Archbishopric of La Serena, Court of Appeals, Landscape, Japanese Park, Plaza de Armas, Lighthouse, Avenida Francisco de Aguirre, Fountain of the Plaza de Armas, Court and the Plaza and University of La Serena (Campus Colina El Pino)
La Serena (Spanish pronunciation:[laseˈɾena]) is acity andcommune in northernChile, capital of theCoquimbo Region. Founded in 1544, it is the country's second oldest city after the national capital,Santiago.[4] As of 2012, it had a communal population of roughly 200,000, and was one of the fastest-growing areas of Chile.
The city is an important tourist destination for Chileans and Argentines, especially during the summer, where people go to visit the beaches. It is the headquarters of theUniversity of La Serena and also is home to theRoman Catholic Archdiocese of La Serena, one of five Catholic Archdioceses of the Catholic Church in Chile.
The sector is currently located where the city was inhabited by the pre-Hispanic village called Viluma or Vilumanque (Mapudungún Snakes and condors).[citation needed]
Map of the city in 1717.
La Serena was founded on the orders of the SpaniardPedro de Valdivia in order to provide a sea link to maintain permanent contact between Santiago andLima in theViceroyalty of Peru. For this he would need a place for his troops to rest and eat. The village was founded by captainJuan Bohón with the name "Villanueva de La Serena". Although the exact date is disputed, probable dates include 15 November or 30 December 1543 and 4 September 1544.[1] Many historians simply say that it was founded in 1544. Five years later, from the night of 11 January 1549 until the following day, a native uprising totally destroyed and burned the village, killing nearly every Spaniard. Pedro de Valdivia ordered CaptainFrancisco de Aguirre to re-establish the city later the same year on 26 August under the name ofSan Bartolomé de La Serena (nowpatron saint of the city), in the same place where thePlaza de Armas stands today. A few years later, on 4 May 1552,King Charles I of Spain by royal decree gave it the title of city.[1] One of the reasons to establish La Serena was to controlMapuche groups that had begun to migrate north following the Spanish founding of Santiago in 1541.[5] Indeed, northern Mapuche groups appear to have responded to the Spanish conquest by abandoning their best agricultural lands and moving to remote parts away from the invaders.[6][7]
During the 17th century, the city suffered repeated attacks fromprivateers[citation needed], includingFrancis Drake who opened the Pacific route to the English in 1578.Bartholomew Sharp, who partly burned and looted in 1680,[8] andEdward Davis, who set fire to the convent of Santo Domingo in 1686, caused great fear among the population, forcing the defence of the city in 1700. In addition to these attacks, the city was almost totally destroyed by theearthquake of 8 July 1730.
Between 1948 and 1952,presidentGabriel González Videla prepared thePlan Serena, a project in which the city was renewed with investments and urban redevelopment that would imprint a single seal on the country. It began to take hold in the role of services, to rescue and to develop its own architectural style known asColonial Revival. The city is the seat of theRoman Catholic Archdiocese of La Serena. The cathedral, built from the same stone and clade, dates from the 19th century. It must be said that although it lacks the same historical value as the older churches, this is a stone building in a country prone to seismic activity, and has survived various earthquakes. Indeed, during centuries of existence, there is almost no visible damage. All of these churches, along with others of minor importance, provide a unique urban landscape, an image for the city, giving it the nickname "The City of Churches."
Its traditional architecture consists of a series of housing and public buildings, of late 19th-century vintage style, built with wood from the US state ofOregon brought to Chile as counterweight in vessels sailing to the nearby port ofCoquimbo to load copper and other minerals for transport back to the US. This Oregon pine and the use ofadobe create the genuine image of the city.
There is also a number of remarkable and valuable small churches built of sedimentary stone quarried 5 km (3 mi) to the north of theElqui River, having a characteristic color and texture formed by myriad small shells. These churches are all roughly 350 years old and have undergone restoration to varying degrees, bringing them back to their original form.San Francisco,San Agustín,Santo Domingo are the names of a few of them. In 1920, he began to take shape a new economic boom in the mining of iron, attracting capital and human contingent, resulting in a further change in the urban structure.
Currently, the city has its own architectural style (known as "neocolonial"), which is differentiated from other cities, preserving old buildings in colonial style, with many important National Monuments, mixing it with modern buildings but each one in turn follows the regulatory framework in the construction of these structures which should each have features to maintain the colonial style of the city. In the center of the city until 2008, it is still not possible to identify buildings over eight stories high for a municipal status, however towards the coastal area of the Avenida del Mar, one begins to see a great real estate boom that is distinguished by high-rise buildings, ranging from La Serena running south and along the coast to the neighboring city of Coquimbo.
As of the 2012 census, La Serena had a communal population of 198,164, and theGreater La Serena area had a population of around 400,000.
