Communes of Chile

A commune (Spanish: comuna, IPA: [koˈmuna]) is the smallest administrative subdivision in Chile. At least that is the common explanation, even though comunas consist of still-smaller administrative subdivisions. These may be cities, towns, villages, hamlets as well as rural areas. In highly populated areas, such as Santiago, Valparaíso and Concepción, a conurbation may be broken into several communes. In sparsely populated areas, conversely, a comuna may cover a substantial rural area together with several settled areas which could range from hamlets to towns or cities.

The term "commune" is ambiguous in English, but the word is commonly misused in translation for "comuna." A comuna is actually similar to a "county" in Anglo-American usage and practice.

Each comuna is governed by a directly elected body known as a municipal council (concejo municipal) consisting of a mayor (alcalde) and a group of councillors (concejales), for a period of four years. The communal civil service administration is known as the municipality (municipalidad) and is headquartered at the mayor's office (alcaldía). According to Chilean law, a single municipality may administer one or more communes, though currently, the only such case is the municipality of Cabo de Hornos, which administers the communes of Antártica and Cabo de Hornos.

Caballito, Buenos Aires

Caballito is a barrio (neighborhood) of the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires. It is the only barrio in the administrative division Comuna 6.

It is located in the geographical centre of the city, limited by the following streets and avenues: Rio de Janeiro, Av. Rivadavia, Av. La Plata, Av. Directorio, Curapaligüe, Av. Donato Álvarez, Av. Juan B. Justo, Av. San Martín, and Av. Ángel Gallardo.

The name is said to come from the horse-shaped (Spanish caballo) weather vane from a local pulpería (gauchos' bar); Caballito meaning "Little horse".

Places of interest

In Caballito there are numerous points of interest; the "English District" with beautiful British style "Fin de Siècle" architecture, the Ferro Carril Oeste football Club (or "Verdolaga"), the "Historical Tramway museum of Buenos Aires", the old "Mercado del Progreso" (Market of Progress) a neighborhood favorite since 1890, the Italian Club and the Portuguese Club. Among the area's cultural points of interest are the Church of Caacupé, belonging to an order of Irish nuns although receiving its name to a sculpture dedicated to the Virgin of Caacupé, the Faculty of Philosophy and Literature of the University of Buenos Aires.

Recoleta, Buenos Aires

Recoleta is a downtown residential neighborhood in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, Argentina; it is an area of great historical and architectural interest, mostly because of the Recoleta Cemetery . It is also an important tourist destination and cultural center of the city.

It is also one of the most affluent neighborhoods and it is one of the priciest real estate in the city.

The Recoleta is accessible by the “D Line” of the Buenos Aires Subway, which passes through the neighborhood.

Geographical location

The Recoleta neighborhood is composed of the area limited by Montevideo and Uruguay Streets, Córdoba Avenue, Mario Bravo and Coronel Díaz Streets, Las Heras Avenue, Tagle Street, the F.G.B.M railway, Jerónimo Salguero Street, and by the Río de La Plata or River Plate.

Neighboring communities are Retiro to the southeast, San Nicolás, Balvanera and Almagro to the south, and Palermo to the northwest, and the River Plate to the northeast.

History

The name of the neighborhood comes from the Monastery of the Recollect Fathers, members of the Franciscan Order which was established in the area at the beginning of the 18th century. They founded a monastery and a church dedicated to Nuestra Señora del Pilar with a cemetery attached. The Recoleta pathway is nearly the exact geographic center of the neighborhood, and one of its highest points in the city, which, at the end of the 19th century attracted wealthy families from the south of the city who sought to escape from the deadly yellow fever outbreak which began in 1871. From that time on, the Recoleta has been one of the most stylish and expensive neighborhoods in Buenos Aires, home to private family mansions, foreign embassies, and luxury hotels, including the Alvear Palace Hotel, the most sumptuous in all of Latin America.