Curicó (), meaning "Black Waters" in

Mapudungun Mapuche (, Mapuche & Spanish: , or Mapudungun; from ' 'land' and ' 'speak, speech') is an Araucanian language related to Huilliche spoken in south-central Chile and west-central Argentina by the Mapuche people (from ''mapu'' 'land' and ''che ...

(originally meaning "Land of Black Water"), is the

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...

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 ...

of the

Curicó Province Curicó Province ( es, Provincia de Curicó) is one of four Provinces of Chile, provinces of the central Chilean Regions of Chile, region of Maule Region, Maule (VII). Its capital is the city of Curicó. It lies between the provinces of Colchagua ...

, part of the

Maule Region The Maule Region ( es, Región del Maule, ) is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions. Its capital is Talca. The region derives its name from the Maule River which, running westward from the Andes, bisects the region and spans a ...

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 ...

's central valley. The

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

lies between the provinces of Colchagua and

Talca Talca () is a city and commune in Chile located about south of Santiago, and is the capital of both Talca Province and Maule Region (7th Region of Chile). As of the 2012 census, the city had a population of 201,142. The city is an importan ...

and extends from the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

to the

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish ( masculine) or ( feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines ...

frontier.

Demographics

According to the 2012

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, Curicó spans an area of and has 147,017 inhabitants (68,768 men and 70,817 women). Of these, 130,506 (84%) 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 19,079 (16%) 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. Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 14.9% (15,472 persons).

Geography

Curicó is on the Guaiquillo River, south of

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 ...

along the route of the Chilean Central Railway. The city is situated in the fertile

Chilean Central Valley The Central Valley ( es, Valle Central), Intermediate Depression, or Longitudinal Valley is the depression between the Chilean Coastal Range and the Andes Mountains. The Chilean Central Valley extends from the border with Peru to Puerto Montt in ...

, above sea-level, in the midst of a comparatively well-cultivated region. The eastern and western sides are mountainous, separated by the Chilean Central Valley. A volcano called

Descabezado Grande Descabezado Grande (also ''Cerro Azul'' or ''Quizapu''WebpagOVDAS, about Descabezado Grande, retrieved on 28 October 2013) is a stratovolcano located in the Maule Region of central Chile. It is capped by a ice-filled caldera and named for its f ...

can be seen from most parts at a distance of eighty kilometers. The commune spans an area of. The main rivers are the

Lontué River The Lontué River is a river in the province of Curicó in Chile. It originates about 50 km east of Curicó, at the confluence of the Colorado River and the Los Patos River. Both rivers have their origin next to the volcanos Descabezado C ...

and

Teno River The Teno River is a river located in the Maule Region of central Chile. It begins at the confluence of the ''Malo'' and '' Nacimiento'' rivers. The former originates north of Planchón volcano at Lagunas de Teno. The river flows initially nort ...

, which surround the city. The landscape is dominated by 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 ...

and

Chilean Coastal Range The Chilean Coastal Range ( es, Cordillera de la Costa) is a mountain range that runs from north to south along the Pacific coast of South America parallel to the Andean Mountains, extending from Morro de Arica in the north to Taitao Peninsula ...

Climate

Curicó has a

warm-summer Mediterranean climate A Mediterranean climate (also called a dry summer temperate climate ''Cs'') is a temperate climate sub-type, generally characterized by warm, dry summers and mild, fairly wet winters; these weather conditions are typically experienced in the ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

''Csb''), relatively hot dry

summer Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, ...

s (November to March) with temperatures reaching on the hottest days.

Winter Winter is the coldest season of the year in Polar regions of Earth, polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring (season), spring. The tilt of Axial tilt#Earth, Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a Hemi ...

s (June to August) are more humid, with typical maximum daily temperatures of . Mean rainfall is per year. In August 2007, Curicó experienced snowfall for the first time in over 60 years. In the southern part of the valley the climate is more temperate and rainfall more abundant; the effects of this are to be seen in better

pasturage Pasture (from the Latin ''pastus'', past participle of ''pascere'', "to feed") is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep, or swin ...

Irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has been dev ...

is used to a large extent.

History

Curicó was founded in 1743 by Jose Manso de Velasco during the Spanish reign in the Americas (see

Captaincy General of Chile The Captaincy General of Chile (''Capitanía General de Chile'' ) or Governorate of Chile (known colloquially and unofficially as the Kingdom of Chile), was a territory of the Spanish Empire from 1541 to 1817 that was, for most of its existenc ...

). In 1747, Governor Domingo Ortiz de Rozas decided to move it about to the north, where it is now located, because of the humidity in its original location. The oldest and most valuable building of the city is ''La Iglesia San Francisco'' (San Francisco's Church), built in 1734, and came to its current location in 1759. Curicó gained the title of "city" in 1830. The city's hero is Luis Cruz Martínez, a Chilean soldier from 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 ...

, who died in 1882 in

Perú , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy fo ...

. The city was destroyed by an earthquake in 1928 and rebuilt during the following year. The city was badly damaged in the February 2010 earthquake. An Argentine Air Force Mobile Field Hospital, similar to the one deployed in

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

was deployed to the city and remained on site until September

Economy

The city's economy is based mainly on agriculture. The Mediterranean-type climate encourages crops of orchard fruit and

viticulture Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...

. Other industries are

cement A cement is a binder, a chemical substance used for construction that sets, hardens, and adheres to other materials to bind them together. Cement is seldom used on its own, but rather to bind sand and gravel (aggregate) together. Cement m ...

and sugar production. In human development the city had 0.716 (

UNDP The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human de ...

