Pisco Elqui

Pisco Elqui (formerly La Greda and La Unión ) is a Chilean village in the Elqui Valley, located in the municipality in the Región de Coquimbo Paihuano. The distance from La Serena is about 107 km to the east.

History

Due to its extremely clayey soil, the village was formerly known under the name of La Greda. This clay has been used by both the Indians and Spaniards in the 16th century for the production of pottery and treasures.

The name La Greda wore the present village of Pisco Elqui by the year 1873. At that time they changed the name to La Unión order, so that the residents have the victims expressed their solidarity and sympathy after a terrible smallpox epidemic.

On March 20, 1873 Name of the place was officially converted to La Unión laws by decree.

On the initiative of the deputies Gabriel González Videla, Humberto Suarez and Pedro Alvares E. Alonso 5798 the place name of La Unión was converted in Pisco Elqui on February 1, 1936, using the law. The aim was to object that the " born " in Chile liquor can be sold without any legal trouble over the world.

Gabriela Mistral, Chilean poet and winner of the Nobel Prize for literature, was born in Vicuña and brought at the age of 10 days by the parents to Monte Grande, so she spent her childhood there and in Pisco Elqui, which was then called La Unión. They spoke out against the change of name of La Unión in Pisco Elqui, since it was a incomprehensible decision for her and she hoped that the name change will eventually be reversed, as the name La Unión expresses the unity of the rivers Derecho and Cochiguaz.

Tourism

The village is one of the main tourist destinations in the Elqui Valley and numerous tourist agencies in town offer excursions into the entire Elqui Valley. A particularly appealing Elqui Valley is the climate, which offers around 360 days of sunshine per year. It also enjoys easy access to the Andes as well as the rural and old villages. Furthermore, the unique clear sky offers the best conditions to visit one of the many Oberservatorien in the region that are internationally known.

Culture

Even the name brings to the place in connection with the Chilean national drink Pisco, a drink, which dates back to Peru's region province Pisco in Ica. Near the village there is also the oldest Pisco distillery of the Elqui Valley, Los Nichos.