San Bernardo, Chile
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

San Bernardo () is a city 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 within the
Greater 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 Region, ...
metropolitan area. It is both a commune and the capital of
Maipo Province Maipo Province () is one of six Provinces of Chile, provinces in the Santiago Metropolitan Region of central Chile. Its capital is San Bernardo, Chile, San Bernardo. Administration As a province, Maipo is a second-level administrative divisions of ...
, in the
Santiago Metropolitan Region Santiago Metropolitan Region () is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions. It is the country's only landlocked administrative region and contains the nation's capital, Santiago. Most commercial and administrative centers are loc ...
. San Bernardo also serves as the seat of the
Roman Catholic Diocese of San Bernardo The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Bernardo () is a diocese located in the city of San Bernardo in the ecclesiastical province of Santiago de Chile in Chile. History *13 July 1987: Established as Diocese of San Bernardo from the Metropolitan Ar ...
.


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, San Bernardo covers an area of and has a population of 246,762 (121,535 men and 125,227 women). Of this population, 241,138 (97.7%) 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, while 5,624 (2.3%) resided 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 increased by 29.3% (55,905 people) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses..


Statistics

*Population: 286,228 (2006 projection)Sistema de Información Regional
Ministry of Planning of Chile.
*Average annual household income: US$16,035 ( PPP, 2009) *Population below poverty line: 20.9% (2006)


Administration

As a commune, San Bernardo 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. The 2024-2028 alcalde is Christopher White Bahamondes ( PS). The council has the following members: * Carolina Fuentealba Aguilar ( REP) * María Núñez García ( REP) * Juan Rivera Herrera ( REP) * Marcela Cristina Novoa Sandoval ( RN) * Mariela Andrea Araya Cuevas (
UDI Udi may refer to: Places * Udi, Enugu, a local government areas and city in Nigeria * Udi Hills, Enugu State, Nigeria * Udi, a place in the Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh, India People Given name * Udi Aloni (born 1959), Israeli-American film ...
) * Karina Soledad Leyton Espinoza ( PS) * Romina Andrea Baeza Illanes ( FA) * Leonel Bernardo Navarro Ormeño ( PR) * Jaime López Muñoz ( PAVP) * Cristina Andrea Cofré Guerrero ( PC) 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 ...
, San Bernardo 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 Ramón Farías (PPD) and José Antonio Kast (UDI) as part of the 30th electoral district, (together with Buin, Paine and
Calera de Tango Calera de Tango is a Chilean commune in the Maipo Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Calera de Tango spans an area of and has 18,235 inhabitants (9,243 men 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 Guido Girardi Lavín (PPD) and Andrés Allamand (RN) as part of the 7th senatorial constituency (Santiago-West).


Chilean folklore capital

At a national level, San Bernardo is known as the capital of Chilean folkloric traditions. This distinction is primarily attributed to two annual events held in the commune: the "Festival Nacional del Folklore de San Bernardo" (English: San Bernardo's National Festival of Folklore) and "Abril Cuecas Mil" (English: A Thousand Cuecas April).


Festival Nacional del Folklore

The Festival Nacional del Folklore de San Bernardo has been held at the end of February since 1972 and draws participants and spectators from all around the country. The festival consists of performances of traditional and folkloric Chilean music, dance and songs, as well as competitions held at the school, corporate and community levels. It also features participants from other countries who are invited to showcase their respective folkloric traditions. An additional part of the festivals is the "Feria de Artesanía Tradicional" (English: Traditional Crafts Fair"), which centers around showcasing and promoting traditional artisanal gastronomy, arts and crafts from Chile and other Latin American cultures.


Abril Cuecas Mil

Abril Cuecas Mil started in 1993 and is held annually on the last Saturday of April. First proposed by professor Arturo García Araneda, a San Bernardino folklorist, the event centers around Cueca, Chile's national dance. The event lasts for around 30 continuous hours and consists of a line-up of musicians, bands, or folkloric groups playing a thousand Cuecas for an open floor, where anyone is welcomed to partake in the dancing. Participants range from enthusiasts and amateurs to professional and trained dancers. The style of Cueca usually alternates between more traditional folkloric styles during the day (e.g., salon, campesina, etc.) and more risqué styles during the night (e.g., porteña, brava, etc.).


Chena's Pucará

The Chena hills, located in the basin of San Bernardo, are home to an Incan sacred site known as the Huaca of Chena or Chena's Pucará.Díaz, P. B. (2006)
"Santiago del Nuevo Extremo ¿Una ciudad sin pasado?"
''Revista de Diseño Urbano y Paisaje'', 3(9), 3-13.
Initially thought to be a fortress, the structure in the southern tip of the Chena hills has been denominated as a huaca (Quechuan Wak'a), which is a sacred place and a space of ritual use. The Chena's Pucará was observed to have a zoomorphic design, resembling a puma, which is a characteristic of Incan ceremonial and sacred structures. The word Chena (the name of the hills) means puma in oestrous cycle in the Quechuan language. Subsequent investigations have further supported the sacred denomination by revealing the structure to be composed of three separate edifications; an outside perimetral wall, a middle perimetral wall and the central enclosure, all which are consistent with Incan architectural tripartition designs. Furthermore, the principle structure's design is consistent with the structural designs of Incan Ushnu (place of observation). This observatory status has been confirmed by the structure's seemingly perfect lineation of its altar with the first ray of sun during the winter solstice (21 June) and the summer solstice (21 December).Meddens, F., McEwan, C., & Pomacanchari, C. (2010)
"Inca 'stone ancestors' in context at a high-altitude Usnu platform"
''Latin American Antiquity'', 21(2), 173-194.
Currently, the commune of San Bernardo lacks the resources to establish proper administration, maintenance, or security for the area, and Chena's Pucará is facing physical abandonment, neglect, and vandalism, including the dismantling of walls and defecation on the altar. However, in recent years Quechuan and Aymará populations have become interested in negotiating with the authorities for ritualistic and occupation rights in the area.


Sports

* San Bernardo Unido *
Atlético San Bernardo Atlético, Spanish for ''athletics'', or Athletico in English, may refer to: Sports Teams Athletico *Athletico SC (Lebanon), a Lebanese football academy *Athletic Bilbao, or Atletico Bilbao, Basque students athletic club (also forming Athletic Cl ...


References


External links


Municipality of San Bernardo
{{Authority control Capitals of Chilean provinces Populated places established in 1821 Populated places in Maipo Province 1821 establishments in Chile