Concepcion

Concepción was founded by Don Pedro de Valdivia in 1550 north of the Bío Bío River, at the site which is today known as Penco. At that time it was given the name Concepción de María Purísima del Nuevo Extremo (Mary Immaculate Conception of the New End). The new settlement of Concepción was just a few kilometers north of La Frontera (The Frontier), the boundary between Spanish territory and the land of the Mapuche, an American Indian ethnic group that remained independent until the 1870s. The settlement was formally recognized by the Spanish authorities as a town two years later by a royal decree. It was given a coat-of-arms that is still in use today. At the time of the Spanish arrival to the Concepción area chronicler Jerónimo de Vivar noted local Mapuches wore gold and silver bracelets and "sort of crowns". …

The climate of Concepción is classified as Köppen: Csb, warm summer mediterranean, with a dry mild summer. The cool waters of the Pacific Ocean help to maintain mild temperatures throughout the year. Temperatures rarely exceed 30 °C (86 °F) or fall below 0 °C (32.0 °F). In the six-month period between May and October, the city receives approximately 83% of its total annual precipitation, which totals 984 mm (38.7 in). The wettest month since records began in 1912 was June 2000 with 565.7 millimetres (22.3 in), whilst all months from November to April have been rainless on occasions. As might be expected for such a large urban area heavily dependent on wood-burning for heat and diesel for transport, the air in Concepción is third-most polluted in Chile, after Santiago and Temuco.

To an outsider, there may be confusion between the demonyms of the inhabitants of Concepción and the nearby city of Penco. Due to the previous location of Concepción being where Penco currently stands, inhabitants of Concepción are called penquistas while inhabitants of Penco are known as pencones. Additionally, the unofficial term pencopolitano has been coined to refer to locals of any commune belonging to the metropolis or, in a wider definition, to the Concepción province, although the term penquista can technically be used in this case as well. In 2014, the Rock en Conce festival began to take shape. It would be held outdoors, in the city's Parque Bicentenario (Bicentennial Park), and access to it would be free. …