El Quisco is a

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 city and commune in San Antonio Province,

Valparaíso Region The Valparaíso Region (, ) is one of Chile's 16 Regions of Chile, first order administrative divisions.Valparaíso Region, 2006 With the country's second-highest population of 1,790,219 , and fourth-smallest area of , the region is Chile's sec ...

. Located in the country's central coast, it serves as a popular summer resort for the population of

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

and forms part of the Coast of Poets, a cultural space named after four Chilean poets:

Pablo Neruda Pablo Neruda ( ; ; born Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto; 12 July 190423 September 1973) was a Chilean poet-diplomat and politician who won the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature. Neruda became known as a poet when he was 13 years old an ...

, Vicente Huidobro,

Violeta Parra Violeta del Carmen Parra Sandoval (; 4 October 1917 – 5 February 1967) was a Chilean composer, singer-songwriter, folklorist, ethnomusicologist and visual artist. She pioneered the Nueva Canción Chilena (The Chilean New Song), a renewal and a ...

and Nicanor Parra. El Quisco is home to La Casa de Isla Negra, the former house of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, which is now a museum and Neruda's burial site.

Etymology

The word "quisco" refers to the Echinopsis chiloensis, a species of cactus native to the central coast of Chile. It is derived from the Quechua word ''khishka'', meaning "

spine Spine or spinal may refer to: Science Biology * Spinal column, also known as the backbone * Dendritic spine, a small membranous protrusion from a neuron's dendrite * Thorns, spines, and prickles, needle-like structures in plants * Spine (zoology), ...

History

Tralca Point Beach from Peninsula El Quisco

Early history

There have been important archaeological findings from the pre-ceramic period and the late ceramic period along the coast of El Quisco. El Quisco was a centre of the and , among others, and their presence coincided with the dates of the El Molle culture further north. The Bato culture was established between 400 and 300 BC, and shared cultural traits with the Molle culture. Typical of this culture was the use of a tembetá (a metal or stone rod used in lower-lip piercings). In addition,

mortars Mortar may refer to: * Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon * Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together * Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind * Mortar, Bihar, a village i ...

, stones used to grind vegetables and minerals, have been found. Evidence of this group has been found in Trebulco and in La Manresa, located near Lonquén. Its peak development came in 400 to 500 AD, both on the coast and in the interior, and the culture persisted in the Preandean zone until around 900 AD. The El Molle culture was established in Chile around 300 AD among the Transverse Valleys of the rivers

Copiapó Copiapó () is a List of cities in Chile, city and communes of Chile, commune in northern Chile, located about 65 kilometers east of the coastal List of towns in Chile, town of Caldera, Chile, Caldera. Founded on December 8, 1744, it is the capi ...

and Choapa, with large migrations to the country from

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, from the tropical

jungle jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅgala'' ...

s of the Chaco, Argentine pampas, and from

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. The first settlements were in the interior of the country, in El Molle (in the Valle de Elqui), where the first evidence was found. They mixed with existing populations and adopted some cultural elements and physical features from them. They were the predecessors of the

Diaguita The Diaguita people are a group of South American Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous people native to the Chilean Norte Chico, Chile, Norte Chico and the Argentine Northwest. Western or Chilean Diaguitas lived mainly in the Transvers ...

culture, and by the time the Spanish arrived (1492) they had already disappeared. This culture was located in what would become regions III ( Atacama) and IV (

Coquimbo Coquimbo is a port List of cities in Chile, city, Communes of Chile, commune and capital of the Elqui Province, located on the Pan-American Highway, in the Coquimbo Region of Chile. Coquimbo is situated in a valley south of La Serena, Chile, La S ...

) of modern Chile. The Aconcagua culture spread along the coast, near the present-day resorts of Algarrobo, El Quisco, Llolleo, El Tabo, Las Cruces, Rocas de Santo Domingo, and Cartagena. The ceramics of these cultures are commonly called the ''Aconcagua Salmon Type'', for their orange colour with decorative designs in black paint, found in the Late ''Agroalfarero'' ("agro-potter") period of the region, between 800 and 1470, principally in pieces known as ''pucos,'' or bowls. The outer face is often a decoration representing the figure of a ''"Trinaurio",'' or whirlpool with three arms.

