San Carlos is the name of 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 ( Spanish: ''comuna'') of Punilla Province in the Ñuble Region 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 ...

Geography and agriculture

San Carlos is a bustling market town located roughly in the center of Chile's agricultural heartland about south 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 ...

, northeast of Concepción, the regional

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

and north of

Chillán Chillán () is the capital List of cities in Chile, city of Ñuble Region, Diguillín Province, Chile, located about south of the country's capital, Santiago, near the center of the country. It has been the capital of the new Ñuble Region since ...

, the provincial capital. It sits on an

alluvial plain An alluvial plain is a plain (an essentially flat landform) created by the deposition of sediment over a long period by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms. A ''floodplain'' is part of the process, bei ...

between nearby

and the Perquilauquén river. The commune covers an area of . Its territory lies almost entirely within the fertile, central plain or "depresión intermedia", (

Chilean Central Valley The Central Valley (), Intermediate Depression, or Longitudinal Valley is the depression between the Chilean Coastal Range and the Andes Mountains. The Chilean Central Valley extends from the border with Peru to Puerto Montt in southern Chile, wi ...

). Its countryside is reputed for its bountiful production of various crops as well as orchards (apple, grapes, berries, and more recently, kiwi). San Carlos is bordered on the west by the commune of Ninhue, on the north by Ñiquén and Cauquenes (the latter in Cauquenes Province), on the east by San Fabián, and on the south by San Nicolás,

and

Coihueco Coihueco () is a Chilean commune and city in Punilla Province, Ñuble Region. It is located near Chillán, the provincial capital. Coihueco borders San Carlos and San Fabián on the north, Argentina on the east, Pinto on the South, and Chil ...

Geographic Coordinates

* Altitude: * Latitude: 36° 25' 60S * Longitude: 72° 2' 60W

Climate

San Carlos has a mild

Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate ( ), also called a dry summer climate, described by Köppen and Trewartha as ''Cs'', is a temperate climate type that occurs in the lower mid-latitudes (normally 30 to 44 north and south latitude). Such climates typic ...

. The summers are hot and mainly dry (November to March) with temperatures reaching up to on the months of December, January and February. Laguna de la comuna de San Carlos

Demography

Today, San Carlos is the second most populous city of Ñuble Region. 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 ...

the population of the city was 29,359 (14,035 male, 15,324 female) while that of the commune of San Carlos was 50,088 (24,910 male, 25,178 female). Roughly, 62% of the population is urban and 38% is

rural 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 ...

. According to recent estimations b
SUBDERE
the commune has a population of 51,119 in 2006. Between the 1992 census and that of 2002, the population of San Carlos grew at a 4.1% rate (.41% annual rate). The commune encompasses a large number of villages, hamlets and other rural entities. Its second most populous locality, after San Carlos, is Cachapoal, with 1,164 residents in 2002 (578 male, 586 female). This village has been considered as "urban" in the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute.

History

The city was founded by a Spaniard, don José Joaquín del Pino de Rozas y Negrete on July 3, 1800. On May 15, 1813, San Carlos was the setting for one of the most important battles of the

Chilean War of Independence The Chilean War of Independence (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Guerra de la Independencia de Chile'', 'War of Independence of Chile') was a military and political event that allowed the emancipation of Chile from the Spanish Empire, Spanish Mona ...

, the Battle of San Carlos, where the patriot army, led by general

José Miguel Carrera José Miguel Carrera Verdugo (; October 15, 1785 – September 4, 1821) was a Chilean general, formerly Spanish military, member of the prominent Carrera family, and considered one of the founders of independent Chile. Carrera was the most impor ...

defeated the

royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

army. The outcome of the battle set the ground for the patriot uprising in the whole region.

Society

The city of San Carlos is also the birth city of various artists, painters, authors, and singers. The painter Hernán Gazmuri was born here. The group of singers called Los Angeles Negros (The Black Angels) was also formed here. Although the township of San Fabián argues the birth place of Violeta Parra, she is included amongst Gazmuri and Los Angeles Negros as a folklorist, author, investigator, and singer born in San Carlos. The house in which the artist was supposedly born is located on the street El Roble # 535-531. This place was declared a

National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a sp ...

in accordance with the

Decree A decree is a law, legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, monarch, royal figure, or other relevant Authority, authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislativ ...

Law Number 668 on September 29, 1992. Currently the city is working on a new initiative to create the "Casa Museo de Violeta Parra" (House Museum of Violeta Parra). This is a project based on the San Carlos Government’s idea that not only will the Fundación Violeta Parra de Santiago (Foundation Violeta Parra of Santiago) participate, but also specific contacts of the

Parra family {{no footnotes, date=January 2010 The Parra family is a Chilean family known for its many artists. Members of the Parra family are noted contributors to Chilean culture with almost every member being a distinguished national artist. The family is n ...

that have already visited the site in numerous occasions. Among the city’s attractions lies the Medialuna of San Carlos which is a sports arena where the Chilean rodeo is practiced. The arena has a capacity of 8,000 people; second in size only to the Medialuna of Rancagua. It is fitting to also note that the Chilean rodeo is a very popular sport in this zone.

