Penco

Penco
City and Commune
Center of Penco
Center of Penco


Coat of arms
Coat of arms
Location of Penco commune in the Bío Bío Region
Location of Penco commune in the Bío Bío Region
Location in Chile
Location in Chile
Penco
Location in Chile
Coordinates (city): 36°44′19″S 72°59′38″W / 36.73861°S 72.99389°W / -36.73861; -72.99389
CountryChile
RegionBío Bío
ProvinceConcepción
FoundedFebruary 12, 1550
Founded asConcepción del Nuevo Extremo
FounderPedro de Valdivia
Government
 • TypeMunicipality
 • AlcaldeVíctor Figueroa Rebolledo (ILE)
Area
 • Total
107.6 km2 (41.5 sq mi)
Elevation
115 m (377 ft)
Population
 (2012 Census)
 • Total
46,176
 • Density429.1/km2 (1,111/sq mi)
 • Urban
45,361
 • Rural
655
DemonymPencones
Sex
 • Men22,366
 • Women23,650
Time zoneUTC−4 (CLT)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−3 (CLST)
Area code56 + 41
WebsiteOfficial website (in Spanish)

Penco (Mapudungun: See (Pen), Water (Ko)), is a Chilean city and commune in Concepción Province, Bío Bío Region on the Bay of Concepción. Founded as the city of Concepción del Nuevo Extremo (lit. 'Beginning of the New Extreme') on February 12, 1550, by Pedro de Valdivia, it is the third oldest city in Chile, after capital Santiago founded first in 1541 and La Serena second in 1544.

As there may be confusion between the demonyms of the inhabitants of Concepción and Penco, due to the previous location of Concepción, inhabitants of that city are called penquistas while inhabitants of Penco are known as pencones.

The commune is since 2016 the site of a project to mine rare-earth elements by Aclara Resources, a publicly traded company with a 55.9% and 10.1% ownership of Hochschild Mining and CAP respectively.

History

In previous centuries, in the current location of Penco, was the first location where the city of Concepción was established, which is now the capital of the Bíobío Region. It was destroyed by Lautaro in 1554, and rebuilt and destroyed again by Lautaro in 1555.

Statistics

According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Penco spans an area of 107.6 km2 (42 sq mi) and has 46,016 inhabitants (22,366 men and 23,650 women). Of these, 45,361 (98.6%) lived in urban areas and 655 (1.4%) in rural areas. The population grew by 14% (5,657 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.

Administration

As a commune, Penco is a third-level administrative division of Chile administered by a municipal council, headed by an alcalde who is directly elected every four years. The 2012-2016 alcalde is Víctor Hugo Figueroa Víctor_Hugo_Figueroa_Rebolledo [es] (ILE).

Within the electoral divisions of Chile, Penco is represented in the Chamber of Deputies by Sergio Bobadilla (UDI) and Clemira Pacheco (PS) as part of the 45th electoral district, (together with Tomé, Florida, Hualqui, Coronel and Santa Juana). The commune is represented in the Senate by Alejandro Navarro Brain (MAS) and Hosain Sabag Castillo (PDC) as part of the 12th senatorial constituency (Biobío-Cordillera).

Places

In addition to the main town of Penco, the commune administers the following villages:

Notable people

References

  1. 1 2 "Asociación Chilena de Municipalidades" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on May 4, 2015. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
  2. 1 2 "Municipality of Penco" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on May 4, 2015. Retrieved February 23, 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "National Statistics Institute" (in Spanish). Archived from the original on December 6, 2006. Retrieved December 13, 2010.
  4. ↑ Badal, Ignacio (March 14, 2026). "Tierras raras en Chile: los proyectos que podrían llamar la atención de EE.UU". La Tercera (in Spanish). Retrieved March 25, 2026.
  5. ↑ Torres, Javier (January 18, 2026). "Wildfires race across Chile, leaving 18 dead and forcing thousands to flee". AP. Retrieved January 19, 2026.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)