San Carlos is a bustling market town located roughly in the center of Chile's agricultural heartland about south of Santiago, northeast of Concepción, the regional capital and 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. Its territory lies almost entirely within the fertile, central plain or "depresión intermedia",. Its countryside is reputed for its bountiful production of various crops as well as orchards. San Carlos is bordered on the west by the commune of Ninhue, on the north by Ñiquén and Cauquenes, on the east by San Fabián, and on the south bySan Nicolás, Chillán and Coihueco.
Geographic Coordinates
Altitude:
Latitude: 36° 25' 60S
Longitude: 72° 2' 60W
Climate
San Carlos has a mild Mediterranean climate. The summers are hot and mainly dry with temperatures reaching up to on the months of December, January and February.
Demography
Today, San Carlos is the second most populous city of Ñuble Province. According to the 2002 census the population of the city was 29,359 while that of the commune of San Carlos was 50,088. Roughly, 62% of the population is urban and 38% is rural. According to recent estimations by , the commune has a population of 51,119 in 2006. Between the 1992 census and that of 2002, the population of San Carlos grew at a 4.1% rate. The commune encompasses a large number of villages, hamlets and other rural entities. Its second most populous locality, after San Carlos, is Cachapoal, with 1,164 residents in 2002. This village has been considered as "urban" in the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute.
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 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". This is a project based on the San Carlos Government’s idea that not only will the Fundación Violeta Parra de 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.
Notable residents
San Carlos is the birthplace of one of the most widely recognized names in Chilean and Latin American folk music, Violeta Parra. She has long been acclaimed as a great folk artist, author, painter, researcher and singer. The house where this famous artist was born is located in the city of San Carlos. It was declared National Monument by Law Decree 668 on September 29, 1992. San Carlos is also the birthplace of other well-known artists. Among them there are painters such as Hernán Gazmuri and a popular band from the 1970s, Los Ángeles Negros.
Within the electoral divisions of Chile, San Carlos is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Jorge Sabag and Frank Sauerbaum as part of the 42nd electoral district,. The commune is represented in the Senate by Alejandro Navarro Brain and Hosain Sabag Castillo as part of the 12th senatorial constituency.
Twin cities
San Carlos is twinned with the Spanish city of Baena located in Andalucia, southern Spain, in the province of Córdoba. San Carlos' founder, José Joaquín del Pino de Rozas y Negrete, was born in Baena.
