San Carlos, Punilla Province, Ñuble Region, Chile

🇨🇱 San Carlos is the name of a city and commune (comuna) of Punilla Province in the Ñuble Region of Chile.

Geography and agriculture San Carlos is a bustling market town located roughly in the centre of Chile's agricultural heartland about 365 km (227 mi) south of Santiago, 133 km (83 mi) north-east of Concepción, the regional capital and 32 km (20 mi) north of Chillán, the provincial capital. It sits on an alluvial plain between nearby Chillán and the Perquilauquén river. The commune covers an area of 874 km² (337 sq mi). Its territory lies almost entirely within the fertile, central plain or "depresión intermedia", (Chilean Central Valley). Its countryside is reputed for its bountiful production of various crops as well as orchards (apple, grapes, berries, and more recently, kiwi).

San Carlos is bordered on the west by the commune of Ninhue, on the north by Ñiquén and Cauquenes (the latter in Cauquenes Province), on the east by San Fabián, and on the south by San Nicolás, Chillán and Coihueco.

History The city was founded by a Spaniard, don José Joaquín del Pino de Rozas y Negrete on July 3, 1800.

On May 15, 1813, San Carlos was the setting for one of the most important battles of the Chilean War of Independence, the Battle of San Carlos, where the patriot army, led by general José Miguel Carrera defeated the royalist army. The outcome of the battle set the ground for the patriot uprising in the whole region.

Society The city of San Carlos is also the birth city of various artists and famous people including painters, authors, and singers. The painter Hernán Gazmuri was born here. The famous group of singers called Los Angeles Negros (The Black Angels) was also formed here. Although the township of San Fabián argues the birth place of Violeta Parra, she is included amongst Gazmuri and Los Angeles Negros as a famous folklorist, author, investigator, and singer born in San Carlos. The house in which the famous artist was supposedly born is located on the street El Roble # 535-531. This place was declared a National Monument in accordance with the Decree Law Number 668 on September 29, 1992.

Currently the city is working on a new initiative to create the "Casa Museo de Violeta Parra" (House Museum of Violeta Parra). This is a project based on the San Carlos Government’s idea that not only will the Fundación Violeta Parra de Santiago (Foundation Violeta Parra of Santiago) participate, but also specific contacts of the Parra family that have already visited the site in numerous occasions.

Among the city’s attractions lies the Medialuna of San Carlos which is a sports arena where the Chilean rodeo is practiced. The arena has a capacity of 8,000 people; second in size only to the Medialuna of Rancagua. It is fitting to also note that the Chilean rodeo is a very popular sport in this zone.

Education

San Carlos has about 50 elementary schools, 10 of them in the urban area, as well as 6 high schools, 5 of them in the urban area.

Religion

According to the 2002 census, 25,141 residents of San Carlos commune aged 15 years or older identified themselves as Catholics, equivalent to 68.51% of the total population, while 22.01% described themselves as Evangelical protestants, 0.59% as Jehovah's Witnesses and 1.35% as Latter-day Saints. About 5.03% of the population identified themselves to be atheist or agnostic, while 3.19% declared to follow other religions.