As of the 2002 census (of theNational Statistics Institute) it had 160,148 inhabitants (77,385 men and 82,763 women). Of these, 147,815 (92.3%) lived in urban areas and 12,333 (7.7%) in rural areas. The population grew by 32.6% (39,332 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, making it one of the fastest-growing regions of the country.[2] Had that growth continued, INE estimated the population would increase to 205,120 by 2008 and 244,070 by 2012, so the growth rate has dropped since then.
In 2002 155,815 persons lived in the city proper, and La Serena was part of the country's fourth largestconurbation (pop. 300,000) with nearbyCoquimbo, with a total area of 1,892 square kilometres (731 sq mi). A few of the major city sectors are: El Centro ("downtown"), Peñuelas (actually a suburb between La Serena andCoquimbo), San Joaquín (neighborhood on a hill overlooking the ocean), La Florida, Las Compañías ("the companies"), Cerro Grande ("big hill"), La Antena and the new El Milagro ("the miracle") development.
The commune spans a surface area of 1,892.8 km2 (731 sq mi).[2] The city is located onocean terraces, which are clearly noticeable from the coastal area, through downtown to the eastern sector Vicuña way. The rest of the urban area is based on several small hills, valleys and plains.
Graph of rainfall in the city during the year.
The city is commonly divided into various sectors. In the north is the airline sector, subdivided into two sub-sectors called High and Low Company. Nearby is San Pedro Creek. To the south are the areas of La Pampa, San Joaquin and the El Milagro. To the east are the sectors of La Antena, Juan XXIII, La Florida, Colina El Pino and the University District. Finally, to the west is the area of Avenida del Mar. Areas surrounding the city are mainly areas for growing vegetables, and there are a large number of plantations for the cultivation ofchirimoyas,avocados and oranges, in addition to where vegetation has an average with some areas found mainlyeucalyptus forests. These areas are normally conducive to wildfires sparked during the summer season (January–February).
La Serena has acool desert climate, similar to nearby places in that it is clearly seasonal – in summer there is an absence of precipitation, but with abundant morning cloudiness and drizzle.[citation needed] which dissipates around noon, giving way to clear skies and 22 °C (72 °F) days.
In winter, the temperatures descend to between 7 and 16 °C (45 and 61 °F). Being located in a coastal zone, the minimums and maximums are moderated by the maritime influence and the temperature of the coldHumboldt Current. Winter (specifically from May to August) is the rainy season, with a total rainfall of approximately 100 mm (3.94 in) annually in a normal year, notable exceptions being the year 1997 which experienced a total rainfall in the city near 200 mm (7.87 in),[9] 1880 with 366 millimetres (14.41 in) and 1888 when as much as 417 millimetres (16.42 in) fell including 239 millimetres (9.41 in) in August.[10] The driest year has been 1979 with only 4.5 millimetres (0.18 in), whilst recent years, as incentral Chile andZona Sur, have tended to be drier than the long-term mean.
Climate data for La Serena (1991–2020, extremes 1954–present)
Side view of the Courts of Justice,Archdiocese and Cathedral.
As a commune, La Serena is a third-leveladministrative division of Chile administered by amunicipal council, headed by amayor who is directly elected every four years. Since October 2024, the city's interim mayor is Luis Henríquez.
Within theelectoral divisions of Chile, La Serena is represented in theChamber of Deputies by Mario Bertolino (RN) and Marcelo Díaz (PS) as part of the 7th electoral district, (together withLa Higuera,Vicuña,Paihuano andAndacollo). The commune is represented in theSenate by Sergio Gahona Salazar (UDI), Daniel Núñez Arancibia (PC) and Matías Walker Prieto (PDC) as part of the fourth senatorial constituency (Coquimbo Region).
The beaches, the main economic resource in tourism.
In the last decades, tourism has turned into one of the most important economic activities. The population doubles in the summer months,[citation needed] principally for the beaches, recreational activities, musical festivals, concerts, andFashion Week. In addition, the city is an obligatory stop for hundreds of pilgrims[citation needed] that arrive to the city of Coquimbo, where during The Serenade they find lodging for visiting the zone andValle de Elqui.
In this city there are located branches of the more important chain stores of the country, Mall Plaza La Serena, which has the national shopsFalabella and París. Also Mall Puerta Del Mar, contains two supermarkets, and regional multistores, such as La Elegante, and shops for home and construction. The downtown is one of the places with major economic and financial institutions of theCoquimbo Region.
2015 New Year's Celebration at the Lighthouse ("el Faro").
The old part of the city is the largest and most important urban "traditional area" (zona típica) in Chile. The churches are distinguished by many styles ofbelfries, which led to the city being nicknamed "the city of the belfries".
