Longaví
Encyclopedia
Longaví is a Chile
an city and commune located in Linares Province
, one of the four province
s that make up the Maule Region
, in the geographical center of Chile.
in the north, Retiro
and Parral
in the south, San Javier
in the west and Colbún
in the east. The Achibueno River separates Longaví from Linares while the Longaví River
separates it from Retiro. The city of Longaví lies on the left margin of the Liguay River, in the fertile central plain
, and is located 316 km (196 mi) to the south of Santiago
, the nation's capital, and 18 km (11 mi) to the south of Linares, the provincial capital. Longaví is linked with the rest of the country by the Pan-American Highway
(Ruta 5 Sur).
The foothills
of the Andes
occupy the eastern part of the commune. The terrain there is mountainous and hilly, with beautiful landscapes, a well-developed hydrographic network and dense woods on the hills. Among the snow-covered mountains, the mountain Longaví (Nevado de Longaví
), a stratovolcano
, stands for its beauty and characteristic conical shape. It is a scenic spot seen from virtually every point of the central plain of the province and its neighboring ones.
of the National Statistics Institute
, the Longaví commune has 28,161 inhabitants (14,649 men and 13,512 women). Of these, 21,955 (78.0%) lived in rural
areas, while the city of Longaví had a population of 6,206 (22.0%). Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 0.5% (143 persons).
estate, The land had been granted to the Society of Jesus
in 1639. After the Jesuits' expulsion from South America in 1767, the estate passed to the hands of Mateo Sotomayor. In 1904, the village of Longaví was officially created and the commune was founded in 1937.
and other cereal
s, constitutes the main economic activity of Longaví.
, headed by an alcalde
who is directly elected every four years. The 2008-2012 alcalde is Cristian Menchaca Pinochet (UDI).The municipal council has the following members:
Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Longaví is represented in the Chamber of Deputies
by Guillermo Ceroni (PPD
) and Ignacio Urrutia (UDI) as part of the 40th electoral district, (together with Retiro
, Parral
, Cauquenes
, Pelluhue
and Chanco). The commune is represented in the Senate
by Hernán Larraín
(UDI) and Ximena Rincón González (PDC
) as part of the 11th senatorial constituency (Maule-South).
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...
an city and commune located in Linares Province
Linares Province
Linares is one of four provinces of the central Chilean region of Maule . The provincial capital and most populous center is the city of Linares.-Administration:...
, one of the four province
Province
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
s that make up the Maule Region
Maule Region
The VII Maule Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions. Its capital is Talca. The region takes its name from the Maule River which, running westward from the Andes, bisects the region and spans a basin of about 20,600 km2...
, in the geographical center of Chile.
Geography
The commune has a surface of 1453.8 sqkm and is bordered by LinaresLinares, Chile
Linares is a Chilean city and commune located in the Maule Region and lies in the fertile Chilean Central Valley, south of Santiago and south of Talca, the regional capital...
in the north, Retiro
Retiro, Chile
Retiro is a town and commune in Chile, located in Linares Province, in the seventh region of Maule.-Geography:Retiro is located to the south of Santiago, to the south of the city of Linares , and 15 km to the north of the city of Parral...
and Parral
Parral, Chile
Parral is a city and commune and in the Linares Province of central Chile's seventh region of Maule.-History:Parral was founded in 1795 by the Viceroy of Peru, Ambrosio O'Higgins...
in the south, San Javier
San Javier, Chile
San Javier is a Chilean city and commune located in the Province of Linares, Maule Region. The city lies in the geographical center of the country, some south of Santiago, to the northwest of the provincial capital, Linares, and to the south of Talca, the regional capital...
in the west and Colbún
Colbún
Colbún is a Chilean town and commune in Linares Province, Maule Region. The commune has a population of over 17,000 inhabitants and covers an area of , making it the province's largest. Its capital, the town of Colbún, has 3,679 inhabitants...
in the east. The Achibueno River separates Longaví from Linares while the Longaví River
Longaví River
The Longaví River is a tributary of the Maule River, in the Province of Linares, Maule Region of Chile. The Longaví is 120 km long.The Longaví rises in an Andean chain of north-south orientation at about 2,000 m of average altitude, but its main affluent, the Blanco river, drains the south-east...
separates it from Retiro. The city of Longaví lies on the left margin of the Liguay River, in the fertile central plain
Chilean Central Valley
The Central Valley , Intermediate Depression or Longitudinal Valley is the depression between the Chilean Costal Range and the Andes Mountains. The central valley should not be confused with Central Chile that encompasses part of the valley...
, and is located 316 km (196 mi) to the south 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...
