The Linares Penitentiary's Education and Work Center won first place in the “Best Intrapenitentiary Beef Empanada 2026” competition

Under the slogan "We're putting our heart into reintegration," the third annual competition to choose the best empanada from the Maule prisons was a resounding success. The event took place on the third floor of the Portal Centro Mall in Talca, outside Cafetería Ciudadela (the only mall café in the country created specifically for reintegration), whose products are made by inmates from the Talca prison.

For several weeks, inmates at the Education and Work Centers (CET), which operate inside the Penal Units of the Maule region, and which have the bakery business, prepared to perfect their techniques and compete.

The jury for the competition was made up of: the Regional Director of Gendarmerie, Colonel Pabla Arias Díaz; Manager of Mall Portal Centro, Felipe Gaete Arriagada; Marlene Flores Mellado, chef at Les Toque Blanche and Jhon Morales, owner of the company Tecmaq, and member of the trade association Indupan Talca.

After the jury's difficult task due to the excellent level of the competitors, the bakery and pastry shop of the Linares Penitentiary Compliance Center (CCP) emerged as the winner, while the second place went to the CET of the Curicó Penitentiary.

This version included important prizes in supplies and machinery for the CET bakeries that obtained first and second place, provided by the CET Management Unit of the National Directorate of Gendarmerie.

The gastronomic event was led by the Regional Director of the Gendarmerie, Colonel Pabla Arias Díaz, and the Manager of Mall Portal Centro, Felipe Gaete Arriagada, along with the Regional Secretary of Justice and Human Rights, Cristián Rojas, and the Regional Secretary of Public Security, Germán Parra, among other invited authorities such as representatives of the police, the National Institute for Human Rights (INDH), and the justice cabinet.

The competition also featured a cueca dance group made up of officials from the Gendarmerie, the Carabineros of Chile and the Investigations Police, who brought the spirit of national holidays to the third floor of Mall Portal Centro, accompanied by the impeccable presentation of the Talca Hospital Folkloric Ensemble "Talca Lindo".

History of the competition

The event has been organized since its creation by the CET Regional Management Unit of the Regional Directorate of Gendarmerie, currently made up of its regional manager Cindy Sazo Ramos and the professional Felipe Lagos Parra, with the support of the regional labor area of ​​Gendarmerie, in charge of the professional Paula Valdes Salas, and its co-organizer the Mall Portal Centro de Talca.

To give a bit of background, the first edition of this competition was in 2018, when the Talca Women's Prison won. The second edition was in 2019, with the Curicó Prison's CET (Technical Education Center) taking the prize. After seven years, this highly anticipated competition for inmate bakers returned, with the Linares Prison's CET emerging victorious.

Impressions of the 3rd edition of the Best Intrapenitentiary Empanada

Regarding the competition, the Regional Director of the Gendarmerie, Colonel [Name], stated, “Due to the pandemic and social unrest, the competition was suspended, and today we are resuming it… we are very pleased to be able to present the delicious empanadas made by the CETs (Work and Training Centers) of our regional prison units. We want to highlight the work of reintegration and public safety carried out by the Gendarmerie, recognize the efforts of the inmates, and connect with the community so that they have real opportunities for reintegration once they are released. We also thank Mall Portal Centro, which is always supporting these initiatives.”

For his part, the Manager of Mall Portal Centro, Felipe Gaete Arriagada, said, "We have had Ciudadela for a decade, the only cafe in the country in a mall with a focus on reintegration, and now we support this empanada event...for us, we always support these activities so that people who have completed their sentence can reintegrate into the labor market of the Maule region."

Meanwhile, the Regional Secretary of Justice and Human Rights indicated in his speech that, as the contest slogan says, more emphasis must be placed on reintegration. In this regard, he stated, "For us as the Ministry of Justice, and as the Government under the mandate of President José Antonio Kast, reintegration equals security, so we gain nothing by having inmates who, once released, learn trades and provide a service to the community after serving their sentences."

Gendarmerie Expo

Another activity that was added to the Best Intrapenitentiary Empanada 2026 program was the "Gendarmerie Expo," which allowed the exhibition of artisanal products of leatherwork, ceramics, pastry, woodworking, and agricultural products, which was also held on the third floor of the Portal Centro Mall in Talca.

This new version of Expo Gendarmería aimed to showcase the high-quality, affordable work produced by inmates in the Maule prisons.