Mapuche period

More recently Picunche people lived between two important rivers: the Choapa and the Itata. They were

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer ...

s and thus sedentary, growing

gourd Gourds include the fruits of some flowering plant species in the family Cucurbitaceae, particularly '' Cucurbita'' and '' Lagenaria''. The term refers to a number of species and subspecies, many with hard shells, and some without. Many gourds ha ...

maize Maize (; ''Zea mays''), also known as corn in North American English, is a tall stout grass that produces cereal grain. It was domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 9,000 years ago from wild teosinte. Native American ...

bean A bean is the seed of some plants in the legume family (Fabaceae) used as a vegetable for human consumption or animal feed. The seeds are often preserved through drying (a ''pulse''), but fresh beans are also sold. Dried beans are traditi ...

s and

chili pepper Chili peppers, also spelled chile or chilli ( ), are varieties of fruit#Berries, berry-fruit plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for their pungency. They are used as a spice to ...

. Water was abundant where they lived, and the climate was hot. They raised animals, especially

llama The llama (; or ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a List of meat animals, meat and pack animal by Inca empire, Andean cultures since the pre-Columbian era. Llamas are social animals and live with ...

s and

guanaco The guanaco ( ; ''Lama guanicoe'') is a camelid native to South America, closely related to the llama. Guanacos are one of two wild South American camelids; the other species is the vicuña, which lives at higher elevations. Etymology The gua ...

s, which provided meat for food and wool for clothes. They lived in small villages, in groups of approximately 300 people. Their houses were made of mud, with roofs of totora. About 30 people lived in each house: a father, wives, children, and other close relatives. Men gave the orders and directed the work: the highest authority was the father and after him the oldest son. Only in emergencies, especially in wars, was there a chief as a leader. Nevertheless, the villages were peaceful.

Inca period

The area was part of the

Inca Empire The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...

, specifically of Qullasuyu. To assure their domination and introduce Inca customs, Inca sovereigns established numerous colonies of

mitimae ''Mitma'' was a policy of forced resettlement employed by the Inca Empire, Incas. It involved the forceful migration of groups of extended families or ethnic groups from their home territory to lands recently conquered by the Incas. The objective ...

s, farmers and peaceful craftsmen brought from diverse parts of the empire: Aymara, Quechua and

Atacameño The Atacama people, also called Atacameño, are an Indigenous people from the Atacama Desert and altiplano region in the north of Chile and Argentina and southern Bolivia, mainly the Antofagasta Region. According to the Argentinean Census in 2010 ...

. These foreign settlers founded numerous villages with names that recall their places of origin: Limache (people of Rímac or

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

), Collahue (place of the

Qulla The Qulla ( Quechuan for ''south'', Hispanicized and mixed spellings: ''Colla, Kolla'') are an Indigenous people of western Bolivia, northern Chile, and the western portions of Jujuy and Salta provinces in Argentina. The 2004 Complementary In ...

people or Aymara people), Pomaire and different people of Atacameño origin. The clothes of Inca soldiers were made from ''Pulla Pulla'' ( Zephyranthes párvula Killip), an annual plant of the family

Amaryllidaceae The Amaryllidaceae are a family of herbaceous, mainly perennial and bulbous (rarely rhizomatous) flowering plants in the monocot order Asparagales. The family takes its name from the genus '' Amaryllis'' and is commonly known as the amaryl ...

, native to the highland Andean provinces, with beautiful flowers that bloom in spring. This bloom is considered an omen of whether the agricultural year would be good or bad. The route from Limache to Las Dichas passed through Lo Orozco, continuing to Portezuelo de Ibacache and finishing at

Talagante Talagante () is a commune and the capital city of the province of the same name in the Santiago Metropolitan Region of central Chile. The word ''Talagante'' in Quechua comes from ''talacanta'', meaning "Lazo de Hechicero", which was the prope ...

