Los Vilos

{{Infobox settlement |official_name = Los Vilos |other_name = |native_name = |settlement_type = [[List of cities in Chile|City]] and [[Communes of Chile|Commune]] |image_skyline = Los_Vilos.jpg |image_caption = |image_flag = |flag_alt = Flag |image_shield = Escudo de Los Vilos.svg |shield_alt = Coat of arms |image_map = Comuna de Los Vilos.svg |map_caption = |map_alt = Map of Los Vilos commune in Coquimbo Region |pushpin_map = Chile | pushpin_map_narrow = yes |pushpin_label_position = bottom |pushpin_map_alt = Location in Chile |pushpin_map_caption = Location in Chile |coor_pinpoint = city |coordinates_footnotes = |coordinates = {{coord|31|55|S|71|31|W|region:CL-CO|display=inline,title}} |subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = {{flag|Chile}} | subdivision_type1 = [[Regions of Chile|Region]] | subdivision_name1 = {{flag|Coquimbo}} |subdivision_type2 = [[Provinces of Chile|Province]] |subdivision_name2 = [[Choapa Province|Choapa]] |government_footnotes = <ref name="Official">{{Cite web|url=http://www.imunilosvilos.cl/|title=Municipality of Los Vilos|accessdate=13 November 2010|language=es|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101209091800/http://www.imunilosvilos.cl/|archivedate=9 December 2010}}</ref> |government_type = [[Municipality]] |leader_title = [[Alcalde]] |leader_name = |established_title = Founded |established_date = 1835 |established_title2 = Declared Harbor |established_date2 = 1855 | unit_pref = Metric | area_footnotes = <ref name="INE">{{Cite web |url= http://www.ine.cl/canales/chile_estadistico/censos_poblacion_vivienda/censo_pobl_vivi.php |title= National Statistics Institute |accessdate=10 November 2010|language=es}}</ref> | area_total_km2 = 1860.6 | elevation_footnotes = | elevation_m = 11 | population_footnotes = <ref name="INE"/> | population_total = 18275 | population_as_of = 2012 Census | population_density_km2 = auto | population_demonym = vileño(a) | population_blank1_title = [[Urban area|Urban]] | population_blank1 = 12859 | population_blank2_title = [[Rural area|Rural]] | population_blank2 = 4594 | demographics_type1 = Sex | demographics1_footnotes = <ref name="INE"/> | demographics1_title1 = Men | demographics1_info1 = 8,858 | demographics1_title2 = Women | demographics1_info2 = 8,595 |timezone = [[Time in Chile|CLT]] | utc_offset = −4 |timezone_DST = [[Time in Chile|CLST]] | utc_offset_DST = −3 |postal_code_type =  |postal_code = |area_code = 56 + 53 |website = [https://web.archive.org/web/20101209091800/http://www.imunilosvilos.cl/ Municipality of Los Vilos] |footnotes = }} '''Los Vilos''' (from [[Mapuche language|Mapuche]]: ''Filu'', ‘snake’) is both a Chilean coastal [[List of communes in Chile|commune]] and a coastal [[List of cities in Chile|city]] with over 9,000 inhabitants (18,275 in [[comuna]]<ref name="INE"/>), located in the [[Choapa Province|Province of Choapa]], part of the [[Coquimbo Region|IV Region of Coquimbo]]. The city has a harbour called [[Puerto Punta Chungo]], that ships the material of [[Los Pelambres mine]]. This port stand for 1.1% of the annual tonnage of Chile's external trade as of 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |title=PUERTO LOCALIDAD DE LOS VILOS |url=https://www.camport.cl/mapa-portuario_new/los-vilos.html |access-date=2026-01-13 |website=camport.cl |language=es}}</ref> [[Fishing]] is one of its main activities. The city also has a significant amount of [[tourism]], mainly due to its two beaches: La Principal and Las Conchas. It is located at {{convert|246|km|mi}} from [[La Serena, Chile|La Serena]] and {{convert|246|km|mi}} from [[Santiago, Chile|Santiago]].

The city was founded in 1830, and was declared a minor harbor in 1855.

