Basilio Sánchez Beguiristáin

Basilio Sánchez Beguiristáin (1903 – 1992) was a Chilean physician. Between May 1960 and May 1963, Sánchez was the 26th Mayor of the commune of Pichilemu. He was also one of the founding members of the Pichilemu Fire Department (Cuerpo de Bomberos de Pichilemu) and was, for decades, the director of Pichilemu Hospital.

Biography Little is known of Sánchez Beguiristáin before his arrival in Pichilemu in 1933, at age 30. According to Historia Hospital de Pichilemu from the Chilean Ministry of Health Library, Sánchez arrived "on holidays [...] and like others was delighted by [Pichilemu's] beauty and quietness", and decided to stay in Pichilemu to work as a doctor; he was contracted by mayor Felipe Iturriaga Esquivel. Between 1933 and 1940, he directed the Dispensario San Rafael, Pichilemu's first health organization, created years before by fellow physician Eugenio Díaz Lira. The directorship of Pichilemu Hospital, through his mayorship, was delegated to a doctor of Italian origin surnamed Matasi. He held the mayoralty until 19 May 1963. Upon the completion of his mayoral term, he returned to the direction of the local hospital, and continued in that role until 1976. Just before resigning, Sánchez brought to the hospital two physicians from the University of Concepción, who were welcomed in a ceremony by then mayor Eduardo Parraguez Galarce. In that ceremony, Sánchez was named Illustrious Son of Pichilemu (Hijo Ilustre de Pichilemu), for "working in the healthcare in Pichilemu for almost fifty years." Following his resignation as director of Pichilemu Hospital, Sánchez retired.

Sánchez was a founding member of the Pichilemu Fire Department (Cuerpo de Bomberos de Pichilemu), which was established on 4 December 1945. He was named an honorary director of the fire department. Sánchez was also Superintendent of the Pichilemu Fire Department between 1950 and 1951, and between 1961 and 1969. Moreover, he is recorded as a founding member of the Pichilemu Flying Club (Club Aéreo de Pichilemu); the club was founded on 2 November 1964.