, where other Mitimae existed. In 1430, Túpac Inca Yupanqui initiated a great military campaign that culminated in the establishment of a border at the Maule river. Ilabe, an Inca

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Gr ...

who commanded the invading forces, established himself in the Picunche Llollehue valley, between the Maipo river and the

Mapocho river The River Mapocho () ( Mapudungun: ''Mapu chuco'', "water that penetrates the land") is a river in Chile. It flows from its source in the Andes mountains onto the west and divides Chile's capital Santiago in two. Course The Mapocho begins at the ...

. He decided to found a colony and a pucará, a task he entrusted to his son, Tala Canta Ilabe. He had the authority to name ''

kuraka A ''kuraka'' ( Quechua for the principal governor of a province or a communal authority in the Tawantinsuyu), or curaca (Hispanicized spelling), was an official of the Andean civilizations, unified by the Inca Empire in 1438, who held the role o ...

s'' or governors, derived from that of the Inca in

Cusco Cusco or Cuzco (; or , ) is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Sacred Valley of the Andes mountain range and the Huatanay river. It is the capital of the eponymous Cusco Province, province and Cusco Region, department. The city was the cap ...

. His mandate allowed him to establish the social, political and economic system characteristic of the

, to distribute land and community property, and initiate public works for the common good, like roads, granaries and housing. Agricultural and cattle production was sufficiently developed to allow food exports to the ''

pukara Pukara ( Aymara and Quechuan "fortress", Hispanicized spellings ''pucara, pucará'') is a defensive hilltop site or fortification built by the prehispanic and historic inhabitants of the central Andean area (from Ecuador to central Chile and ...

s'' of the north.

Spanish settlement

The first indications of Spanish colonization in the El Quisco area date to 1570, when the Spanish family of Alonso de Córdoba took control. Previously it was named ''Huallilemu'' ''(

Mapudungun Mapuche ( , ; from 'land' and 'people', meaning 'the people of the land') or Mapudungun (from 'land' and 'speak, speech', meaning 'the speech of the land'; also spelled Mapuzugun and Mapudungu) is either a language isolate or member of the s ...

: forest of oakwood)'', and then ''El Totoral'' after the many totoras there.

Pirates

After 1578, El Quisco and nearby places became bolt holes for pirates such as the Englishmen

Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( 1540 – 28 January 1596) was an English Exploration, explorer and privateer best known for making the Francis Drake's circumnavigation, second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition between 1577 and 1580 (bein ...

, Thomas Cavendish, and

Richard Hawkins Admiral Sir Richard Hawkins (or Hawkyns) (c. 1562 – 17 April 1622) was a 17th-century English seaman, explorer and privateer. He was the son of Admiral Sir John Hawkins. Biography He was from his earlier days familiar with ships and the ...

and Dutchmen like Oliver Van Noort and Joris van Spilbergen. Francis Drake probably moored his

galleon Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships developed in Spain and Portugal. They were first used as armed cargo carriers by Europe, Europeans from the 16th to 18th centuries during the Age of Sail, and they were the principal vessels dr ...

the ''

Golden Hind ''Golden Hind'' was a galleon captained by Francis Drake in his circumnavigation of the world between 1577 and 1580. She was originally known as ''Pelican,'' but Drake renamed her mid-voyage in 1578, in honour of his patron, Sir Christopher Ha ...

'' in the bay in December 1578. He travelled with two people known only by their Christian names, Christopher and Cosmas, the first Japanese explorers to circumnavigate the globe. At the end of the colonial era, many foreign ships already engaged in illegal trade on the Chilean coast, including English, Dutch, French and American pirates. The foreign pirates generally operated with the support of Chilean Creoles, born in Chile but of European descent, saw the attempts of the Spanish authorities to interfere as one more proof of the arrogance of the colonial Spanish system.

Today

Tralca Point Beach in Peninsula El Quisco

The commune of El Quisco was incorporated on August 30, 1956, under the presidency of

Carlos Ibáñez del Campo General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo (; 3 November 1877 – 28 April 1960) was a Chilean Army officer and political figure. He served as president twice, first between 1927 and 1931, and then from 1952 to 1958, serving for 10 years in office. E ...

under Statutory order Nº 12110.

