La Calera 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 the Quillota Province of central

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 ...

's fifth

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

Valparaíso Valparaíso () is a major city, Communes of Chile, commune, Port, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. Valparaíso was originally named after Valparaíso de Arriba, in Castilla–La Mancha, Castile-La Mancha, Spain ...

Geography

La Calera is located northeast of

, and northwest of

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, in the Aconcagua River Valley. Its area is . La Calera borders Nogales to the north and west,

Hijuelas Hijuelas () is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune in the Quillota Province of central Chile's fifth Regions of Chile, region of Valparaíso Region, Valparaíso. Geography Hijuelas spans an area of in Chile's Zona C ...

to the east, and La Cruz to the south. The city of La Calera is partly enclosed by Route 5 and Route 60.

History

La Calera's name comes from the production of quicklime (Spanish "''cal''") that is obtained from the processed

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

( Spanish: ''piedra caliza'') (calcium carbonate), extracted from the hills at the south of the town, which were already exploited by the Chilean and Peruvian natives for some 400 years previously. Therefore, La Calera means "quicklime mine". Established by the Jesuits as a settlement of the Jesuit reduction, the estate of La Calera belonged to the Jesuits up to 1767, to the expulsion of Jesuits by the decree of King

Charles III of Spain Charles III (; 20 January 1716 – 14 December 1788) was King of Spain in the years 1759 to 1788. He was also Duke of Parma and Piacenza, as Charles I (1731–1735); King of Naples, as Charles VII; and King of Sicily, as Charles III (or V) (1735� ...

from 1 March 1767. The

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

n Jesuit missionary Karl von Haimhausen was prominent in the area's early development. The turning point came in 1842, when it was acquired by

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

n citizen Ildefonso Huici (father of socialite Eugenia Errázuriz) who started industrialising it using local resources.Alvaro Mercado Jara. Paisaje re.creativo en la cuenca del Aconcagua. V. Reseña histórica de la calera surgimiento y desarrollo de la comuna desde el siglo xv al xxi. Universidad Católica de Valparaíso. 2010 By 1844, a small town had emerged consisting mainly in a number of workers' dwellings located around the factories and production centres established in it, giving life to what La Calera is today.

Economy

Due to its strategic crossroads location on the central valley and the pioneering and entrepreneurial work of locals and immigrants ( Palestinian immigrants, Germans, Italians), La Calera has managed to remain a significant commercial and services centre to the interior of the Valparaiso Region, even though it is not the capital city of the Province. It also remains an important industrial base, employing a fair share of the rural population around it.

Industries and commercial markets

* Cemento Melón
SopravalAlgamar
*

Falabella The Falabella is an Argentine list of horse breeds, breed of small horse. It is among the smallest of horse breeds, with a height at the withers in the range .. History The horses of South America descend from Andalusian horse, Andalusian and ...

Shopping Plaza
Ripley Shopping Plaza

Demographics

According to data from the Census 2002 by the National Statistics Institute, the commune's population was 49,503 inhabitants (24,134 men and 25,369 women). Of these, 47,836 (96.6%) lived 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 1,667 (3.4%) 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 are typically desc ...

s. Its 2007 estimated population was 50,644. La Calera holds 3.21% of the total population of the

. The city's central location in between

Santiago de Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital city, capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's Chilean Central Valley, central valley and is the center ...

and Valparaiso on the coast made the city of La Calera a true crossroads of industrial development. Amongst the important immigrant communities set in La Calera before 1950, Palestinians and Italians stand out, which makes the town with the largest proportion of Palestine people in

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

. The small but well prominent Palestinian community was recently reported in international news media. Even a former Mayor of the city was of Palestinian descent. As mentioned, Italians as well as French immigrants have established a thriving agricultural economy. La Calera has a

mestizo ( , ; fem. , literally 'mixed person') is a term primarily used to denote people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturall ...

cultural identity and over half the people have some Amerindian ancestry. It is estimated that Spanish descendants and

s make up more than 90% of the population.

Notable Caleranos

The

demonym A demonym (; ) or 'gentilic' () is a word that identifies a group of people ( inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place ( hamlet, village, town, city, region, ...

for a person from La Calera is ''Calerano'' for a man, or ''Calerana'' for a woman. Notable Caleranos include: * Eugenia Errázuriz * Elías Figueroa Branden * Manfred Max-Neef

Administration

As a commune, La Calera 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 communal council (''Concejo Comunal''), which is headed by a directly elected mayor. The current mayor, as of December 2008, is Dr. Eduardo Martínez Machuca (

Christian Democrat Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian ethics#Politics, Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics. Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo ...

). The communal council has the following members: * Trinidad Rojo ( RN) * Margarita Osorio (independent) * Ricardo Aliaga ( DC) * Gustavo Arancibia ( PS) * Orietta Valencia ( PRSD) * Lautaro Correa (PS) 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 ...

, La Calera 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 Eduardo Cerda ( PDC) and Andrea Molina ( UDI) as part of the 10th electoral district, (together with La Ligua, Petorca, Cabildo, Papudo, Zapallar, Puchuncaví, Quintero, Nogales La Cruz, Quillota and

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

Universities

Universidad Aconcagua

Universidad Bolivariana

CTF Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso

References

External links

Municipality of La Calera
{{Authority control Communes of Chile Populated places in Quillota Province Populated places established in 1844 1844 establishments in Chile