Ñuñoa

Origins

The indigenous settlement of Ñuñohue took its name from the broader territory of the same name, centered on what is today Plaza Ñuñoa. The cacique of this settlement was Longomavico (also known as Aponchonique), and his subordinate caciques Malti and Tocalevi — his brothers — answered to him. Pedro de Valdivia distributed the indigenous settlements among his principal companions throughout the territory broadly known as Ñuñoa.

Encomiendas were subsequently established in the settlements of Apokintu, Butacura, Macul, Ñuñoa, and Tobalahue. Those of Macul and Ñuñoa were granted to Juan Jofré and later passed to his son Luis. By the 17th century the indigenous settlement of Ñuñoa had ceased to exist and the encomienda was extinct. The fertility of the land and the irrigation systems introduced by the indigenous inhabitants attracted the attention of the Spanish colonizers from the very beginning. Around 1546, relatively small plots of land known as chacras began to be distributed through concessions.

The roads of the area formed naturally as the land was divided. The most important road during the 18th century was the Camino de Ñuñohue, which ran east from what is now Avenida Portugal, continued along the current route of Avenida 10 de Julio Huamachuco, and then followed the path of today's Avenida Irarrázaval. By the late 19th century this road, by then called the Camino de Ñuñoa, was eventually renamed Avenida Irarrázaval in honor of Manuel José Yrarrázaval Larraín, who authored the law on autonomous communes and signed the decree that created the commune of Ñuñoa.

19th Century

The Decree of December 22, 1891, created the Municipality of Ñuñoa from several rural sub-delegations of the Department of Santiago, covering a territory much larger than the present-day commune. On May 6, 1894, by presidential decree, the commune of Ñuñoa was formally established; at that time it had 1,197 inhabitants, four schools, a post office, a civil registry, and butcher shops. Its first mayor was Alejandro Chadwick.

Three years later, on February 25, 1897, the municipality of Providencia was constituted from within Ñuñoa's territory. On August 10, 1896, the Municipality of San Miguel was created by separating two sub-delegations. By these divisions, the Municipality of Ñuñoa was reduced to an area roughly corresponding to the present-day communes of Ñuñoa, La Reina, Macul, and Peñalolén.

20th Century

A 1927 decree attached the former Municipality of La Florida to Ñuñoa, though La Florida was separated again in 1934. In February 1963, the commune of La Reina was created from the upper part of Ñuñoa, and on March 18, 1981, the communes of Macul and Peñalolén were established, defining the present boundaries of Ñuñoa.

During the military dictatorship, the Estadio Nacional, located in the commune and the country's main sports venue, became a major detention center under the regime of Augusto Pinochet. This history is depicted in films such as Missing by Costa-Gavras, and the stadium is today recognized as a site of memory.^[8]

Throughout the 20th century, Ñuñoa underwent considerable social change. It was once home to a large portion of Santiago's upper class until the mid-1970s, when that segment gradually migrated to the periphery of the northeastern sector. Ñuñoa subsequently became a predominantly middle-class commune, though it has retained its reputation for excellent living conditions.

21st Century

In recent decades the commune has experienced a major real estate boom driven by its quality of life and proximity to central Santiago, resulting in sharply higher housing prices. The inauguration of Line 3 of the Santiago Metro in 2019, which runs the full length of Avenida Irarrázaval, has further spurred residential and commercial development and improved connectivity with the rest of the city.

The commune's identity as a middle-class professional neighborhood has evolved as new residents arrive and the cost of living rises. Politically, this shift was reflected in the 2021 municipal election (in which the left won for the first time since Renovación Nacional had held the mayoralty since 1996), and in the 2021 presidential election, in which Ñuñoa recorded the second-highest percentage of votes for Gabriel Boric. Ñuñoa was also among the eight communes nationwide in which the Apruebo option prevailed in the 2022 constitutional referendum.^[9]

In popular culture, since 2021 the demonym Ñuñoíno has spread on social media as a caricature of the supposedly progressive yet affluent lifestyle associated with younger residents of the commune, particularly those aligned with the Frente Amplio coalition.

Immigration

As of the 2024 census, immigrants make up 13.9% of the total population — 12.1% are from South America, 0.8% are from North America, 0.7% are from Europe, 0.2% are from Asia, 0.03% are from Africa, and 0.01% are from Oceania.^[4]

Neighborhoods

Ñuñoa is composed of a wide variety of distinct neighborhoods and residential developments, including:

Santiago Metro

Ñuñoa has 16 Santiago Metro stations across four lines, giving it the second-greatest metro coverage of any commune after Santiago Centro.

• Line 3: Irarrázaval • Monseñor Eyzaguirre • Ñuñoa • Chile España • Villa Frei • Plaza Egaña
• Line 4: Príncipe de Gales • Simón Bolívar • Plaza Egaña • Los Orientales • Grecia
• Line 5: Irarrázaval • Ñuble
• Line 6: Ñuble • Estadio Nacional • Ñuñoa

A new Line 8 is planned for the commune, expected to be operational by 2032.