Short description of Navidad

Navidad is one of the six districts of the Province of Cardenal Caro, in the Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins Region, Chile. The district borders on the north with the districts of Santo Domingo and San Pedro, on the east and south by the Litueche district and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. The location of the district is between 33º 53 min and 34º 07 min latitude south and 71º 49 min and 72º 52 min longitude west. It has approximately 20 kilometers of shoreline.

Demography

The Navidad district covers a surface area of 300 Km2 with a population of 5,422 inhabitants (2002 INE Census), corresponding to 0.0068% of the region’s total population with a density of 18.05 hab/km2. Out of the total population, 2,544 are female (46.92%) and 2,878 are male (53.08%). 86.87% (4,710) correspond to rural population and 13.13% (712) correspond to urban population.

Geography

The district’s landscape has a predominance of plateaus, rolling hills, and mountains with abundant ravines, characteristic of Central Chile’s dry coastal geography.

The Rapel River is the only river basin. There are also some streams, but with very low flow and lagoons such as Laguna El Culenar. The scientific attraction, due to its special geological structure, enabled the mid-nineteenth century visit to Navidad by the famous English naturalist, Charles Darwin, as part of his world tour. The French scientist, Claudio Gay, also visited this area, hired by the Chilean government in the first half of the nineteenth century to carry out a study of the geography, flora and fauna. The German geologist, Rodolfo Philippi, came here later, also hired by the Chilean government.

Origins and History

Territory
On August 14, 1867, the current territory of the Navidad District, was defined for the first time as Sub-delegation N° 15 of the San Fernando Department, made up by the Districts: N° 1 San Vicente, N° 2 Rapel, N°3 Licancheu, N°4 Navidad, N°5 Pupuya, N°6 Tumán.

On December 22, 1891, President Jorge Montt, given the burgeoning importance of the area due to the port of Matanzas, then an auxiliary port to Valparaiso, created the town of Matanzas, joining together the previous sub-delegated territory. This lasted until 1927, when, as a result of several years of decline of the port, the territory was annexed to the district of Rosario Lo Solís, presently called Litueche. Finally on September 28, 1936, the land was redistributed, creating the current term of the Navidad District establishing its municipality in Navidad, the most growing and populous town, becoming the municipal head of the territory.

Toponymy
Oral tradition tells us that in the mid-sixteenth century the first Franciscan monks arrived to the Port of Matanzas, on Christmas Eve. They stayed for a few days and took the opportunity to celebrate the birth of Jesus in the Franciscan way, that is, by creating a manger to represent the birth of Christ. Due to the beauty of this place, the importance of the date, and the great devotion shown by the locals, this place was called "Valle de Navidad" (Christmas Valley).

In 1585, the Franciscan, Fray Diego de Medellín, the third bishop of Santiago, considered as the true organizer of the church in the country, concerned about the treatment that the natives received at the time, often visited his jurisdiction. In one of his trips, he wrote to the King of Spain, saying that he had traveled throughout his jurisdiction, visiting the towns Navidad, Matanzas, Licancheu, Purrapel, Rapel, and Rapelauquén. These facts give proof of the root of the name Navidad (Christmas).

Another version says that in 1619, the Jesuits would be responsible for the name, based on the relative closeness of their convent located in Bucalemu (now the district of Santo Domingo) The first Jesuit missionaries taught Christian doctrine to the indigenous people through “decima” verse (ten-line stanzas) and thus the song to the divine was generated. This covered the religious topics or biblical stories, for example, the creation of the world, the birth of Christ, the Virgin Mary, the Saints, etc. Father Miguel Jorda tells us the following: The historian, P. Hanisch, says in the book "History of the Jesuits in Chile” that in the year 1919, Mr. Sebastián García Garreto founded a mission in Bucalemu for missionaries to travel throughout the entire country, from Choapa to Maule, preaching to the Indians. (At the Bucalemu school there is a colonial painting depicting this).

