Turcupichun was the toqui of the Mapuche Aillarehues in the vicinity of Concepcion, Chile and the Bio-Bio River valley from 1557 to 1558. García Hurtado de Mendoza landed in early June 1557 on the island of La Quiriquina at the mouth of the bay of San Pedro. Soon afterward he sent out messengers to the local Aillarehues to come and submit to the Spanish. Turcupichun gathered them in a great coyag where he advocated resistance to the death and elected him as their toqui replacing the dead Lautaro.