The Buculemu Hacienda was one of Chile’s largest encomiendas (land grants) during the colonial period. In 1549, the land was entrusted to Inéz de Suarez and Rodrigo de Quiroga and then passed to Sebastian García Garreto, who donated it in 1627 to the Compañía de Jesús religious order, which administered it for 140 years.
After the Jesuits were expelled from Chilean territory in the mid-18th century, the Spanish crown sold the land in 1778 to the Fernández family, who has kept it in the family and conserved the family tradition as well as the spirit and legacy of their forebears.
Histórica Relación del Reino de Chile, Alonso de Ovalle, 1646.
TRADITIONS
OUR HOUSE
Built in 1858 in the Chilean colonial style. Today very few of Chile’s original country homes still remain in the hands of the families that built them.
Many generations have passed through this house and have maintained the traditions and preserved it in the same conditions of their ancestors.
HORSES
Steeped in Chile’s rural traditions and a love of the countryside, the rodeo and Chilean horses, the Criadero de Casas de Bucalemu was founded in 2000 to raise fine Chilean horses for competition.
RODEO
The Chilean rodeo is both traditional and unique in that only Chilean horses may compete. The national breed originated with horses brought during the Spanish conquest in 1544. It was recorded as a specific genealogical breed in 1893 and today it is recognized as the oldest breed of horses in the Americas and the third oldest in the world. The rodeo was declared the national sport in 1962.
We have our own medialuna (rodeo arena), and our entire family participates in this noble tradition and are active participants in the National Rodeo Championships.
THE WINE
We have also always been passionate about wine, and vineyards have grown on these lands since the Jesuits arrived in 1631. Today the hacienda’s century-old vineyards still grow in the gardens of the colonial home. We became pioneers in the coastal valley of Santo Domingo when we planted new vineyards in 2008.