Historic events

In the eighteenth century, a road which departed from Valparaiso going through Casablanca, Llolleo, and Santo Domingo formed part of "the coastal road or salt road". To Colchagua it entered through Navidad and Rapel, up to the lagoons of Cáhuil, Boyeruca, and Bucalemu. Salt from the local salt mines was carried to the capital and hence its name. Then there is the Coastal Inca Trail or Los Polleros. The great-grandfather of the President of the Republic, Michelle Bachelet and the first Chilean agronomist, Maximus Jeria, was born in this district. Some recorded historic events have taken place in the territorial limits of what is now the Navidad district or in its nearby surroundings, and some people who have gone down in history are associated to this place.

Matanzas was invaded by Pirates, who overpowered the Spanish fleet and expelled it from the harbor where it was anchored. Vestiges of this can be found with the skeletons of sunken ships off the town of Lagunillas a few meters from the beach. After the Battle of Maipú, which occurred on April 5, 1818, part of the defeated royal army under the command of Mariano Osorio, fled to Talcahuano, going through Navidad.

During the Chilean Civil war (1829-1830), troops loyal to Ramón Freire and under the command of José Rondizzoni, from Coquimbo, disembarked in Matanzas, marching to Talcapor on the Royal Road that connected Matanzas with San Fernando. In April 1830, they faced the troops of Joaquín Prieto in the Battle of Lircay.

In the nearby town of Topocalma, two important events were registered that caused great commotion in the 19th century:

• Here, the British frigate Scorpio was involved in a scandal, in which the authorities of the time, including the last Spanish Governor Francisco García Carrasco, were involved in the murder of the crew and subsequent theft of merchandise from the vessel.
• The Chilean traitor, Vicente Benavides, who led the resistance against the Patriots, after being pardoned by José de San Martín and having been given a battalion under his command, was captured here.

Myths and Legends

Bordering with Topocalma lies the small town now called Paso del Soldado. Tradition has it that a soldier loyal to Vicente Benavides was severely wounded and left abandoned, thinking he was dead. An elderly couple took him in and nursed him until he healed. One day, without warning, he disappeared. Before leaving, he confessed to the elders that, in a place where three hills meet, valuable treasure belonging to Benavides is buried. Today there are still people who seek the treasure. Apparently it is buried in a cave in Puertecillo.

Composition

Some of the towns comprising this district are: Rapel, Licancheu, Culenar, Navidad, Las Brisas, La Boca, Vega de La Boca, Matanzas, Pupuya, Pupuya Sur, El Fullingue, Centinela, El Manzano, Tumán, La Polcura, Valle negro, Puertecillo, Valle Hidango, El Manzano, San Vicente de Pucalán, Quiñecaben, La Aguada, Lagunillas, El Chorrillo, Potrero de San Rafael, La Pataguilla, El Maitén, Vega de Pupuya.

Navidad is the capital and civic center of the district, with tourist services. The municipality is here and the main public services include: Medical center, Police station, Local Police Court, Civil Registry, Fire Station, Library, Community Radio, Theater, Museum of Natural Sciences, Schools, and Cemetery. There is also a Catholic Church and several other churches highlighting the large number of evangelists. Regarding tourism services, there are two residential lodgings, a gas station, a supermarket, an auto parts shop, and a Nextel cell phone agency, and numerous small shops with basic services. Regarding transport, there are collective taxis and minibuses that run regularly to San Antonio. Other daily minibus services go to Litueche, Pichilemu, and Rancagua.

The main work activity is commerce, agriculture, fishing, forestry and Ecoturismo developed in the district’s beach towns. It has approximately 20 km of coastline.

Recreational activities

The climate has temperate Mediterranean characteristics. Its rainy season begins in April and ends in mid-October. In the coastal area, there is a lot of wind and big waves, ideal conditions for practicing extreme water sports; therefore the district has hosted national and global events for these sports (surfing and windsurfing, among others).

Tourism

Visits to the area are recommended during the period when threshing work is done by horses along with Chilean-style horse races, and cultural-religious activities (birth of Jesus) between the months of December and March.