Named in memory of Don Alonso de Ercilla y Zuniga (1533–1594), Spanish poet and soldier who distinguished himself in the campaign in Chile against the Araucanians. He returned to Spain in 1562, taking with him the first fifteen cantos of La Araucana, his epic poem about the early part of the 300-year-long war between Spanish soldiers and Chilean Indians. He can be considered the first chronicler of the history of Chile. (M 11160) _ _.