Santa Juana, Chile
| Santa Juana | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| City and Commune | ||||||
|
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| Coordinates: 37°09′58″S 72°55′59″W / 37.166°S 72.933°WCoordinates: 37°09′58″S 72°55′59″W / 37.166°S 72.933°W | ||||||
| Country | Chile | |||||
| Region | Bío Bío | |||||
| Province | Concepción | |||||
| Government | ||||||
| • Type | Municipality | |||||
| • Alcalde | Angel Castro Medina (PDC) | |||||
| Area | ||||||
| • Total | 731.2 km2 (282.3 sq mi) | |||||
| Elevation | 50 m (160 ft) | |||||
| Population (2012 Census) | ||||||
| • Total | 13,228 | |||||
| • Density | 18/km2 (47/sq mi) | |||||
| • Urban | 7,095 | |||||
| • Rural | 5,618 | |||||
| Sex | ||||||
| • Men | 6,357 | |||||
| • Women | 6,356 | |||||
| Time zone | CLT (UTC-4) | |||||
| • Summer (DST) | CLST (UTC-3) | |||||
| Area code(s) | 56 + 41 | |||||
| Website | Municipality of Santa Juana | |||||
Santa Juana is a city and commune of the Concepción Province in the Bío Bío Region of Chile. It lies south and west of the Biobío River in the valley of Catirai and is 48 kilometers from Concepcion, Chile.
The Mapuche originally named the valley where Santa Juana is now located the Valley of Catirai, and the inhabitants Catirayen. This town originated with a fort and town in established March 1626 by Governor Luis Fernandez de Cordova with title of Santa Juana de Guadalcázar, in memory of the name of wife of the viceroy of Peru Diego Fernández de Córdoba, Marquis of Guadalcázar. Evacuated in 1641, it was repaired and expanded in 1648 by the governor Martín de Mujica y Buitrón. It was destroyed by the Mapuches in 1722, but restored two years later.
In 1739 the Governor José Antonio Manso de Velasco made important adjustments, improving and properly supplying the fortress and constructing between the river and the small Laguna de Rayenantú behind it, deep ditches, that turned the enclosure into an island, and increasing its population to serve as its garrison for the defense of the region and the wooded valleys of the southern mountainous area. Governor Antonio de Guill y Gonzaga obtained the title of "Villa" for the town in 1765, but the wars with the Indians did not allow it to make any progress even though it constituted the refuge of the extinguished towns of Coya, Monterey and San Jerónimo. It was also one of the towns that was burned in 1821 at the order of Vicente Benavides the rebellious royalist guerrilla. It was later ruined in the earthquake of February 20, 1835. As a result of this last disaster the town was six years later moved to its present more suitable location.
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