== History == Los Vilos has existed as a small informal settlement since 1835, when the government realised that a port was needed in that region to expand the reach of commerce in the country. On January 3, 1855, it was declared a minor port by then president, [[Manuel Montt]] and by his Minister of Finance, José María Berganza, through a supreme decree of the Finance Ministry.<ref>[http://www.turismochile.com/guia/los_vilos/articulos/899 Turismo Chile] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090118100302/http://turismochile.com/guia/los_vilos/articulos/899 |date=2009-01-18 }}</ref>

On April of that same year a permission was granted by the government to start the construction of a dock, warehouses and commerce related buildings. In December 1857, it was determined that a town needed to be built so 25 blocks, that used to belong to the Conchali Hacienda, were designed and sold by Hernán Jequier as a public utility. The town was located around the small pre-existing settlement.

The port responded to the need to regulate the commerce in the area, so a customs office, that depended on the [[Valparaiso]] custom, was created. The economy of Los Vilos initially depended largely on commerce.

==Demographics== According to the 2002 [[census]] of the [[National Statistics Institute (Chile)|National Statistics Institute]], Los Vilos spans an area of {{convert|1860.6|sqkm|0|abbr=on}} and has 17,453 inhabitants (8,858 men and 8,595 women). Of these, 12,859 (73.7%) lived in [[urban area]]s and 4,594 (26.3%) in [[rural area]]s. The population grew by 10.4% (1,648 persons) between the 1992 and 2002 censuses.<ref name= "INE"/>

==Administration== As a commune, Los Vilos is a third-level [[administrative division of Chile]] administered by a [[municipal council]], headed by an [[alcalde]] who is directly elected every four years.<ref name="Official"/>

The current alcalde is [[Manuel Marcarián Julio]] (an independent that is part of the [[New Majority (Chile)|New Majority]] pact, and the current council has the following members<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.emol.com/especiales/2016/actualidad/nacional/elecciones-municipales/resultados.asp#c3203|title=Resultados de las Elecciones Municipales 2016 – Especial de Emol.com|last=Emol.com|first=Equipo|website=www.emol.com|access-date=2017-04-05}}</ref> * Christian Gross Hidalgo ([[Partido Socialista de Chile|PS]]) * Iris Hidalgo ([[Unión Demócrata Independiente|UDI]] * Juan Hisi Espinoza ([[Partido Regionalista de los Independientes|PRI]]) * Berta Martínez ([[National Renewal (Chile)|RN]]) * Héctor Molina Fuenzalida ([[Partido por la Democracia|PPD]]) * Julio Werner ([[Partido Demócrata Cristiano (Chile)|DC]]) Within the [[electoral divisions of Chile]], Los Vilos is represented in the [[Chamber of Deputies of Chile|Chamber of Deputies]] by Adriana Muñoz ([[Christian Democratic Party|PDC]]) and Luis Lemus ([[Independent (politician)|Ind.]]) as part of the 9th electoral district, (together with [[Combarbalá]], [[Punitaqui]], [[Monte Patria]], [[Illapel]], [[Salamanca, Chile|Salamanca]] and [[Canela, Chile|Canela]]). The commune is represented in the [[Senate of Chile|Senate]] by [[Adriana Muñoz (politician)|Adriana Muñoz]] (PPD) and [[Jorge Pizarro|Jorge Pizarro Soto]] ([[Christian Democratic Party|PDC]]) as part of the 4th senatorial constituency (Coquimbo Region).

== Tourism == The comuna has a considerable amount of tourism, in both the Los Vilos City, and in the small coastal town of [[Pichidangui]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.turlosvilos.cl/sitio/caimanes.htm |title=Los Vilos, Pichidangui, Quilimarí, Caimanes. Prov. Choapa, Cuarta Región, Chile |accessdate=2009-01-06 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707012213/http://www.turlosvilos.cl/sitio/caimanes.htm |archivedate=2011-07-07 }} Sitio Web Turístico Comuna de Los Vilos</ref>

== References == {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{in lang|es}} [https://web.archive.org/web/20101209091800/http://www.imunilosvilos.cl/ Municipality of Los Vilos]

[[Category:Communes of Chile]] [[Category:Port settlements in Chile]] [[Category:Populated places in Choapa Province]] [[Category:1830 establishments in Chile]] [[Category:Coasts of Coquimbo Region]]