Nacimiento is a
ChileChile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
an
city situated in the
Biobío ProvinceBiobío Province is one of four provinces of the Chilean region of Biobío . Its capital is Los Ángeles . It is bounded on the north, west and south by the provinces of Concepción, Arauco and Malleco, respectively, and on the east by Argentina. It has an area of of well-wooded and mountainous...
, Biobío Region, 550 km (342 mi) south of
SantiagoSantiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...
, and 104 km (65 mi) from the closest major city in the region,
ConcepciónConcepción is a city in Chile, capital of Concepción Province and of the Biobío Region or Region VIII. Greater Concepción is the second-largest conurbation in the country, with 889,725 inhabitants...
.
It was first used as a fort for the Spanish army to advance and control the territory, and it was officially baptised on
Christmas EveChristmas Eve refers to the evening or entire day preceding Christmas Day, a widely celebrated festival commemorating the birth of Jesus of Nazareth that takes place on December 25...
of December of 1603 with the name of
Nacimiento de Nuestro Señor (
Nativity of Our LordThe Nativity of Jesus, or simply The Nativity, refers to the accounts of the birth of Jesus in two of the Canonical gospels and in various apocryphal texts....
). Destroyed in the later risings of the
MapucheThe Mapuche are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina. They constitute a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who shared a common social, religious and economic structure, as well as a common linguistic heritage. Their influence extended...
and repaired in 1665, 1724 and for the last time in 1739, it was transferred with its inhabitants in 1749 to the site of the current town.
For a long time it was considered the last frontier of Chile, but after the arrival of foreign investors and developers it became a very prosperous city. The Palacio Gleisner is testament to that early prosperity.
Among the rivers that surround the city include the Biobío and the
VergaraVergara River is a river located in the Intermediate Depression of Chile. The river rises at the junction of the Malleco and Rehue rivers, close to the city of Angol.Nahuelbuta Range barrier forces the river to flow northward. At the latitude of the town of Renaico, the Vergara is joined by its...
rivers. Industrial practices of
lumberLumber or timber is wood in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
companies such as Mininco, Inforsa and Sante Fé (among others) have caused contaminants to pollute the waters of the Vergara River, which was the life source of local agricultural cultivation.
Demographics
According to the 2002
censusA census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of the
National Statistics InstituteThe National Statistics Institute of Chile is a state-run organization of the Government of Chile, created in the second half of the 19th century and tasked with performing a general census of population and housing, then collecting, producing and publishing official demographic statistics of...
, Nacimiento spans an area of 934.9 sqkm and has 25,971 inhabitants (13,090 men and 12,881 women). Of these, 20,884 (80.4%) lived in
urban areaAn urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
s and 5,087 (19.6%) in rural areas. The population fell by 0.1% (23 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses. The town of Nacimiento comprises about 1.4% of the total population of the region.
Administration
As a commune, Nacimiento is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a
municipal councilA municipal council is the local government of a municipality. Specifically the term can refer to the institutions of various countries that can be translated by this term...
, headed by an
alcaldeAlcalde , or Alcalde ordinario, 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 and judge of first instance of a town...
who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Gerardo Montes Cisternas (
PSThe Socialist Party of Chile is a political party, that is part of the center-left Coalition of Parties for Democracy coalition. Its historical leader was the late President of Chile Salvador Allende Gossens, who was deposed by General Pinochet in 1973...
).
Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Nacimiento is represented in the
Chamber of DeputiesThe Chamber of Deputies of the Republic of Chile is the lower house of Chile's bicameral Congress. Its organisation and its powers and duties are defined in articles 42 to 59 of Chile's current constitution....
by Juan Lobos (UDI) and José Pérez (
PRSDThe Social Democratic Radical Party is a social democratic party in Chile.The party is a member of Socialist International....
) as part of the 47th electoral district, (together with
Los ÁngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
,
TucapelTucapel is a town and commune in the Arauco Province, Biobío Region, Chile. It was once a region of Araucanía named for the Tucapel River. The name of the region derived from the rehue and aillarehue of the Moluche people of the area between the Lebu and the Lleulleu Rivers, who were famed for...
, Antuco,
QuillecoQuilleco is a Chilean town and commune located in the Biobío Province, Biobío Region.-Demographics:According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Quilleco spans an area of and has 10,428 inhabitants . Of these, 5,486 lived in urban areas and 4,942 in rural areas...
,
Santa BárbaraSanta Bárbara is a Chilean city and commune in Biobío Province, Biobío Region. In 2004 a great portion of its territory was taken off to form the new commune of Alto Biobío.-History:...
,
QuilacoQuilaco is a Chilean town and commune located in the Biobío Province, Biobío Region. The commune spans an area of .-History:Quilaco has two accepted meanings: "Three waters" or "Quila in the water". The town has its roots in the Mapuche and Spanish races, as produced with the arrival of Franciscan...
,
MulchénMulchén is a city and commune in Biobío Province of Biobío Region, Chile. It was first settled in 1871 by soldiers during the so called Pacification of the Araucania. In 1875 Mulchén was officially founded....
,
NegreteNegrete is a Chilean town and commune in Biobío Province, Biobío Region. It is bordered by the commune of Los Ángeles to the north, Renaico to the south, Mulchén to the east and Nacimiento to the west....
,
San RosendoSan Rosendo is a Chilean city and commune in Biobío Province, Biobío Region.The city of San Rosendo lies on the gentle slopes of a hill overlooking the confluence of the rivers Biobío and Laja, which respectively bound the city to the west and south...
,
LajaLaja is a location in the La Paz Department in Bolivia. It is the seat of the Laja Municipality, the second municipal section of the Los Andes Province.- References :*...
and
Alto BiobíoAlto Biobío is a Chilean commune located in the Biobío Province, Biobío Region. The commune spans an area of .-History:The commune was created 25 August 2003, separating the southeast portion from the existing Santa Bárbara commune.-Demographics:...
). The commune is represented in the
SenateThe Senate of the Republic of Chile is the upper house of Chile's bicameral National Congress, as established in the current Constitution of Chile.-Composition:...
by Victor Pérez Varela (UDI) and Mariano Ruiz -Esquide Jara (
PDCChristian democratic parties are those political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social teaching, and it continues to be influential in Europe and...
) as part of the 13th senatorial constituency (Biobío-Coast).
External links
Municipality of Nacimiento