Spanish Chilean

Infobox Ethnic group
group = flagicon|Spain Spanish Chilean flagicon|Chile
"Hispanochileno"


caption = Notable Spanish Chileans: Victor Jara, Violeta Parra, Isabel Allende
poptime = The vast majority of the population mixed with local Amerindians mainly Picunche and other European groups in the upper classes.
popplace = All over Chile
langs = Spanish
rels = Roman Catholicism
related = Spaniards, Mapuche, Argentine people, Peruvian people and other Latin American peoples

Spanish Chileans are citizens of Chile, descended from Spanish colonizers, who came in the 16th century, mixed with indigenous Amerindian populations. Thousands of Spanish refugees fleeing Spanish Civil War on 1939 also settled and have many descendants in the country. The vast majority of Chileans are of Spanish descent. Most Spaniards were Andalusians while the upper-classes were formed by Castilians and Basques during the colonial period.

The folk culture of Chile has mostly Spanish origins, especially the huaso culture of the central part of the country, as it arose in the colonial period due to cattle ranching. The Andalusian forms in the huaso dress is apparent to Europeans and the music and dances show Spanish origins, even though both have been adapted and are distinct to dress, music and dance in Spain today.

The ranches called fundos, where the huasos lived and worked show strong similarity with Spanish vernacular architecture, especially in the canal roofs and the interior courtyards. The fundo is now thought of as traditional Chilean architecture and is associated with the huaso.

While around 90% of Chileans may have Spanish surnames and be predominately descended from colonial immigrants from Spain, they do not think themselves as Spanish as a German Chilean might think himself as German. During the independence period, Chileans, almost excusively of Spanish descent at the time, born in Chile, i.e. criollos, thought themselves solely as Chilean, not as Spanish, as Spain was an enemy nation. Today, these descendants still think of themselves as solely Chilean along with the surnames and architecture dating from that period, even though the latter may be called 'colonial', they are not usually considered of as being Spanish as most present Chileans are not aware of the origins of traditional Chilean culture.