Curicó
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| City motto: " Noble y Leal Villa de San José de Buena Vista de Curicó" Noble and Loyal Villa of San José de Buena Vista from Curicó |
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| Founded | October 9, 1743, |
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| Original Name | San José de Buena Vista de Curicó | ||||
| Region | Maule Region | ||||
| Area - City Proper |
1,328 km² |
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| Population - City (2005) - Density (city proper) |
120.113 Inhabitants 90,02 /km² |
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| Time zone | Santiago Time Zone, UTC- 4 | ||||
| Telephone Prefix | 75 | ||||
| Postal code | 3349001 | ||||
| Gentilic | Curicano | ||||
| Day | 9 October | ||||
| Mayor | Celso Morales (UDI) (2004-2008) |
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| Official site | http://www.curico.cl | ||||
 The map of the Curicó in the Maule Region. |
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Curicó (kūrēkō'), "Black Waters" in Mapudungun, originally meaning "Land of Black Water", is the name of a city and the capital of Curicó Province, part of the Region del Maule in Chile's central valley.
The province lies between the provinces of Colchagua and Talca and extends from the Pacific to the Argentine frontier; area, 2978 m².; pop. (2005) 102,439 inhabitants. Its cakes, fruits, and wine are well known in Chile and around the world for their high quality.
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[edit] Geography
The capital is Curicó, on the Guaiquillo river, in lat. 34 58' S. long. 71° 19' W., 114 mi. S. of Santiago by the Chilean Central railway, which crosses the province. The city stands on the Chilean Central Valley, 748 ft. above sea-level, and in the midst of a comparatively well-cultivated district.
The eastern and western sides are mountainous, and are separated by the fertile Chilean Central Valley. The mineral resources are undeveloped, but are said to include copper, gold and silver. Cattle, wheat and wine are the principal products, but Indian corn and fruit also are produced. On the coast are important salt-producing industries.
The main rivers are the Lontué River and Teno River, which surround the city. The landscape is dominated by the Andes and Chilean Coastal Range.
[edit] Climate
Curicó has a mild Mediterranean climate: relatively hot dry summers (November to March) with temperatures reaching 32 degrees Celsius on the hottest days.
Winters (June to August) are more humid, with typical maximum daily temperatures of 15 degrees Celsius. Mean rainfall is 855.98 mm per year. In August of 2007, Curicó experienced snowfall for the first time in over 60 years.
The climate is mild and the rainfall more abundant than at the northern part of the valley, and the effects of this are to be seen in the better pasturage. Irrigation is used to a large extent.
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg high °F (°C) | 86 (30) |
85 (29) |
82 (28) |
72 (22) |
63 (17) |
55 (13) |
54 (12) |
59 (15) |
62 (17) |
69 (21) |
79 (26) |
83 (28) |
71 (22) |
| Avg low temperature °F (°C) | 51 (11) |
49 (9) |
45 (7) |
41 (5) |
41 (5) |
37 (3) |
33 (0.5) |
36 (2) |
39 (4) |
41 (5) |
44 (7) |
48 (9) |
42 (6) |
| Rainfall in. (mm) | 0.2 (50) |
0.3 (80) |
0.2 (50) |
3.0 (77) |
5.6 (142) |
4.5 (114) |
9.7 (246) |
2.4 (61) |
6.6 (68) |
0.6 (15) |
0.4 (10) |
0.2 (5) |
33.7 (855.98) |
| Source: Weatherbase | |||||||||||||
[edit] History
Curicó was founded in 1743 by Jose Manso de Velasco during a Spanish regime in the Americas. It is one of the more cultured and progressive provincial towns of Chile.
In 1747 Governor Domingo Ortiz de Rozas decided to move it about 5 kilometers north, where it is now located, because of the humidity that existed in its original location.
The oldest and most valuable building of the city is La Iglesia San Francisco (San Francisco's Church), built in 1731, and came 1758 to its current location.
The city was destroyed by the earthquake in 1928 and rebuilt during the following year.
Curicó gained the title of ‘city’ in 1830.
