San José de Maipo is the name of a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

and the

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

within it, located in the

Cajón del Maipo Cajón del Maipo is a canyon located in the Andean southeastern portion of the Santiago Metropolitan Region, Chile. It encompasses the upper Maipo River basin, where the river has entrenched itself in a narrow valley. The zone features a series o ...

, in Cordillera Province,

Santiago Metropolitan Region Santiago Metropolitan Region ( es, link=no, Región Metropolitana de Santiago) 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. Mos ...

, some 48 kilometers south-east of capital

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

, bordered on the east by

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

, across the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

Demographics

According to the 2017

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of the National Statistics Institute, San José de Maipo spans an area of and has 18,189 inhabitants (9,861 men and 8,328 women). Of these, 9,311 (69.6%) lived in

urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities ...

s and 4,065 (30.4%) 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 typically are descr ...

s. The population grew by 14.9% (1,730 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses. Its population density was then , making it the most sparsely populated commune in the region.

Economy

Among the present economic activities mining stands out, including the exploitation of stone quarries, the production of local products such as almonds and nuts, craftsmanship of different rock types, among others. Regional tourism is very important in this zone, as there are a great number of food and lodging establishments. In 2001 the commune was declared a National Tourism Interest Zone (Zona de Interés Turístico Nacional), by the National Service of Tourism (SERNATUR).

History

San Jose de Maipo was named a town by order of

Ambrosio O'Higgins Ambrosio Bernardo O'Higgins y O'Higgins, 1st Marquess of Osorno (c. 1720 – 19 March 1801) born Ambrose Bernard O'Higgins (''Ambrós Bearnárd Ó hUiginn'', in Irish), was an Irish-Spanish colonial administrator and a member of the O'Higgins fa ...

in 1792. The Governor of Chile and future Viceroy of Peru considered it necessary to give it the power of a town to better support mining that took place around San Pedro Nolasco. During the 19th century the area was the scene of several important events in the independence of Chile, since because of its proximity to Argentina the area was used by General San Martin and the liberating Army of the

to support the Bernardine cause of O'Higgins. At the end of that century mining began in the area. During the 20th Century, the commune became very important for the city of Santiago, since the first hydroelectric power station of the zone was constructed there (Maitenes), and also an aqueduct was constructed that supplies potable water to the city from Andean

glaciers A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

. Because of the purity of its air, sanatoriums were built for respiratory patients from all over Chile. Towards the end of the century

ecotourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide fund ...

became a pole of development, thanks to the Maipo river's suitability for

rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

Administration

As a commune, San José de Maipo 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 headed by an

alcalde Alcalde (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian '' cabildo'' (the municipal council) ...

who is directly elected every four years. For the years 2012-2016 the mayor is Luis Pezoa Álvarez ( RN), and the council members are: * Maite Birke Abaroa ( PRI) * Andrés Venegas Veliz ( PRSD) * Marco Quintanilla Pizarro ( PS) * Andy Ortiz Apablaza (IND) * Eduardo Astorga Flores ( RN) * Carmen Larenas Whipple ( RN) Within the

electoral divisions of Chile Chile has two distinct electoral division systems: * To elect members of the Chamber of Deputies and of the Senate, Chile is divided into several electoral divisions, namely electoral districts and senatorial constituencies. * To elect members of t ...

, San José de Maipo 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 Bourbon R ...

of the

National Congress of Chile The National Congress of Chile ( es, Congreso Nacional de Chile) is the legislative branch of the government of the Republic of Chile. The National Congress of Chile was founded on July 4, 1811. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Cha ...

by Osvaldo Andrade ( PS) and Leopoldo Pérez ( RN) as part of the 29th electoral district, (together with

Puente Alto Puente, a word meaning '' bridge'' in Spanish language, may refer to: People * Puente (surname) Places *La Puente, California, USA * Puente Alto, city and commune of Chile *Puente de Ixtla, city in Mexico *Puente Genil, village in the Spanish pro ...

, Pirque and

La Pintana La Pintana is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. La Pintana is home to Antumapu, the agricultural and veterinary sciences campus of University of Chile, Chile's oldest university. Demographics Accordi ...

). 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 Soledad Alvear (PDC) and

Pablo Longueira Juan Pablo Longueira Montes (born August 12, 1958) is a Chilean right-wing politician and industrial civil engineer who served as Minister of Economy, Development and Tourism of Chile from 2011 to 2013. He was a founding member of the Independent ...

(

UDI Udi may refer to: Places * Udi, Enugu, a local government areas and city in Nigeria * Udi, a place in the Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh, India People * Udi Gal (born 1979), Israeli Olympic sailor * Udi Vaks (born 1979), Israeli Olympic judoka ...

) as part of the 8th senatorial constituency (Santiago-East).

References

External links

Municipality of San José de Maipo
{{DEFAULTSORT:San Jose de Maipo Communes of Chile Populated places in Cordillera Province 1792 establishments in the Spanish Empire