San Rosendo 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 and commune in
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.
The city of San Rosendo lies on the gentle slopes of a hill overlooking the confluence of the rivers Biobío and
LajaLaja River is a river in Chile, along which can be found the Laja Falls. It is located in the Bío-Bío Region. The source of the river is Laguna del Laja in the Andes, then flows westward through the Chilean Central Valley and terminates into the Bío-Bío River, being an important tributary of...
, which respectively bound the city to the west and south. On the opposite bank of the Laja River is the city of Laja, forming both an incipient
conurbationA conurbation is a region comprising a number of cities, large towns, and other urban areas that, through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban and industrially developed area...
.
History
San Rosendo was first a fort built by the
Royal GovernorThe Royal Governor of Chile ruled over the Spanish colonial administrative district known as the Kingdom of Chile. This district was also called the Captaincy General of Chile, and as a result the Royal Governor also held the title of a Captain General...
Martín García Óñez de LoyolaDon Martín García Óñez de Loyola was a Spanish Basque soldier and Royal Governor of Chile.-Early life:...
in 1593. It was destroyed and burned by 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...
in 1655, it recovered later but did not survive the rising of the Mapuche in 1723. The current settlement grew up around the railroad station in the same location in the later 19th century.
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...
, San Rosendo spans an area of 92.4 sqkm and has 3,918 inhabitants (1,930 men and 1,988 women). Of these, 3,249 (82.9%) 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 669 (17.1%) in rural areas. The population fell by 10.4% (457 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.
Administration
As a commune, San Rosendo 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 Duverlis Valenzuela Martínez (
RNNational Renewal , is a liberal conservative political party belonging to the Chilean right-wing political coalition Coalition for Change in conjunction with the Independent Democratic Union and the Chile First movement...
).
Within the electoral divisions of Chile, San Rosendo 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....
,
NacimientoNacimiento is a Chilean city situated in the Biobío Province, Biobío Region, south of Santiago, and from the closest major city in the region, Concepción....
,
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 San Rosendo