Demographics

Patrullera Clase Defender atracando en El Quisco

According to the 2002

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of the National Statistics Institute, El Quisco spans an area of and has 9,467 inhabitants (4,815 men and 4,652 women). Of these, 8,931 (94.3%) lived in

urban area An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...

s and 536 (5.7%) 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 are typically desc ...

s. The population grew by 55.3% (3,370 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a commune, El Quisco 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, borough cou ...

, headed by an

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

who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Natalia Carrasco Pizarro. * Cristofer Ceballos Lira ( UDI) * Juan Andrés Berrios Olmedo ( PPD) * José Moraga Lira ( RN) * Maria Magdalena Bianchi Berroeta ( PDC) * Guillermo Romo Díaz ( JPM) * Guillermo Vidal Devia (UDI) Within the

electoral divisions of Chile This article covers the electoral division of Chile, which involves two distinct systems: # Chamber of Deputies of Chile, Chamber of Deputies and Senate of Chile, Senate: Chile is divided into electoral districts and senatorial constituencies for ...

, El Quisco 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 Bourb ...

by María José Hoffmann (UDI) and Víctor Torres (PDC) as part of the 15th electoral district, together with

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

, Cartagena, El Tabo, Algarrobo and

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

. 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 Francisco Chahuán Chahuán (RN) and Ricardo Lagos Weber (PPD) as part of the 6th senatorial constituency (Valparaíso-Coast).

Description

El Quisco has four sectors that are both geographically and culturally distinct: * El Quisco proper * Punta de Tralca *

Isla Negra Isla Negra (Spanish: ''Black Island'') is a coastal area in El Quisco commune in central Chile, some 45 km (70 km by road) south of Valparaiso and 96 km (110 km by road) west of Santiago. Pablo Neruda Isla Negra was the re ...

* El Totoral

Tourism

The area is a favourite tourist destination in central Chile. One of its advantages is its short distance from Santiago. There are many residences and hotels for lodging, as well as many restaurants and inns for enjoying typical Chilean food. Marine sports are available, including

scuba diving Scuba diving is a Diving mode, mode of underwater diving whereby divers use Scuba set, breathing equipment that is completely independent of a surface breathing gas supply, and therefore has a limited but variable endurance. The word ''scub ...

and

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

Famous inhabitants

, winner of the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

of Literature *

, singer and composer. Parra spent long seasons at

, where she created works such as "El Rin de Angelito". * Enrique Silva Cimma, ex-

foreign minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

* Patricio Tombolini, ex-vice minister, ex-president of the

Social Democrat Radical Party The Radical Party of Chile (), is a classical radical political party in Chile. The party has also been referred to as liberal, social-liberal, and social-democratic. The party is a member of Socialist International and participant in the ...

* Clara Solovera (1909–1992), folklorist. Her daughters Cecilia and Marcela spread her ashes in the sea across from her house in El Quisco. * Luis Hernández Parker, winner of the National Prize of Journalism * René Ríos Boettiger, Chilean cartoonist, creator of Condorito. * Jose Perotti, winner of the National Prize of Art. * Camilo Mori, painter who designed the official seal of the city of El Quisco * Sonia Tschorne, vice-minister of Housing, Urbanism and National Assets * Osvaldo Puccio, politician * Jose Michael Puccio, surgeon of the Presidency of Chile * Mario López Ibáñez, physician * Roberto Marín Vivado, coloproctologist who had a long career as president of the Gastronomic Confraternity Nº 1 of Santiago and honorary member of the Circle of Gastronomic Chroniclers. * Christian von Wernich, priest and collaborator with the Argentinian dictatorship who took refuge in El Quisco's Catholic church until he was identified in 2003.''International Herald Tribune'' 17 September 2007
Argentine priest testifies about church's role in 'dirty war'
/ref>

External links

Municipality of El QuiscoGuía EL Quisco, Complete Turisitic guide about El QuiscoTuristic Web El QuiscoOcupaciones tempranas y la aparición del pescador en la costa pacífica de Sudamérica”Sitio turístico del QuiscoFM Radio online El Quisco Compañía eléctrica de la ComunaEl Quisco y El TaboNuestro Refugio

Fundación Pablo NerudaSitio del QuiscoCentral Coast of Chile Directory

Colegio del Quisco

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quisco, El Populated places in San Antonio Province Coasts of Valparaíso Region