, Chile 2000), reaching the 97th position in the municipalities of Chile

Tourism and Society

Between March 15 and 20 each year, the city celebrates a wine celebration: the ''Fiesta de la Vendimia'' (Wine Harvest Festival). The region has a ''La Ruta del Vino'' (The Wine Route), in Curicó Valley. It is also known as "the city of cakes" (made from manjar, meringue and fruit). The ''Plaza de Armas'' (Main Square) is the most visited

public place A public space is a place that is open and accessible to the general public. Roads (including the pavement), public squares, parks, and beaches are typically considered public space. To a limited extent, government buildings which are open to ...

(declared a "Typical Zone"). There is a monument to

Lautaro Lautaro (Anglicized as 'Levtaru') ( arn, Lef-Traru " swift hawk") (; 1534? – April 29, 1557) was a young Mapuche toqui known for leading the indigenous resistance against Spanish conquest in Chile and developing the tactics that would cont ...

carved on the trunk of a beech tree, created by the craftsman of Vichuquén, Heraclio "Kako" Calquín. Located around ''Plaza de Armas'' are the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

's house (''alcaldía'') and the governor's house. A few blocks from the plaza, the Alameda Antonio Manso de Velasco avenue crosses the city with its gardens and leafy trees. There is also the Condell hill, a place which offers a panoramic view of the city and the San Francisco church. Potrero Grande is a mountainous area with large forests and waterfalls, popular for hiking, located about from Curicó. Image:Curico 16.jpg, The main parish church around main square. Image:Curico 14.jpg, Luis Cruz Martínez, hero from Curicó. Image:Iglesia san francisco curico.JPG, San Francisco Church, before being destroyed in the 2010 earthquake Image:Alameda Curico 2012.jpg, Curicó, Alameda, 2012 Image:En el cerro condell.jpg, Cerro Condell, Curicó Image:Municipalidad curico.jpg, Correos de Chile (Post office) and Curicó's Municipalidad (City hall) Image:Kiosk de curico.jpg, Kiosk in Curicó's Plaza de Armas

Education

The city has two universities: *

Universidad de Talca The University of Talca ( es, Universidad de Talca) is a Chilean university located in the cities of Talca, Curicó, Linares, Santa Cruz and Santiago. Its headquarters and largest campus are located in the city of Talca. It is part of the Chilean ...

(Traditional-Public)

* Universidad Católica del Maule (Traditional-Religious)

Higher-education institutions: * Instituto Profesional DuocUC of the

Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile The Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (''PUC or UC Chile'') ( es, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile) is one of the six Catholic Universities existing in the Chilean university system and one of the two pontifical universities ...

* Instituto Profesional AIEP of the

Universidad Andrés Bello Universidad (Spanish for "university") may refer to: Places * Universidad, San Juan, Puerto Rico * Universidad (Madrid) Football clubs * Universidad SC, a Guatemalan football club that represents the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala ...

Media

The city has one of the oldest newspapers in Chile, '' La Prensa de Curicó (Press of Curico)'', founded in 1898.La Prensa de Curicó
/ref> Before the earthquake of 2010, its offices were located in front of the central square, but have been relocated since because the building collapsed. Image:Victoria Theatre.jpg, Victoria Theatre Image:Diario la prensa casa matriz.JPG, ''Diario La Prensa''

Notable people

Jorge Eduardo Álvarez Jorge is a Spanish and Portuguese given name. It is derived from the Greek name Γεώργιος (''Georgios'') via Latin ''Georgius''; the former is derived from (''georgos''), meaning "farmer" or "earth-worker". The Latin form ''Georgius' ...

(born 1990), Chilean footballer

Sports

Curicó is known for its

bicycle culture Bicycle culture can refer to a mainstream culture that supports the use of bicycles or to a subculture. Although "bike culture" is often used to refer to various forms of associated fashion, it is erroneous to call fashion in and of itself a cult ...

. Many Chilean cyclists of international level started riding in the city, such as

Marco Arriagada Marco Antonio Arriagada Quinchel (born October 30, 1975 in Curicó) is a Chilean professional racing cyclist. He is the brother of cyclist Marcelo Arriagada. He carried the flag for his native country at the opening ceremony of the 2007 Pan ...

, Marcelo Arriagada and Luis Fernando Sepúlveda. The local football team is Club Provincial Curicó Unido.

Administration

As a commune, Curicó 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. Currently, the 2012-2016 alcalde is Javier Muñoz Riquelme. 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 ...

, Curicó 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 Roberto León (

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 ...

) and Celso Morales ( UDI) as part of the 36th electoral district, together with Teno,

Romeral Romeral is a Chilean List of towns in Chile, town and Communes of Chile, commune in Curicó Province, Maule Region. The commune spans and area of . Demographics According to the 2002 census of Population and Housing by the National Statistics In ...

, Molina,

Sagrada Familia Sagrada is a Spanish word meaning "sacred". It may refer to: * Sagrada, Missouri, a community in the United States *La Sagrada Família, a church in Barcelona, Spain *Rhamnus purshiana ''Frangula purshiana'' (cascara, cascara buckthorn, cascara ...

, Hualañé,

Licantén Licantén is a town within the Licantén commune, administered by the Municipality of Licantén within the Curicó Province in the Maule Region of Chile. The commune also include the coastal town of Iloca. Demographics According to the 2002 cen ...

, Vichuquén and Rauco. 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 Juan Antonio Coloma Correa (UDI) and Andrés Zaldívar Larraín (PDC) as part of the 10th senatorial constituency (Maule-North).

Sources

*

''History of Curicó'' by Tomás Guevara

Information about cultural life and tourism.

Report about urbanization in Latin American cities.

External links

*
Official Website
*
News about Curico

Satellite Images of Curico by ''Google Maps''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Curico Populated places in Curicó Province Capitals of Chilean provinces Communes of Chile Populated places established in 1743 1743 establishments in the Spanish Empire