Tocopilla 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 Antofagasta Region, in the north 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 ...

. It is the capital of 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 ...

that bears the same name. Every year Tocopilla celebrates its anniversary on 29 September with a big show the day before, which includes a parade down in the main street of the city, food and a fireworks display at midnight. The city is divided into two main parts consisting of the central city and smaller portion known as ''La Villa Sur'' (in which the more luxurious houses are located). The two parts are divided by the thermoelectric power plant and a large

saltpeter Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . This alkali metal nitrate salt is also known as Indian saltpetre (large deposits of which were historically mined in India). It is an ionic salt of potassium ions K+ and nit ...

processing and shipping plant, with the coastal highway connecting the two portions. The northern portion of Tocopilla is home of the municipal buildings, the central square and many stores and shops. The steep gradient of the city from beach to vertical hillside is covered in houses and apartments crammed together to save space. A large artificial beach called "Covadonga" and a small artificial beach called "Caleta Boy" are the main attractions during summer months and serve as a focus away from the heat of the Atacama. On the north side of the city, there is a black sandy beach called "El Panteón". Tocopilla is the birthplace of artist Alejandro Jodorowsky and footballer Alexis Sánchez.

Toponymy

Tocopilla means "the devil's corner" in the

Quechua language Quechua (, ; ), usually called ("people's language") in Quechuan languages, is an indigenous language family spoken by the Quechua peoples, primarily living in the Peruvian Andes. Derived from a common ancestral language, it is the most wid ...

. Jodorowky explains the etymology further in his autobiography ''The Dance of Reality'': "In the Andean language of Quechua, ''Toco'' means "double sacred square" and ''Pilla'' means "devil." In this case, the devil is not the incarnation of evil but a being of the subterranean dimension who gazes through a window made of both spirit and matter—that is, the body—in order to observe the world and share his knowledge with it. Among the

Mapuche The Mapuche ( (Mapuche & Spanish: )) are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who s ...

, ''Pillán'' means "the soul, the human spirit arrived at its final destination."

2007 earthquake

On 14 November 2007, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake occurred east-southeast of Tocopilla, followed by aftershocks of magnitude up to 6.8. As a consequence, 1,200 homes were destroyed in Tocopilla, leaving 4,000 of its 27,000 inhabitants homeless. There were two fatalities, and at least 115 were injured.

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, Tocopilla had 23,986 inhabitants (12,050 men and 11,936 women). Of these, 23,352 (97.4%) 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 634 (2.6%) 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 fell by 4.0% (999 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a commune, Tocopilla is a third-level administrative division of Chile 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 2013-2016 alcalde is Fernando San Román Bascuñán (Ind./PRO). Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Tocopilla 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 Marcos Espinosa ( PRSD) and Felipe Ward ( UDI) as part of the 3rd electoral district, (together with María Elena, Calama, Ollagüe and San Pedro de Atacama). 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 Pedro Araya Guerrero ( Ind.) and Alejandro Guillier ( Ind.) as part of the 2nd senatorial constituency (Antofagasta Region).

Sports

The city has one

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...

team called

Deportes Tocopilla Club de Deportes Tocopilla is a Chilean Football club, currently their home town is Tocopilla, Antofagasta Region. The club were founded on ''March 27, 2006'' and participated for 3 years in Chilean Tercera División, 1 year in Chilean Cuarta Div ...

who currently play in Tercera B (Chile). Former

Arsenal F.C. Arsenal Football Club, commonly referred to as Arsenal, is a professional football club based in Islington, London, England. Arsenal plays in the Premier League, the top flight of English football. The club has won 13 league titles (inclu ...

Manchester United F.C. Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd), or simply United, is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. The club competes in the Premier League, ...

and

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Inter i ...

forward Alexis was also born in Tocopilla and currently competes in

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. ...

for

Olympique de Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; oc, Olimpic de Marselha, ), also known simply as Marseille or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional men's football club based in Marseille, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. Founded in 1899, the club p ...

Economy

This city generates electricity for the entire

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

and is therefore known as "the city of energy". When

exportation in Chile was at its highest point, Tocopilla was especially significant as an export point. Nowadays, even when the saltpeter is not so profitable, Tocopilla is still home of companies focused on its extraction. Its position along the coast allows it to have an active fishing activity, that along with the mining activity are the main resources. It is a fishing port, with fishmeal and canned fish factories. Through its port the

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish ...

from

Chuquicamata Chuquicamata ( ; referred to as Chuqui for short) is the largest open pit copper mine in terms of excavated volume in the world. It is located in the north of Chile, just outside Calama, at above sea level. It is northeast of Antofagasta and ...

and saltpeter from El Toco are exported. Tocopilla has metallurgic,

chemical A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., wit ...

and nitrate treatment industries, along with the

power plant A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many p ...

. Due to these activities, Tocopilla is a

dormitory city A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

, since many people work outside the city. Two other important sports are

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

, with relative success at school and federated level, and

with a number of players that have gone to bigger clubs, such as Alexis.

In media

'' The Dance of Reality'', a 2013 Chilean-French film by Alejandro Jodorowsky, was filmed in Tocopilla. The city is mentioned in the Hank Snow and

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American Country music, country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later s ...

song " I've Been Everywhere."

References

External links

*
Municipality of Tocopilla
*
Tocopilla on line
*
Prensa Tocopilla
{{Authority control Communes of Chile Port cities in Chile Populated places established in 1843 Populated places in Tocopilla Province Capitals of Chilean provinces 1843 establishments in Chile Coasts of Antofagasta Region