Longaví

Longaví (in Mapudungun: "snake's head") is a Chilean town and municipality ("comuna"), located in Linares Province, one of the four provinces that make up the Maule Region, in the geographical center of Chile.

Geography

The municipality has a surface of 1,454 km² and is bordered by Linares 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 town of Longaví lies on the left margin of the Liguay River, in the fertile central plain, and is located 316 km to the south of Santiago, the nation's capital, and 18 km 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 municipality. 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.

Demography

The municipality of Longaví has a population of 28,161 inhabitants, of which 77% live in rural areas, while the city of Longaví has a population of 6,206 (2002).

History

Most of what is today the municipality of Longaví occupies what was formerly a vast Jesuit 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 municipality was founded in 1937.

Economy

Agriculture, in particular the cultivation of rice and other cereals, constitutes the main economic activity of Longaví.

Notable people born in Longaví

* Arturo Alessandri Palma: politician, statesman and twice the President of Chile

Local administration

The mayor of Longaví is Mr. Mario Briones (PPD). The municipal council is composed by the following persons:

*Miguel Salgado Rojas UDI
*Sergio Pereira Villalobos RN
*Luis Suazo Roca PDC
*Ricardo Latrach Ponce PRSD
*Juan Aedo Sepúlveda PS
*Marcelo Herrera Vásquez Independent-PPD

External links

* [http://local.google.com/local?f=q&hl=en&q=Longav%C3%AD,+Chile&ie=UTF8&ll=-35.966614,-71.684074&spn=0.069051,0.14677&t=k&om=1 Aerial view of Longaví, Chile (Google maps)]