The objective of the VIVA (Villarrica Vulcano Array ) project is to investigate the structure and seismicity of the South America subduction zone from 38.75S to 40.25S. This segment comprises the area of maximum slip of the M9.5 1960 Chile earthquake and a network of active major faults and volcanoes the most prominent of which is the Villarrica volcano. A seismic network consisting of 40 short period and 20 broadband instruments will be run for 1 year in order to record local earthquakes and teleseismic events from which tomographic and receiver function images, local hypocenters and seismic anisotropy will be determined. The project is part of the collaborative research center SFB 574 'Fluids and Volatiles in Subduction Zones' at the University of Kiel.