Education

Currently, the commune has around 60 primary education establishments, 10 of them located in the city and the rest in rural areas, as well as 7 secondary education establishments, 6 of them in the city. The commune has a public library, established on October 17, 1983, named after Eusebio Lillo, as well as a branch located in the 11 de Septiembre neighborhood, which was created in 1997 through a project funded by the National Fund for Culture and Arts (FONDART), both in the communal capital. The secondary education establishments are: * Capitán Ignacio Carrera Pinto Polytechnic High School, public (the first to operate since 1945) * José Miguel Carrera Verdugo School, E-112, public * Violeta Parra Sandoval Technical Professional High School, public * Diego Portales Palazuelos High School, public (since 2012) * Agricultural High School, public (located on the outskirts of the city) * El Árbol de la Vida School, subsidized private * Nuestra Señora de la Merced High School, subsidized private * Santa María Institute, subsidized private * Sagrado Corazón School, subsidized private * Concepción School, subsidized private * Dinabec College, subsidized private * San José School, subsidized private

Religion

According to the 2002 census, 25,141 residents of San Carlos commune aged 15 years or older identified themselves as

Catholics The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, equivalent to 68.51% of the total population, while 22.01% described themselves as

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

s, 0.59% as

Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co-fou ...

and 1.35% as

Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

. About 5.03% of the population identified themselves to be

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, the divine, or the supernatural is either unknowable in principle or unknown in fact. (page 56 in 1967 edition) It can also mean an apathy towards such religious belief and refer to ...

, while 3.19% declared to follow other religions.

Notable residents

In 1850, General Sofanor Parra was born in this city, who was a renowned Chilean officer of the cavalry branch of the

Chilean Army The Chilean Army () is the land arm of the Chilean Armed Forces. This 80,000-person army (9,200 of which are conscripts) is organized into six divisions, an army aviation brigade and a special operations brigade. In recent years, and after sever ...

that stood out in the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific (), also known by War of the Pacific#Etymology, multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Treaty of Defensive Alliance (Bolivia–Peru), Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought over Atacama Desert ...

. San Carlos is the birthplace of one of the most widely recognized names in Chilean and Latin American

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...

Violeta Parra Violeta del Carmen Parra Sandoval (; 4 October 1917 – 5 February 1967) was a Chilean composer, singer-songwriter, folklorist, ethnomusicologist and visual artist. She pioneered the Nueva Canción Chilena (The Chilean New Song), a renewal and a ...

. She has long been acclaimed as a great folk artist, author, painter, researcher and singer. The house where this artist was born is located in the city of San Carlos. It was declared National Monument by Law Decree 668 on September 29, 1992. San Carlos is also the birthplace of other well-known artists. Among them there are painters such as Hernán Gazmuri and a popular band from the 1970s, ''Los Ángeles Negros''.

Administration

As a commune, San Carlos 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 ...

, San Carlos 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 Jorge Sabag (PDC) and Frank Sauerbaum (RN) as part of the 42nd electoral district, together with San Fabián, Ñiquén, San Nicolás, Ninhue, Quirihue, Cobquecura,

Treguaco Treguaco (), also spelled as Trehuaco (), is a Chilean city and Communes of Chile, commune in Itata Province, Ñuble Region. The commune spans an area of . Demographics According to data from the 2002 Census of Population and Housing, the Tregua ...

, Portezuelo, Coelemu, Ránquil,

Quillón Quillón is a Chilean city and commune and Diguillín Province, Ñuble Region. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Quillón spans an area of and has 15,146 inhabitants (7,699 men and 7,447 women). ...

, Bulnes, Cabrero and Yumbel. 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 Navarro Brain ( MAS) and Hosain Sabag Castillo (PDC) as part of the 12th senatorial constituency (Biobío-Cordillera).

Twin cities

San Carlos is twinned with the Spanish city of Baena located in

Andalucia Andalusia ( , ; , ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain, located in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It i ...

, southern Spain, in the province of Córdoba. San Carlos' founder, José Joaquín del Pino de Rozas y Negrete, was born in Baena.

References

4. Blau, J. A. (2013, November 13). Violeta Parra. In ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved March 6, 2017, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Violeta-Parra 5. Eskenazi, G. (2012, June 30). In Chile, Rodeo Rules the Land. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved February 28, 2017, from http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/01/sports/in-chile-rodeo-rules-the-land.html 6. Parra, Isabel. (1985). ''El libro mayor de Violeta Parra''. Madrid, España: Ediciones Michay.

External links

*
Municipality of San Carlos

Aerial view of San Carlos, Chile (Google maps)

* ttp://www.turistel.cl/v2/secciones/mapas/ruteros/biobio.htm Map of central Chile {{Authority control Communes of Chile Populated places in Punilla Province 1800 establishments in the Spanish Empire