Quintero is a 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...

an city and commune in Valparaíso Province

Valparaíso Province

Valparaíso Province is one of eight provinces of the central Chilean region of Valparaíso . Its capital is the coastal city of Valparaíso Valparaíso Province is one of eight provinces of the central Chilean region of Valparaíso (V). Its capital is the coastal city of Valparaíso Valparaíso...

, Valparaíso Region

Valparaíso Region

The V Valparaíso Region is one of Chile's 15 first order administrative divisions.Valparaíso Region, 2006 With the country's third highest population of 1,539,852 million in 2002 and third smallest area of , the region is Chile's second most densely populated after the Santiago Metropolitan Region...

. The commune spans an area of 147.5 sqkm.

History

The name of the city comes from Alonso Quintero, the Spanish

Spanish people

The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....

 navigator who discovered the bay in 1536 when he arrived on the ship Santiaguillo.

Demographics

According to the 2002 census

Census

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...

, Quintero had 21,174 inhabitants (10,390 men and 10,784 women). Of these, 18,719 (88.4%) lived in urban area

Urban area

An 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 2,455 (11.6%) in rural areas. The population grew by 19% (3,378 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses. The demonym for a man from Quintero is Quinterano and Quinterana for a woman.

Administration

As a commune, Quintero is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a communal council, 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 José Varas Zuñiga.

Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Quintero 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 Mr. Eduardo Cerda (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...

) and Mrs. Andrea Molina (UDI) as part of the 10th electoral district, (together with La Ligua

La Ligua

La Ligua is a Chilean city and commune, capital of the Petorca Province in Valparaíso Region.The city is known for its textile manufacturing and typical Chilean pastry production.-Demographics:...

, Petorca

Petorca

Petorca is a Chilean town and commune located in the Petorca Province, Valparaíso Region. The commune spans an area of .-Demographics:According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Petorca has 9,440 inhabitants . Of these, 4,535 lived in urban areas and 4,905 in rural areas...

, Cabildo

Cabildo, Chile

Cabildo is a Chilean city and commune located in the Petorca Province, Valparaíso Region. The commune spans an area of .-Demographics:According to data from the 2002 Census of Population and Housing, Cabildo had 18,916 inhabitants; of these, 12,453 lived in urban areas and 6,463 in rural areas....

, Papudo

Papudo

Papudo is a Chilean commune located in the Petorca Province, Valparaíso Region. The commune spans an area of .-Demographics:According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Papudo has 4,608 inhabitants . Of these, 4,343 lived in urban areas and 265 in rural areas...

, Zapallar

Zapallar

Zapallar is a Chilean town and commune located in the Petorca Province, Valparaíso Region. The commune spans an area of .-Demographics:According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Zapallar has 5,659 inhabitants . Of these, 4,744 lived in urban areas and 915 in rural areas...

, Puchuncaví

Puchuncaví

Puchuncaví is a town and commune in the Valparaíso Province of central Chile's fifth region of Valparaíso. It spans a coastal area of .-History:...

, Nogales

Nogales, Chile

Nogales is a city and commune in the Quillota Province of central Chile's fifth region of Valparaíso.-Demographics:According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Nogales has 21,633 inhabitants . Of these, 18,698 lived in urban areas and 2,935 in rural areas...

, Calera, La Cruz

La Cruz, Chile

La Cruz is a city and commune in the Quillota Province of central Chile's fifth region of Valparaíso.- Geography :The Mediterranean climate of Chile's Zona Central allows for a rich quality and variety of flora and fauna. Thanks to this climate, it is in this small commune in the Quillota Province...

, Quillota

Quillota

Quillota is a city and commune located in the Aconcagua River valley of central Chile's Valparaíso Region. It is the capital and largest city of the Quillota Province where many inhabitants live in the surrounding farm areas of San Isidro, La Palma, Pocochay, and San Pedro...

 and Hijuelas

Hijuelas

Hijuelas is a city and commune in the Quillota Province of central Chile's fifth region of Valparaíso.- Geography :Hijuelas spans an area of in Chile's Zona Central...

). 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 Ignacio Walker Prieto (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...

) and Lily Pérez San Martín (RN

National 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...

) as part of the 5th senatorial constituency (Valparaíso-Cordillera).