and Mapuche (Araucanian) Indians under Lautaro that took place at Tucapel, Chile on D ...

and

Pedro de Valdivia Pedro Gutiérrez de Valdivia or Valdiva (; April 17, 1497 – December 25, 1553) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' and the first royal governor of Chile. After having served with the Spanish army in Italy and Flanders, he was sent to South America in ...

's death happened near the city's current location. Cañete was also an important location in the

Arauco War The Arauco War was a long-running conflict between colonial Spaniards and the Mapuche people, mostly fought in the Araucanía region of Chile. The conflict began at first as a reaction to the Spanish conquerors attempting to establish cities a ...

History

Etymology

Cañete was founded under the name of "Cañete de la Frontera" in 1558. The city was established by Governor García Hurtado de Mendoza and named in honor of his father, Andrés Hurtado de Mendoza, 3rd Marquis of Cañete. The marquis' title originated from the Castile town Cañete.

Fort Tucapel

The area was known as Tucapel, meaning ''taking by force'' in

Mapudungun Mapuche ( , ; from 'land' and 'people', meaning 'the people of the land') or Mapudungun (from 'land' and 'speak, speech', meaning 'the speech of the land'; also spelled Mapuzugun and Mapudungu) is either a language isolate or member of the s ...

. In October 1553,

founded the Fort Tucapel, next to the present city of Cañete. Two months later, native

Mapuche The Mapuche ( , ) also known as Araucanians are a group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging e ...

s destroyed the fort. Valdivia returned on 25 December 1553, to rebuild the fort, but the

army was once again defeated in the

, an early battle in the

. Valdivia was captured and killed.

''Cañete de la Frontera''

In January 1558, Governor García Hurtado de Mendoza founded the city as ''Cañete de la Frontera'' three kilometers to the west of the present location of the city. Hurtado de Mendoza named

Alonso de Reinoso Alonso de Reinoso (or Reynoso) (1518–1567) was a Spanish Conquistador in Honduras, Mexico, Peru and Chile. He was born in Torrijos, Spain, Torrijos Toledo (province), Toledo, Spain in 1518. He was married to Catalina Flores de Riofrío before he ...

corregidor Corregidor (, , ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of Cavite City and thus the province of Cavite. It is located west of Manila, the nation's capi ...

of Cañete. The Mapuches, led by Caupolican, besieged the city, but they were defeated in the battle of the Fort of Cañete. Subsequent military defeats forced governor Francisco de Villagra to abandon the city in January 1563. Three years later, a new city was started under the orders of Rodrigo de Quiroga but it did not prosper either due to constant attacks by the Mapuches.

Refounding

The present city was founded on 12 November 1868 by colonel Cornelio Saavedra Rodríguez as part of the pacification of Araucanía.

21st century

On 12 November 2006 a major car accident occurred near Canete when a bus with 28 people fell into the River Tucapel and 19 passengers died. 17 of the victims were soldiers who were members of the band Reinforced Regiment No. 7 "Chacabuco" Concepción. The group was traveling to a celebration for the anniversary of the founding of Cañete. The press titled the accident "''tragedy of Cañete''," like the tragedy of Antuco.

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Michelle Bachelet Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (; born 29 September 1951) is a Chilean politician who served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2014 to 2018, becoming the first woman to hold the presidency. She was re-elected in December ...

, the minister of National Defense Vivianne Blanlot and Commander-in-Chief Óscar Izurieta traveled to Concepción for the funerals. The 2010 Chilean earthquake caused major damage to the city. The Kallvu Llanka hospital, which was being constructed, was severely impacted, delaying its opening from 8 October 2010 till 22 October 2013.

Geography

Climate

Demography

According to the National Statistics Institute's 2002

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

, Cañete spans over an area of and has 31,270 inhabitants (15,625 men and 15,645 women). 63.4% (19,839) live in

urban area An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...

s and 36.6% (11,431) reside 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 are typically desc ...

s. The population grew by 6.6% (1,947 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses. Projections indicated that the population in 2009 was 33,535 inhabitants.

Administration

Cañete is a commune, the smallest administrative subdivision in Chile. It is a third-level

administrative division Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...

