Isla Negra is a coastal area in El Quisco

El Quisco

El Quisco is a Chilean city and commune in San Antonio Province, Valparaíso Region. Located in the country's central coast, it serves as a popular summer resort for the population of Santiago...

 commune in central Chile

Chile

Chile ,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...

, some 45 km (70 km by road) south of Valparaiso

Valparaíso

Valparaíso is a city and commune of Chile, center of its third largest conurbation and one of the country's most important seaports and an increasing cultural center in the Southwest Pacific hemisphere. The city is the capital of the Valparaíso Province and the Valparaíso Region...

 and 95 km (110 km by road) west of Santiago

Santiago, Chile

Santiago , 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...

.

Pablo Neruda

Isla Negra is best known as the residence of Chilean poet Pablo Neruda

Pablo Neruda

Pablo Neruda was the pen name and, later, legal name of the Chilean poet, diplomat and politician Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. He chose his pen name after Czech poet Jan Neruda....

, who lived there at Casa de Isla Negra

Casa de Isla Negra

Casa de Isla Negra was one of Pablo Neruda's three houses in Chile. It is located at Isla Negra, El Quisco, San Antonio Province, Valparaíso Region about 85 km to the south of Valparaíso and 110 km to the west of Santiago. It was his favorite house and where he and his third wife, Matilde Urrutia...

(with long periods of travel and exile) from 1939 until his death in 1973. The area was baptized by Neruda himself, after the dark outcrop of rocks just offshore. It literally means "black island" in Spanish. The Casa de Isla Negra is now a museum that is well visited all year around and especially during summer.

Every year on Neruda's birthday (July 12), there are celebrations, both at the house and in the artisans' square nearby. There are poetry readings, music and picnics on the beach.

Community

Although most tourists come in buses to see Neruda's house, there is also a thriving community of writers, artists and artisans who live in Isla Negra and the surrounding area. It is a favorite vacation spot for middle class families from Santiago and there are many cabins and restaurants, craft shops, an Imaginary Boat open to visitors up Av. Central and the possibility of eco-tours.

Many artists and writers from the island, one of whom was Lee Spurling, were inspired by the ocean and the islands mystical landscape.

"Isla Negra" is also a brand of wine produced on the island, produced in both red and white varieties.