History
ONTIVEROS HOTEL, A BIT OF HISTORY: WHY ONTIVEROS AND NOT ANTIVERO?
During the period of the Spanish conquest of the Americas, Don Pedro de Valdivia, sent by the King of Spain, arrived in Chile. Shortly after his arrival, he founded the city of Santiago on February 12, 1541. In June of that same year, Valdivia was appointed governor of Chile. During his tenure, Valdivia established the well-known encomiendas, which were territorial extensions assigned to an administrator or encomendero, and which also included the indigenous population that lived there.
The area of San Fernando was granted as an encomienda to DON FRANCISCO DE RIBEROS ONTIVEROS, who accompanied Don Pedro de Valdivia in fulfilling the royal mandate of indigenous conquest and the foundation of towns in Chile. The encomienda granted to Don Francisco de Ribera Ontiveros, called Malloa, was a territory that stretched north to the Claro River of Rengo and ended south at the Tinguiririca River. It also included the Los Lingues and Roma basins to the east.
Later, in order to facilitate the colonial administration by Spain, encomiendas were divided into "mercedes." In 1602, Don Alonso de Riveros Suárez de Figueroa, the son of Don Francisco de Ribera Ontiveros, received the "merced" Hacienda de Ontiveros or Hontiveros, which included the following estates: El Calabozo, La Ramada, San Hernán, El Trapiche, Angostura, Cañadilla, Lircunlauta, San Fernando, El Olivar, Viña Antivero, Las Rosas de Antivero, Polonia, and Los Lingues.
Thus, the surname Hontiveros or Ontiveros arrived in Chile to stay and became linked to the land of the "huasa" (rural) region of Chile, San Fernando.
According to heraldry, the surname Ontiveros has several origins. It is said to be patronymic in nature, meaning it is derived from the place of residence of the original bearer. It is thought to come from the Basque word “OTA,” which means "vine," and the Latin word “Veros,” meaning "true" or "real." It is also believed to be an ancient province of Old Castile.
It is said that the original surname was FONTI VEROS. In Old Castile, there was a feudal lord who had a watering place where shepherds took their sheep to drink. Hence, "VEROS" means "shepherd" and "FONTI" means "source," so FONTIVERO would mean "source of shepherds." It is also suggested that "FONTI" means "source" and "VEROS" from Latin means "truth," thus making it "Source of Truth."
Regardless of the origin of the surname ONTIVEROS, we are certain that it arrived in Chile through the Spanish Francisco de Riveros Ontiveros. It is believed that the name of the area where the Hotel is located today, LAS ROSAS DE ANTIVERO, comes from the surname Ontiveros, and over time, due to common usage and the passage of years, its initial "O" was replaced by an "A," giving rise to the word ANTIVERO.
Source: Lircunlauta Museum – San Fernando.