The larger town out of two that exist in Antarctica, is Villa Las Estrellas (The Stars Town), founded in 1984 by Pinochet, who wanted to reaffirm Chile’s presence in the region. Today, this town is a research station and has a school, hospital, hostel, post office, internet and even TV and mobile phone coverage. The other town is called Esperanza Base and serves as an Argentine research station. It houses 55 inhabitants in winter, including 10 families and 2 school teachers. The town was established in 1953. It became widely-known in 1978 due to the birth of Emilio Marcos Palma, the first person to be born in Antarctica.