Cauquenes Explained

Cauquenes
Native Name Lang:es
Settlement Type:City and Commune
Flag Alt:Flag
Shield Alt:Coat of arms
Map Alt:Location of the Cauquenes commune in the Maule Region
Pushpin Map:Chile
Pushpin Map Narrow:yes
Pushpin Map Alt:Location in Chile
Pushpin Map Caption:Location in Chile
Coordinates:-35.9667°N -93°W
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:Chile
Subdivision Type1:Region
Subdivision Name1:Maule
Subdivision Type2:Province
Subdivision Name2:Cauquenes
Established Title:Founded
Established Date:1742
Government Footnotes:[1] [2]
Government Type:Municipality
Leader Title:Alcalde
Leader Name:Nery Rodriguez Dominguez
Area Note:As of 2002
Unit Pref:Metric
Area Footnotes:[3]
Area Total Km2:2126.3
Elevation M:135
Population Total:38522
Population As Of:2012 Census
Population Density Km2:auto
Population Demonym:Cauquenino
Population Blank1 Title:Urban
Population Blank1:30771
Population Blank2 Title:Rural
Population Blank2:10446
Demographics Type1:Sex
Demographics1 Title1:Men
Demographics1 Info1:20,092
Demographics1 Title2:Women
Demographics1 Info2:21,125
Timezone:CLT[4]
Utc Offset:-4
Timezone Dst:CLST[5]
Utc Offset Dst:-3
Postal Code Type:Postal code
Postal Code:3690000
Area Code:56 + 73
Blank Name:Climate
Blank Info:Csb
Website:Official website

Cauquenes, a city and commune in Chile, is the capital of the Cauquenes Province and is located in the Maule Region.

History

According to the historical records of Alonso de Ercilla, Cauquenes was originally inhabited by an indigenous community of the Promaucaes, known as the Cauqui by the Inca[6] or cauquenes[7] by the Spanish and that gave their name to Cauquenes River. They lived to the south of the Maule River and north of the Itata River and owned a settlement in the place where the city lies today. The city of Cauquenes was founded on May 9, 1742, de "Villa of Nuestra Señora de las Mercedes de José de Manso del Tutuvén", in the land located between the rivers Tutuvén and Cauquenes, that the Promaucae cacique (chieftain) Ascensio Galdámez and his wife Micaela de Araya donated to the Kingdom of Spain. Cauquenes' founder was the then Governor of the Kingdom of Chile, José Antonio Manso de Velasco. The name of the city changed with time. With the law of 20 August 1826, which created the Maule Province, it became called "Villa de Cauquenes", and finally on 22 December of that year, it acquired the title of "Cauquenes".

Cauquenes is a toponym from the term "cauque", a salmonid species extinct today that inhabited the rivers of the area.

27 February 2010 earthquake

Cauquenes was damaged by the 8.8 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami. Restoring power in the city in the immediate aftermath was impossible because of damage from the tsunami.[8]

Demography

According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Cauquenes spans an area of 2126.3sqkm and has 41,217 inhabitants (20,092 men and 21,125 women). Of these, 30,771 (74.7%) lived in urban areas and 10,446 (25.3%) in rural areas. Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 2.3% (938 persons).[3]

Other localities in the commune of Cauquenes include the following:

Geography

Administration

As a commune, Cauquenes 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 Juan Carlos Muñoz Rojas (RN).The municipal council has the following members:[1] [2]

Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Cauquenes is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Ignacio Urrutia (UDI), Rolando Rentería (UDI), Manuel Matta (PDC) and Jaime Naranjo (PS) as part of the 18th electoral district. The commune is represented in the Senate Ximena Rincón González (PDC), Juan Castro Prieto (Ind-RN), Rodrigo Galilea Vial (RN), Juan Antonio Coloma Correa (UDI) and Álvaro Elizalde Soto (PS) as part of the 9th senatorial constituency (Maule).

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Asociación Chilena de Municipalidades . 7 February 2011. es.
  2. Web site: Municipality of Cauquenes . 7 February 2011. es.
  3. Web site: National Statistics Institute . 1 May 2010. es.
  4. Web site: Chile Time . 2010-07-29 . WorldTimeZones.org . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070911130719/http://www.world-time-zones.org/zones/chile-time.htm . 2007-09-11 .
  5. Web site: Chile Summer Time . 2010-07-29 . WorldTimeZones.org . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070911130451/http://www.world-time-zones.org/zones/chile-summer-time.htm . 2007-09-11 .
  6. Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, Comentarios reales, 2da_VII_20 20
  7. Juan Ignacio Molina, Compendio de la historia civil del reyno de Chile, pg. 9.
  8. Wall Street Journal, "Chile Power Firms: Slow Process Restoring Power In Quake Zones", Matthew Cowley, 2 March 2010 (accessed 3 March 2010)