Chilecito (lit. Little Chile) is a city in the

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

La Rioja La Rioja () is an autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community and provinces of Spain, province in Spain, in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. Its capital is Logroño. Other List of municipalities in La Rioja, cities and towns in the ...

, and head of the department of

Chilecito Chilecito (lit. Little Chile) is a city in the Argentina, Argentine provinces of Argentina, province of La Rioja Province (Argentina), La Rioja, and head of the departments of Argentina, department of Chilecito Department, Chilecito. Overview an ...

Overview and History

The city is located in the valley formed by the ''Sierras de Velazco'' to the east, and the ''Sierras de Famatina'' to the west. The city was founded in 1715 by

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

colonizers. Chilecito still preserves the cable-car of ''La Mejicana'' mine built by

Bleichert Bleichert, short for Adolf Bleichert & Co., was a German engineering firm founded in 1874 by Adolf Bleichert. The company dominated the aerial wire ropeway industry during the first half of the 20th century, and its portfolio included cranes, e ...

which is part of the city mining past that saw its peak at the end of the 19th century. Chilecito is surrounded by an oasis of irrigation, which has been expanded by way of supplements from underground waters. A great part of agricultural land is used for the cultivation of vineyards because the most significant industrial activity is based in wine-cellars. Walnut and fruit trees are also cultivated and their product is locally processed. By some accounts the locality got its name from a large number 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 ...

an artisan miners known as

pirquinero In Chile and nearby areas of Argentina and Bolivia a () is a miner who extracts minerals in a traditional manner and is usually independent. A charactistic of the is that they are involved in a wide range of stages of the production including m ...

s who migrated to the area to work in gold field of Famatina. The Argentine educator, lawyer, senator, governor and historian

Joaquín V. González Joaquín Víctor González (March 6, 1863 – December 21, 1923) was an Argentine educator, political scientist, writer, magistrate, and politician. Biography Early life González was born in Nonogasta, a rural community near Chilecito, ...

was raised in the vicinity of Chilecito. He also used to spend his vacation in a home that he built here in his later years. The property, which he called '' Samay Huasi'' (

Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several Indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, an Indigenous South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language ...

''Samay Wasi'', "rest house") was donated to the

University of La Plata The National University of La Plata (, UNLP) is a national public research university located in the city of La Plata, capital of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It has over 90,000 regular students, 10,000 teaching staff, 17 departments and 10 ...

for use as an artists' retreat. By the end of the 1990s, the university of Chilecito which was still part of the

National University of La Rioja The National University of La Rioja (, UNLAR) is an Argentine national university, situated in the city of La Rioja, capital of La Rioja Province. Its precursor, the Provincial University of La Rioja, was established in 1972. See also * List ...

became the

National University of Chilecito The National University of Chilecito (, UNDEC) is an Argentine national university situated in the city of Chilecito, La Rioja La Rioja () is an autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community and provinces of Spain, province in Spai ...

. This decision was highly criticized by different academic and political sectors, especially those concerning to the

President of Argentina The president of Argentina, officially known as the president of the Argentine Nation, is both head of state and head of government of Argentina. Under Constitution of Argentina, the national constitution, the president is also the Head of go ...

at the time,

Carlos Menem Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) served as the 50th president of Argentina for ten years, from 1989 to 1999. He identified as Peronism, Peronist, serving as President of the Justicialist Party for 13 years (from 1990 to 200 ...

Geography

Population

According to statistics, Chilecito has 58,798 inhabitants (data provided from the

INDEC The National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (, mostly known for its acronym INDEC) is an Argentine decentralized public body that operates within the Ministry of Economy, which leads all official statistical activities carried out in the co ...

2022 census). This data includes facts from the localities of Anguinán, Malligasta, San Miguel, Los Sarmientos and La Puntilla.

Climate

Notable people

, known for his contributions and ideas that have benefited the town of Chilecito and its province,

References

{{Authority control Populated places in La Rioja Province, Argentina Populated places established in 1715 1715 establishments in the Spanish Empire Cities in Argentina