, the nation's capital, and 18 km (11 mi) to the south of Linares, the provincial capital. Longaví is linked with the rest of the country by the Pan-American Highway
Pan-American Highway
The Pan-American Highway is a network of roads measuring about in total length. Except for an rainforest break, called the Darién Gap, the road links the mainland nations of the Americas in a connected highway system. According to Guinness World Records, the Pan-American Highway is the world's...
(Ruta 5 Sur).
The foothills
Foothills
Foothills are geographically defined as gradual increases in elevation at the base of a mountain range. They are a transition zone between plains and low relief hills to the adjacent topographically high mountains.-Examples:...
of the Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
occupy the eastern part of the commune. The terrain there is mountainous and hilly, with beautiful landscapes, a well-developed hydrographic network and dense woods on the hills. Among the snow-covered mountains, the mountain Longaví (Nevado de Longaví
Nevado de Longaví
Nevado de Longaví is a stratovolcano in the Andes of central Chile. The 3,242 m perennially snowcapped peak is a landmark of Linares Province and the Maule Region, visible from practically every point in the Central Valley of the province and the neighbouring Province of Cauquenes.Treking in...
), a stratovolcano
Stratovolcano
A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a tall, conical volcano built up by many layers of hardened lava, tephra, pumice, and volcanic ash. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile and periodic, explosive eruptions...
, stands for its beauty and characteristic conical shape. It is a scenic spot seen from virtually every point of the central plain of the province and its neighboring ones.
Demography
According to the 2002 censusCensus
A 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 Institute
National Statistics Institute (Chile)
The 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...
, the Longaví commune has 28,161 inhabitants (14,649 men and 13,512 women). Of these, 21,955 (78.0%) lived in rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
areas, while the city of Longaví had a population of 6,206 (22.0%). Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 0.5% (143 persons).
Notable people born in Longaví
- Arturo Alessandri Palma: politician, statesman and twice the President of Chile
History
Most of what is today the commune of Longaví occupies what was formerly a vast JesuitSociety of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
estate, The land had been granted to the Society of Jesus
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
in 1639. After the Jesuits' expulsion from South America in 1767, the estate passed to the hands of Mateo Sotomayor. In 1904, the village of Longaví was officially created and the commune was founded in 1937.
Economy
Agriculture, in particular the cultivation of riceRice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
and other cereal
Cereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
s, constitutes the main economic activity of Longaví.
Administration
As a commune, Longaví is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal councilMunicipal council
A 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 alcalde
Alcalde
Alcalde , 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 Cristian Menchaca Pinochet (UDI).The municipal council has the following members:
- Marta Garrido Vallejos (PDCChristian Democratic PartyChristian 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...
) - Manuel San Martín Romero (RNNational Renewal (Chile)National 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...
) - Robín Araya Acebedo (UDI)
- Ricardo Latrach Ponce (PRSDSocial Democrat Radical PartyThe Social Democratic Radical Party is a social democratic party in Chile.The party is a member of Socialist International....
) - Gonzalo Jara Reyes (ILF)
- Pedro González Lizana (UDI)
Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Longaví is represented in the Chamber of Deputies
Chamber of Deputies of Chile
The 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 Guillermo Ceroni (PPD
Party for Democracy
The Party for Democracy is a political party in Chile; it is social democratic in its political orientation. It was founded in December 1987 by Ricardo Lagos, who aimed at forming a legal social democratic party . The party continued to function after the defeat of Pinochet...
) and Ignacio Urrutia (UDI) as part of the 40th electoral district, (together with Retiro
Retiro
Retiro might refer to the following:*Retiro, Antioquia, a municipality in the Colombian department of Antioquia*Retiro, Buenos Aires, a neighbourhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina...
, Parral
Parral, Chile
Parral is a city and commune and in the Linares Province of central Chile's seventh region of Maule.-History:Parral was founded in 1795 by the Viceroy of Peru, Ambrosio O'Higgins...
, Cauquenes
Cauquenes
Cauquenes, a city and commune in Chile, is the capital of the Cauquenes Province and is located in the Maule Region.-History:According to the historical records of Alonso de Ercilla, Cauquenes was originally inhabited by an indigenous community of the Promaucaes, known as the Cauqui by the Inca or...
, Pelluhue
Pelluhue
Pelluhue is a town and commune in the Cauquenes Province of central Chile's eighth region of Maule.-Geography:...
and Chanco). The commune is represented in the Senate
Senate of Chile
The 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 Hernán Larraín
Hernán Larraín
Hernán Larraín Fernández is a conservative Chilean lawyer, university lecturer, and politician; he is a current Senator and former President of the Senate, and is also currently serving as the president of the Independent Democrat Union. Larraín was elected to the Senate representing the 11th...
(UDI) and Ximena Rincón González (PDC
Christian Democratic Party
Christian 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 11th senatorial constituency (Maule-South).