Valdivia Province is one of two provinces of the southern Chilean region of Los Ríos (XIV). The provincial capital is Valdivia. Located in the province are two important rivers, the Calle-Calle / Valdivia River and the Cruces River. It is part of Northern Patagonia and its wild virgin forest embrace the Patagonian Cordillera following the river Calle Calle down to the Pacific Ocean. It is known in Patagonia by the term "Bosque Valdiviano", referring to the primitive forest of Valdivia with its native trees. These forests are present in some parts of Northern Patagonia, both in Chile and Argentina.

Municipalities

Geography and demography

According to the 2002 census by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the province spans an area of 10197.2 sqkm and had a population of 259,243 inhabitants (128,972 men and 130,271 women), giving it a population density of 25.4 PD/sqkm. Of these, 192,066 (74.1%) lived in urban areas and 67,177 (25.9%) in rural areas. Between the 1992 and 2002 censuses, the population grew by 10.9% (25,547 persons).

Culture

The Valdivia International Film Festival (FICV) is the most important film event in Chile, one of the most important worldwide and in Latin America. It has been held since 1994, generally during the month of October. The Valdivia Book Fair is organized annually by the city's Municipal Cultural Corporation, with the support of the Los Ríos Governor's Office, in the Saval Park. In this context, several authors born in the Los Ríos Region stand out, such as Maha Vial, Iván Espinoza Riesco, José Baroja, Aldo Astete Cuadra, Efraín Miranda Cárdenas, by name a few. The Valdivia International Sculpture Symposium contest is listed as one of the most important events in Chile and prestigious in Latin America. The Valdivia International Jazz Festival was born in July 2000. Today it is considered the oldest festival in Chile and one of the most important in this musical genre in the Southern Cone.