The hero of the city is Luis Cruz Martínez, a Chilean military of the War of the Pacific, who died in 1882 in Perú.
Today, Curicó is a center of communication, supply and commercial transactions of neighboring agricultural industries, making it an attractive and buoyant commercial center.
[edit] Economy
The city's economy is based mainly on agriculture, because the Mediterranean climate creates comparative advantages with markets such as apples, wines, and cherries.
The major industries are wine, agroindustries, stand out cement and sugar. The economic force of the vineyards generates development and investment for the city.
In human development the city had 0,716 (UNDP, Chile 2000), reaching the 97th position in the municipalities of Chile [1].
[edit] Tourism and Society
| population trend |
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|---|---|
| year | inhabitants |
| 1895 | 12.669 |
| 1952 | 28.618 |
| 1960 | 34.646 |
| 1970 | 43.524 |
| 1982 | 63.658 |
| 1992 | 77.733 |
| 2002 | 119.585 |
| 2005 | 120.113 |
An interesting feature of the city is its wine culture. It is reflected in a number of ways, for example, between March 15 and 20 each year, the city celebrates a large wine celebration, the Fiesta de la Vendimia (Wine Harvest Festival). Furthermore, the region has its own tourist circuit, La Ruta del Vino (The Wine Route), in Curicó Valley.
Potrero Grande is a popular attraction for tourists and locals alike. It is a mountainous area with large forests and waterfalls, located about 30 km from Curicó. The rivers around Curicó are excellent for trekking.
It is known in the country as "the city of cakes" (many cakes are made there from manjar, meringue and fruit), and is known for its wine.
The most known attractions of the city are the Plaza de Armas, declared a "Typical Zone", which is surrounded by palm trees, sculpture-ornamented water fountains, the iron-made civil kiosks, also declared a national monument and the Toqui Lautaro monument carved on the trunk of a beech tree, created by the famous craftsman of Vichuquén, Heraclio "Kako" Calquín.
A few blocks from the plaza, the Alameda Antonio Manso de Velasco avenue crosses the city with its gardens and leafy trees. There is also the Condell hill, a place which offers a panoramic view of the city and the San Francisco church, a declared national monument, situated at the foot of the hill.
 The main parish church around main square. |
 Luis Cruz Martínez, hero from Curicó. |
[edit] Culture life
The city has four higher-education institutions:
- Universidad de Talca (Traditional-Public), [2]
- Universidad Católica del Maule (Traditional-Public), [3]
- Universidad de Los Lagos (Traditional-Public), [4]
- Universidad del Mar (Non-Traditional-Private), [5]
The city has one of the oldest newspapers in Chile, La Prensa de Curicó (Press of Curico), founded in 1898. Its offices are located in front of the central square. [6]
The Plaza de Armas (Main Square) is the most visited public place, and is now a tourist destination because of its 60 palms and exotic plants. There is a steel kiosk which is a historical and cultural monument. Around Plaza de Armas are located the mayor's house and the governor's house.
[edit] Sports
Curicó is known by its Bicycle culture, and is represented in the denomination of Curicó as cyclism's capital of Chile, because so many cyclists of international level started in the city to ride, such as Roberto Muñoz, Manuel Aravena, and Luis Sepúlveda.
Kayak and whitewater rafting adventurers from all over the world visit the popular Teno River located in Curicó's mountain town of Los Queñes.
Today the city live a great revolution with the return, (after 13 years in the amateur league) of his football team to the professional league in 2006, the name of this is Club Provincial Curicó Unido.
Furtermore in the Chilean sports, the Rodeo is too figurative in the national competitions, stand out the horsemen such as Ramon Cardemil, and Pablo Quera.
[edit] Sources
- (Spanish) [7] History of Curicó by Tomás Guevara
- (Spanish) [8] Rates of 2002 Census published by INE (National Statistics Institute)
- [9] Information about cultural life and tourism.
- [10] Report about urbanization in Latin American cities.
This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- (Spanish) Official Website
- (Spanish) News about Curico
- Information about Wine Route
- Satellite Images of Curico by Google Maps
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