News
- Sponsored by SQM, the book brings together 100 stories about the town’s traditions and legends. It was unveiled at a ceremony attended by more than 200 people, which also featured a theatrical performance by the Alma Reina theater company.
As part of the centennial celebration for the town of María Elena, in the Antofagasta Region, the book “María Elena: 100 maneras de contar un siglo” was presented, a project sponsored by SQM as a tribute to the town and the world of the pampa. The book launch took place during a ceremony that brought together local residents and regional and municipal officials.
The volume contains one hundred stories that convey the history of this pampa settlement, which was founded on November 22, 1926, in the heart of the Atacama Desert, under the name Coya Norte. One year after its founding, it was renamed in honor of Mary Ellen Cappelen, the wife of Elías Cappelen Smith, the engineer who created the Guggenheim system, which modernized saltpeter (nitrate) extraction through leaching and crystallization and enabled María Elena and Pedro de Valdivia to become leading industrial figures for decades. Today, this place is recognized as the world’s last living testament to the nitrate era, and the book aims to preserve a record of that unique identity for future generations.
“This is a very significant book in the context of María Elena’s 100th anniversary. It is one of the various initiatives we are promoting as a company to commemorate this important date, but it has a special significance: to highlight the culture and history of this town. At SQM, we are convinced that María Elena’s story is an invaluable part of our heritage—not only for the people of the pampa, but also for the history of Chile. Through this publication, we are helping to preserve that legacy by capturing the voices of its key figures through 100 testimonials that reflect the identity of those who have brought María Elena to life,” said Pablo Altimiras, CEO of SQM Iodine Plant Nutrition.
Meanwhile, members of the community emphasized that this publication allows them to see themselves represented on its pages and to pass this story on to future generations. The book aims to keep the pampa legacy alive and underscore the town’s importance as a piece of saltpeter heritage.
“I want to thank every man and woman from the pampa who shared their stories to make this book possible, because it is their stories that bring María Elena’s memory to life. I would also like to thank Carolina Díaz, director of Memoria Creativa, who took on the great challenge of capturing the essence of our land in these pages. I also appreciate SQM’s commitment to promoting this initiative, which allows us to recover, preserve and recognize the legacy of those who built our past, those who continue to shape our identity today, and the future generations who will write the next hundred years of our history,” said Viviana Cuello, mayor of María Elena.
As part of the ceremony’s activities, the Alma Reina theater company staged four performances, bringing to life an interaction between Mary Ellen and a worker; the recreational and cultural activities of the golden age of saltpeter; the ingenuity behind the production system that revolutionized the nitrate industry; and the myths and legends that are part of the collective pampa imagination.
In addition, the celebration included a heartfelt tribute to five outstanding community members, who received the María Elena Centennial Plaque of Recognition—an honor that SQM, together with the municipality and the regional government, has presented on various occasions throughout the anniversary celebrations as a way to honor those who have built and preserved the legacy of María Elena.
“Receiving this Centennial Award from María Elena has a very special meaning for me, because it is the place where I grew up, was raised and where the dreams that later led me to study in Antofagasta and become a professional first took root. Through folk music, I have had the privilege of representing the nitrate-producing pampa at various venues and festivals, keeping alive the tradition of the old pampa student bands, an artistic expression that is part of our identity and our history,” said Jorge Hiche, a teacher, folklorist and cultural organizer.
With “María Elena: 100 maneras de contar un siglo,” the company seeks to preserve the collective memory of this region—which has withstood the test of time despite the extreme conditions of the planet’s driest desert—and to envision a second century of history, identity and development for this historic town in the pampa and for the entire Antofagasta Region.
Photo caption: More than 200 people attended the book launch for “María Elena: 100 maneras de contar un siglo”
Secondary photo caption: A theatrical performance by Alma Reina, which brought to life various moments in María Elena’s history
