Tomás Burgos Sotomayor

Tomás Burgos Sotomayor

Tomás Burgos Sotomayor (born September 18, 1875 in Osorno , Chile ; † August 19, 1945 in Valdivia ) was a Chilean philanthropist who, through the founding of the town of Villa Lo Burgos, today's Purranque , made progress in what had been a predominantly rural region until then brought. He is considered to be a pioneer of the principle of reciprocity in southern Chile.

Life

Tomás comes from a family with Spanish roots who repopulated the city of Osorno in the 18th century . He was the only male descendant of Bartolo Burgos and Vicenta Sotomayor. His unmarried sister Elena ran the household.

Tomás was a student at the Franciscan College and the German Gymnasium in Osorno. When Tomás was 18 years old, his parents made him responsible for the family estates of Tacamó and Conico. At the same time, he completed a law internship with the future goal of studying law. However, for family reasons, he was unable to achieve this dream. Eventually he married Sofía Rosas Durán, daughter of the landowner Félix Rosas Manrique de Lara and Eustaquia Durán Barrientos, who later inherited part of the Fundo Dollinco in the south of the Osorno province.

plant

Already in his youth he stood out for his sociable and altruistic nature. He founded many groups that hoped for social progress in his hometown Osorno. In 1891 he founded the Sociedad Unión de Artesanos of Osorno together with other citizens . The Sociedad Unión de Artesanos coordinated the mutual help of the craftsmen. At a time when there was a strong need for associations, this was of great importance. He was president of this association for many terms. In 1902 he founded the music club Club Musical 21 de Mayo , which years later moved to the city he founded. Today the club continues under the name Los Tomasitos .

Founding a city

Due to the lack of traffic and communication routes, this southern part of Chile was cut off from the urban centers for a long time. Construction of the only railway line to date began as early as 1910 . Tomás, who foresaw the rapid upswing in the entire area, founded Villa Lo Burgos on April 18, 1911 on the property he and his wife had jointly acquired. Despite many difficulties, he was soon able to settle the first families and take care of the common good of the people. He also supported the construction of schools, public buildings and churches.

Over the years the city changed its name to Purranquíl , which in the language of the Huillichen , the indigenous people of this region, means something like reed . Since the last two letters were later omitted, the city is still called Purranque today . Tomás Burgos Sotomayor was a middle-wealth philanthropist who was completely absorbed in his work. He died in Valdivia at the age of seventy .

literature

• J. Vicente Montecino Sangmeister: Historia de Purranque . Círculo Amancay Osorno. Imprenta González, Osorno 1961 (in Spanish)