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, borough cou ...

, headed by an

alcalde ''Alcalde'' (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and Administration (government), administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor (position), corregidor, the presiding officer o ...

(mayor) who is directly elected by the public every four years and leading a six-member council. The municipality of Cañete is a member of the Association of Municipalities of the

, also known as Arauco 7. Within the

electoral divisions of Chile This article covers the electoral division of Chile, which involves two distinct systems: # Chamber of Deputies of Chile, Chamber of Deputies and Senate of Chile, Senate: Chile is divided into electoral districts and senatorial constituencies for ...

, Cañete 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 Bourb ...

by Manuel Monsalve (PS) and Iván Norambuena (UDI) as part of the 46th electoral district, together with Lota, Lebu, Arauco, Curanilahue, Los Álamos, Contulmo and

Tirúa Tirúa () is a Chilean commune and town in Arauco Province, Biobío Region. The 2010 Chile earthquake led to a permanent uplift of Tirúa of about 180 cm above sea level, the highest recorded uplift related to the earthquake. This caused a lar ...

. 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 el ...

by Víctor Pérez Varela (UDI) and Felipe Harboe Bascuñán (PPD) as part of the 13th senatorial constituency (Biobío-Coast).

Transportation

Las Misiones Airport is located in northern Cañete. The city also has several bus terminals downtown, including Pedro de Valdivia terminal, Jeldres terminal, and Biobio-Jota Ewert terminal. Intercity buses run to Santiago, Concepción, and Temuco.

Human resources

Education

Cañete has 34 primary and secondary schools, of which 24 are public. Top schools include Liceo Gabriela Mistral, Instituto San José and Liceo B-56. Higher education institutions include the Technological Institute of the Catholic University of the Most Holy Conception and the CFT Lota Arauco of the University of Concepción.

Public health

The Intercultural Hospital Kallvu Llanka (

for "The Universe's Jewel") is located on route P-60-R, in northern Cañete. It offers traditional medicine while channeling and honoring

mapuche The Mapuche ( , ) also known as Araucanians are a group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging e ...

culture through aspects such a circular waiting rooms similar to

ruka Ruka may refer to: People Given name *, Japanese actress *, Japanese football player *, Japanese snowboarder * (稲場るか, born 2000), Japanese AV actress * (佳苗るか, born 1993), Japanese screenwriter and former AV actress *, Japanese profe ...

s. The hospital was opened in 2013.

Culture

Museums

The Mapuche Museum of Cañete is located in the southern part of the city and has been open since 1968.

Rural culture

Every year, between January and February the Agricultural, Livestock and Forestry Fair of Cañete (Spanish: ''Feria Agrícola, Ganadera y Forestal,'' FAGAF) takes place on the Anike farm two kilometers from the city. The fair is considered the largest in the region and one of the most important agricultural events in

. It usually hosts more than one hundred exhibitors and features activities such as loose mare threshing, agricultural and forestry machinery exhibitions and gastronomy contests, amongst other activities. Additionally, the fair incorporates the local culture by showcasing Mapuche and Chilean farm traditions. Since 2015, the fair has been held in conjunction with Cañete Week which features singers, music groups and comedians. Another event, the Farmer Fest of Cayucupil, takes place 14 km from the city center in a rural area.

Movies

Cañete is continuing to grow its film and entertainment presence. The Lebu International Film Festival is headquartered in the city. Also, Jorge Olguín's 2014 movie '' Whispers of the Forest'' was filmed around Cañete, mainly in Reussland Park and Morales Castle, 10 km north of the city.

Notable people

* Juan Antonio Ríos (1888-1946) – Chilean politician and lawyer,

President of Chile The president of Chile (), officially the president of the Republic of Chile (), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Chile. The president is responsible for both Government of Chile, government administration and s ...

between 1942 and 1946. * Clímaco Hermosilla (born 1944) – Chilean professor, historian and writer.

References

External links

*
Municipality of Cañete
{{DEFAULTSORT:Canete Populated places established in 1548 Populated places in Arauco Province 1548 establishments in the Spanish Empire