Curacaví () is a

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 de ...

and commune in the Melipilla Province of central

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 ...

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 ...

. Its climate is temperate Mediterranean with a long dry season, experiencing high temperatures in summer and low temperatures in winter. Curacaví is located on the Ruta 68 between the coastal conurbation of

Viña del Mar Viña del Mar (; meaning "Vineyard of the Sea") is a city and commune on central Chile's Pacific coast. Often referred to as ("The Garden City"), Viña del Mar is located within the Valparaíso Region, and it is Chile's fourth largest city ...

and

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

and

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, who ...

which has proved a popular home for expats working in Santiago. Curacaví is a commune situated between the hills of the coastal mountain range in central

, located in the Metropolitan Region of Santiago, specifically in

Melipilla Melipilla ( Mapudungun for "four Pillans") is a Chilean commune and capital city of the province of the same name, located in the Santiago Metropolitan Region southwest of the nation's capital. The commune spans an area of . Demographics Ac ...

Province, with an area of 693 km² and borders the following municipalities: Casablanca,

Quilpué Quilpué is a city and capital of the Marga Marga Province in central Chile's Valparaíso Region. It is part of the Greater Valparaíso metropolitan area. It is widely known as "City of the Sun" (''Ciudad del Sol'') and the urban part of it ...

, Lampa,

Pudahuel Pudahuel (, Mapudungun "place of pools/water" or "place where seagulls gather") is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. Santiago's international airport Comodoro Arturo Merino Benítez is located there ...

, Maipú,

Padre Hurtado Padre Hurtado () is a Chilean commune in the Talagante Province, in the Metropolitan Region. Part of the Greater Santiago conurbation and one of the outermost communes of it, the commune is named after Saint Alberto Hurtado, who was popularl ...

, and

Maria Pinto Maria may refer to: People * Mary, mother of Jesus * Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages Place names Extraterrestrial *170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877 * Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...

. Curacaví is integrated along with the communes of Talagante,

, Peñaflor,

Isla de Maipo Isla de Maipo is a town and commune of the Talagante Province in central Chile's Santiago Metropolitan Region. Geography Isla de Maipo can be found in the Chilean Central Valley approximately southwest of the metropolitan area of Santiago ...

El Monte El Monte (Spanish for "the Mountain", also in archaic Spanish for "the wood") may refer to: * El Monte, California, United States, a city * El Monte, Chile, a city {{geodis ...

, San Pedro and Alhué in the number 31 Electoral District and also belongs to the 7th Chilean Senate District ( Santiago west). The commune covers five districts: Curacaví, Bustamante, Lo Prado, Zapata and Caren.

Rapid Expansion

Curacaví is now home to various exclusiv

gated communities A gated community (or walled community) is a form of residential community or housing estate containing strictly controlled entrances for pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles, and often characterized by a closed perimeter of walls and fences ...

called condominios

These large luxury developments range from 500 hectares upwards with each individual property starting at around 1 hectare. The development of the condominios began in the 1990s but has accelerated dramatically in recent years. The area is therefore home to increasing numbers of wealthy

commuters who are both Chilean and foreign. The momentum is largely due to fast transport links and a better quality of life in the face of Santiago's increasing pollution problems. Fast commuting times are now offered through the Ruta 68 and the Lo Prado tunnel which offers journey times of 35 minutes to Santiago.

Geography and climate

Immersed among the hills of the coastal mountain range, Curacaví occupies an area of and borders the following communes: Casablanca,

, Lampa,

, Maipú,

, and María Pinto. The climate is mild Mediterranean with a long dry season with high temperatures in the summer and low temperatures in the winter.

Demographics

According to the 2002

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 in ...

of the National Statistics Institute, Curacaví spans an area of and has 24,298 inhabitants (12,351 men and 11,947 women). Of these, 15,645 (64.4%) 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 8,653 (35.6%) 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 des ...

s. The population grew by 27.5% (5,245 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses. There is a fast growing expat community in Curacav�

Notable people

Juan Williams Rebolledo Juan Williams Rebolledo (1825 in Curacaví, Melipilla Province – 24 June 1910 in Santiago), was a Chilean rear admiral who was the organizer and commander-in-chief of the Chilean navy in 1879 at the beginning of the War of the Pacific ...

