| San Javier | |
| Native Name Lang: | es |
| Settlement Type: | City and Commune |
| Image Alt: | Houses in San Javier city |
| Flag Alt: | Flag |
| Shield Alt: | Coat of arms |
| Map Alt: | Location of the San Javier commune in the Maule Region |
| Pushpin Map Narrow: | yes |
| Pushpin Map: | Chile |
| Pushpin Label Position: | bottom |
| Pushpin Map Alt: | Location in Chile |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Chile |
| Coordinates: | -36.6°N -116°W |
| Coor Pinpoint: | city |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Chile |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Maule |
| Subdivision Type2: | Province |
| Subdivision Name2: | Linares |
| Established Title: | Founded |
| Established Date: | November 18, 1852 |
| Established Title1: | Founded as |
| Established Date1: | San Javier de Loncomilla |
| Government Type: | Municipality |
| Government Footnotes: | [1] [2] |
| Leader Party: | PDC |
| Leader Title: | Alcalde |
| Leader Name: | Jorge Silva Sepúlveda |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Footnotes: | [3] |
| Area Total Km2: | 1313.4 |
| Elevation M: | 83 |
| Population Total: | 40189 |
| Population As Of: | 2012 Census |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Blank1 Title: | Urban |
| Population Blank1: | 22004 |
| Population Blank2 Title: | Rural |
| Population Blank2: | 15789 |
| Population Demonym: | sanjavierino, sanjavierina |
| Demographics Type1: | Sex |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Men |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 18,827 |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Women |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 18,966 |
| Timezone: | CLT[4] |
| Utc Offset: | -4 |
| Timezone Dst: | CLST[5] |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -3 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code |
| Postal Code: | 3660000 |
| Area Code: | 56 + 73 |
San Javier (pronounced as /es/) is a Chilean city and commune located in the Province of Linares, Maule Region. The city lies in the geographical center of the country, some 270km (170miles) south of Santiago, 31km (19miles) to the northwest of the provincial capital, Linares, and 24km (15miles) to the south of Talca, the regional capital. The Pan-American Highway ("Ruta 5 Sur") passes through the commune of San Javier, touching tangentially the eastern side of the town. A paved road connects San Javier with Colbún, Colbún dam lake and Panimávida and Quinamávida hot springs.
According to 2005 estimates, the commune of San Javier has a population of 39,583, of which 19,682 are male and 19,901 are female. About 60% of the population is urban and 40% is rural. According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, the population of the commune of San Javier was 37,793 inhabitants (18,827 men and 18,966 women). Of these, 22,004 (58.2%) lived in urban areas and 15,789 (41.8%) in rural areas. Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 6.2% (2,206 persons).[3]
The commune covers an area of 1313.4sqkm.[3] The eastern (and smaller) part of its territory lies within the fertile, central plain or "depresión intermedia", (Chilean Central Valley) but the extense western part is hilly and somewhat drier, a typical "Cordillera de la Costa" terrain, which requires supplemental irrigation to support its varied cultivations. This area lends itself nicely to wine growing and cereal cultivation. Therefore, San Javier has some of the better vineyards and quality wines of the bountiful Maule Valley, in the Chile's central valley viticultural regions or appellations.
San Javier is bordered on the west by the communes of Constitución and Empedrado, (both in Talca province), Cauquenes, (in Cauquenes Province), and Villa Alegre; on the north by Pencahue and Maule communes, in Talca province; on the east, by Yerbas Buenas, Villa Alegre, Linares and Longaví and on the south, by Cauquenes and Retiro. The town lies on the right margin of the River Loncomilla. Located a few km north of San Javier is the wide Maule river, of which the Loncomilla is the main tributary. River Purapel, a regional "anomaly", since it flows eastward in a country where the overwhelming majority of rivers flow in the opposite direction, is a tributary of the Loncomilla.
There are many villages and other smaller, rural entities within the communal territory; several of them are quite distant from the main urban centers and relatively isolated from the more distorting external cultural influences. Therefore, the commune can boast several villages with well-preserved colonial rural architecture - the criollo legacy - both in the religious as well as the civil domains. Singular examples of this brand of picturesque and bucolic villages, in the commune, are: Huerta de Maule, Nirivilo, Bobadilla, Caliboro and Melozal. Also, along the paved road that connects the towns of San Javier and Villa Alegre there are some outstanding examples of traditional Chilean rural architecture, which is especially noticeable in the farm houses (casas de fundo) typical of the region.
Some of the parish churches in this zone are among the oldest in the Linares diocese and the Maule Region.
The Maule Region has produced a remarkable number of writers and poets and in consonancy with this legacy, San Javier has been the birthplace of two gifted poets: Raimundo Echeverría y Larrazábal (1897–1924) and Jerónimo Lagos Lisboa (1883–1958).
As a commune, San Javier is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Pedro Fernández Chavarrí (PDC), and the councillors are as follows:[1] [2]
Within the electoral divisions of Chile, San Javier is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Jorge Tarud (PDC) and Romilio Gutiérrez (UDI) as part of the 39th electoral district, together with Linares, Colbún, Villa Alegre, Yerbas Buenas. The commune is represented in the Senate by Hernán Larraín (UDI) and Manuel Antonio Matta (PDC) as part of the 11th senatorial constituency (Maule-South).