Penco

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Penco is a comuna of Chile (the third oldest in the country) in the Concepción Province of the Bío-Bío Region. The name Penco comes from Mapudungun, the language of the Mapuche people, and means "Peumo water".

In previous centuries, in the current location of Penco, was established the city of Concepción, now the capital of the Bío-Bío Region. Due to earthquakes and tsunamis, which razed the city in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the authorities decided to move the city to its current location to the Valle de la Mocha, along side the Bío-Bío River. The habitants who did not abandon the territory of Penco, formed the town that exists today.

To an outsider, there may be confusion between the demonyms of the inhabitants of Concepción and Penco. Due to the previous location of Concepción, inhabitants of that city are called penquistas while inhabitants of Penco are known as pencones.