What is "temuco"

Temuco is a city and commune, capital of the Cautín Province and of the Araucanía Region in southern Chile. The city is located south of Santiago at the heart of the modern Araucanía Region and historic Araucanía—the land of the Mapuche who resisted Spanish conquest.

Temuco was founded in 1881 during the occupation of Araucanía and grew quickly into one of Chile's main cities. Temuco's central place in Araucanía with easy access to the Andean valleys, lakes and coastal areas makes it a hub for tourism, agricultural, livestock and forestry operations as well as a communication and trade centre for the numerous small towns of Araucanía. Temuco has recently been regarded as a university city as it houses two main universities: University of the Frontier (Spanish: Universidad de La Frontera) and Temuco Catholic University (Spanish: Universidad Católica de Temuco). Nobel laureates Gabriela Mistral and Pablo Neruda both lived in Temuco for some time.