Rengo 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 located in the Zona Central of

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 ...

, situated in the

Cachapoal Province Cachapoal Province () is one of three provinces of the central Chilean region of O'Higgins (VI). Its capital is the city of Rancagua (pop. 214,344). Geography and demography According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute (''I ...

of the

O'Higgins Region The Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins Region (, ), often shortened to O'Higgins Region (), is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions. It is subdivided into three provinces. It is named in honour of Bernardo O'Higgins Riquel ...

at a distance of south of the city of

Rancagua Rancagua () is a city and commune in central Chile and part of the Rancagua conurbation. It is the capital of the Cachapoal Province and of the O'Higgins Region, located south of the national capital of Santiago. It was originally named Sa ...

and south of the national capital

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 ...

. It was named after the courageous

Toqui Toqui (or Toki) (Mapudungun for ''axe'' or ''axe-bearer'') is a title conferred by the Mapuche (an indigenous Chilean and Argentines, Argentinian people) on those chosen as leaders during times of war. The toqui is chosen in an assembly or parl ...

Rengo for his particular bravery at the

Battle of Lagunillas The Battle of Lagunillas was a battle in the Arauco War on November 8, 1557, between the army of García Hurtado de Mendoza and the Mapuche army near some shallow lakes a league south of the Bio-Bio River. History In anticipation of Mendoza's ...

Demographics

According to the 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 ...

of the National Statistics Institute, Rengo spans an area of and has 50,830 inhabitants (25,311 men and 25,519 women). Of these, 37,075 (72.9%) 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 13,755 (27.1%) 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 16.5% (7,213 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a commune, Rengo 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, 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 ...

who is directly elected every four years. 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 ...

, Rengo 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 Felipe Letelier ( PPD) and Ricardo Rincón ( PDC) as part of the 33rd electoral district, together with

Mostazal Mostazal () is a Chilean commune in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region. The capital of the commune is the city of San Francisco de Mostazal. Geography The commune spans an area of . The ''Plaza de San Francisco'' has an elevation of . Demog ...

Graneros Graneros is a Chilean commune and city in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Graneros spans an area of and has 25,961 inhabitants (12,992 men and 12,969 women) ...

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 Stati ...

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) ...

Requínoa Requínoa () is a Chilean commune and city in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Requínoa spans an area of and had 22,161 inhabitants (11,378 men and 10,783 wo ...

Olivar Olivar is a commune in Chile, located in the O'Higgins Region, 10 km south of Rancagua, and administered by the municipality of Olivar. The main economic activities range from agriculture and food production, especially apples for exportatio ...

Doñihue Doñihue () is a Chilean city and commune in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region. It is approximately 20 kilometers (12 miles) west-southwest of Rancagua on route H-30. The comune has two principal towns, Doñihue and Lo Miranda. Demographics ...

, Coinco,

Coltauco Coltauco is a Chilean commune and town in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region. According to the 2002 census, the commune population was 16,228 and has an area of 224.7 km². Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statis ...

, Quinta de Tilcoco and

Malloa Malloa (from Mapudungún ''mallohue'', "place of the white clay") is a Chilean commune and town in Cachapoal Province, O'Higgins Region. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Malloa spans an area of an ...

. 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 Alejandro Garcia-Huidobro (UDI) and Juan Pablo Letelier Morel ( PS) as part of the 9th senatorial constituency (O'Higgins Region).

Notable people

* Hermes Ahumada (1911-2004), president of the

Senate of Chile The Senate of the Republic of Chile is the upper house of Chile's bicameral National Congress, as established in the current Constitution of Chile. Composition According to the present Constitution of Chile, the Senate is composed of forty ...

* Patricio Pérez Díaz (born 1980), Chilean footballer

Climate

References

{{Authority control Communes of Chile Populated places in Cachapoal Province