– Commander-in-chief of the

Chilean Navy The Chilean Navy ( es, Armada de Chile) is the naval warfare service branch of the Chilean Armed Forces. It is under the Ministry of National Defense. Its headquarters are at Edificio Armada de Chile, Valparaiso. History Origins and the Wa ...

at the beginning of the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific ( es, link=no, Guerra del Pacífico), also known as the Saltpeter War ( es, link=no, Guerra del salitre) and by multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought ...

* Rosamel del Valle –

Avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

poet

Administration

As a commune, Curacaví 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, rural coun ...

, 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. The 2012–2016 alcalde is Juan Pablo Barros Basso (IND), and the council members are: * Lidia Araos Henriquez ( UDI) * Cristian Galdames Santibañez ( PS) * Paul Alvarado Muñoz (

PDC PDC may refer to: In science and technology Chemistry, biology and medicine * Phosducin, a human protein and gene in the retina * Pyridinium dichromate (Cornforth reagent), a chromium-based oxidant * Pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, an enzyme ...

) * Marco Antonio Guzmán Márquez ( UDI) * Sandra Ponce Baeza ( RN) * Francisco Carrasco González ( PC) 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 ...

, Curacaví 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 ...

by Denise Pascal ( PS) and Gonzalo Uriarte (UDI) as part of the 31st electoral district, (together with Talagante, Peñaflor,

El Monte El Monte (Spanish for "the Mountain", also in archaic Spanish for "the wood") may refer to: * El Monte, California, United States, a city * El Monte, Chile, a city {{geodis ...

, María Pinto, Alhué, San Pedro and

). 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 e ...

by Guido Girardi Lavín ( PPD) and Jovino Novoa Vásquez (UDI) as part of the 7th senatorial constituency (Santiago-West).

Airport

Curacavi is home to a small airport situated by the motorway Ruta 68br>

Chicha

Curacaví is famous in Chile for its

Chicha ''Chicha'' is a fermented (alcoholic) or non-fermented beverage of Latin America, emerging from the Andes and Amazonia regions. In both the pre- and post- Spanish conquest periods, corn beer ('' chicha de jora'') made from a variety of maize ...

productio

There is a popular Chilean song which sings about the Chicha from Curacaví

Kross Brewery

Curacaví is home to the Beer in Chile, Kross brand of craft beers

Curacavi Puangue Alhue

Road from Santiago to Valparaiso

Curacaví is on the most-used old

horse trail A bridle path, also bridleway, equestrian trail, horse riding path, ride, bridle road, or horse trail, is a trail or a thoroughfare that is used by people riding on horses. Trails originally created for use by horses often now serve a wider r ...

between Valparaiso and Santiago which had been formed during the

Inca The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, ( Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admi ...

period. Since 1553 it was called the royal highway. The old road crossed Casablanca, the Zapata road and Curacaví finally entering

on the road of San Pablo. The original royal highway was made between the years 1792 and 1797 however Ambrosio O'Higgins changed the old road by the current Lo Prado route.

Mercedes Canal

The Mercedes Canal (Spanish: '' Canal de las Mercedes''), which irrigates the whole valley of Curacavi was built by Jose Manuel Balmaceda before becoming president. The

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface fl ...

was started in 1854 and finished 30 years later with a total length of 120 km and with a

flow rate Flow rate may refer to: * Flow measurement, a quantification of bulk fluid movement * Mass flow rate, the mass of a substance which passes per unit of time * Volumetric flow rate, the volume of fluid which passes per unit time ** Discharge (hydrol ...

10 m³/s.

Parish School

The first Parish School was built by the priest

Don Eduardo Miles Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...

in 1885 which is still working and has done so almost without interruption educating much of the local population.

Gallery

File:Curacavi Puangue Alhue.jpg, alt=Puangue at Alhue, Ford of the

Puangue River The Puangue River is a river of Chile. See also *List of rivers of Chile This list of rivers of Chile includes all the major rivers of Chile. See each article for their tributaries, drainage areas, etc. Usually significant tributaries appear in ...

at Alhué near Curacaví. File:Curacavi Puangue Piedra Tacita.jpg, alt=Puangue Piedra Tacita, "Tacitas" (cupules) on a boulder at the banks of the Puangue River. File:Curacavi Museo de la Vivienda.jpg, alt=Museo de la Vivienda, A house at the museum ''Museo de la Vivienda Tradicional Rural Unifamiliar Chilena''.

References

External links

*
Municipality of Curacaví

Curacavi.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Curacavi Communes of Chile Populated places in Melipilla Province