The Church Cathedral of La Serena was designated a Historical Monument in 1981. Construction was initiated by the French architect Jean Herbage in 1844, and dedicated in 1856. It is the largest temple in the city, constructed inNeoclassic style, measuring 60 metres (200 feet) long by 20 metres (66 feet) wide, with three central bodies. Inside there is an organ donated by the philanthropist Juana Ross de Edwards. The belfry dates back from the 20th century.
The town has retained its historic architecture and this, along with a selection of beaches (known asAvenida del Mar, "Sea Avenue"), has caused the city to become a significant tourist destination, attracting many foreigners (most of them Argentines fromSan Juan andMendoza provinces) during January, and laterSantiago residents fleeing February heat.
The beaches of theAvenida Del Mar are some of the most crowded in La Serena, which run from theEl Faro Monumental in the south to Peñuelas's beach in neighboring Coquimbo, an extension of 6 km (4 mi). However, the beaches of La Serena have very rough water and are not suitable for swimming. In comparison, beaches in Coquimbo, such as The Horseshoe, have very calm waters and clean sands.
The twelve beaches along theAvenida del Mar are El Faro, Los Fuertes, Mansa, Blanca, La Barca, Cuatro Esquinas, La Marina, El Pescador, El Corsario, Hipocampo, Las Gaviotas, and Canto del Agua. All of them except the beacon are suitable for the swimming and aquatic and nautical sports. In recent years theLa Serena Song Festival (created in 2004) has been gaining national importance, due to the high quality of the invited artists. A new international airport has also been improved. Real estate development along the beach has created a tourist residential development along theElqui River.
The most famous beach near La Serena is "Morrillos" with 25 km (16 mi) of sand and dunes. In the southern part of Morrillos is Guanaqueros, a beautiful spot with calm waters. Water temperatures can reach 25 °C (77 °F) in summer. The best surf spot is Totoralillo beach with good waves. "El Cacho" wave is one of the famous and works awesome with swells.
The best Enduro mountainbike spot is Cerro Grande just behind La Serena with several trails only for advanced to expert riders.
The city of La Serena is home to a number of international relations institutions, such as the Regional Unit for International Affairs (URAI) of theRegional Government of Coquimbo, responsible for analyzing and managing the region’s bilateral and multilateral relations with Latin America and the rest of the world; the Commission on International and Legal Affairs of the Regional Council of Coquimbo; theAgua Negra Pass Argentina–Chile Integration Committee; the regional office of theNational Migration Service; the regional office of theGeneral Directorate for Export Promotion (ProChile); the Department of Migration and International Police of theInvestigations Police of Chile; and the Migrant Office of the Municipality of La Serena.[14]
In the field of international relations and higher education, the main actors in La Serena are the Office of International Relations of theUniversity of La Serena,[15] and the Korea Program of theCentral University of Chile, Coquimbo Regional Campus.[16]
La Serena relies on diverse means of transport to connect downtown with peripheral neighborhoods andCoquimbo, such ascollective taxis,taxis and tour buses. In the past the city was the principal railway center for passenger transport to travel to the interior zone ofVicuña andOvalle. Today, the only railroad that passes through parts of the city carriesiron ore fromEl Romeral mine to Guayacán's port in Coquimbo.
The city relies on abus station to provide transport from La Serena to most of the country, as well as an airport with daily flights to Santiago, Antofagasta, Arica, Copiapó and other destinations. Today there is a project to move theLa Florida Airport to an area near Tongoy, Coquimbo, due to population growth close to the current airport with all the danger that this implies.
The city has a football team called ClubDeportes La Serena that plays in the second tier of the Chilean league of football. Their home games are played at theLa Portada stadium, which has seating for approximately 18,000 spectators. Their biggest rivals are near-neighborsCoquimbo Unido. They are nicknamed "Los Papayeros", because of the papayas that are grown near La Serena in theElqui Valley.
The city of La Serena holds a wide variety of schools, lyceums and universities, concentrating great part of the academical offer in the region. Among primary and secondary education, La Serena hosts public, subsidized (owned by the State, managed by privates), and privates schools (La Serena currently holds the entirety of private schools within theGreater La Serena area).
Among the universities present in La Serena are theUniversity of La Serena,traditional university with its headquarters and four other campuses in the city; other institutions include the Universidad Central (Central University), Universidad Santo Tomás (Saint Thomas University), Universidad Tecnológica de Chile – INACAP (Technological University of Chile), and Universidad del Mar.
^Thomson, Keith (2022).Born to be hanged: the epic story of the gentlemen pirates who raided the South Seas, rescued a princess, and stole a fortune. New York: Little, Brown and Company. pp. 189–196.ISBN978-0-316-70361-1.
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