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With Bolivia the only landlocked country in South America, Paraguay also is something of an anomaly for the strength of its indigenous Guaraní culture. This resulted from the area's early colonization by Jesuit missionaries from 1709-67 as opposed to Spanish conquistadores as elsewhere in Latin America . Paraguay has a unique musical tradition consisting of pieces using the guitar and harp. The capital city, Asunción, is where nearly a third of the country's 4.7 million people live.
The Congreso Nacional (National Congress) dates from the mid-19C. |
The Panteón Nacional de los Héroes was completed in 1937, and contains the remains of Paraguayans who died in the country's several disastrous wars.
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| Two street scenes
(above) in central Asunción. A pleasant if somewhat dull city,
one of the better accounts of Asunción must surely be that of Pico
Iyer, who lists spending an entire day reading a three day old Wall
Street Journal in the bathtub of his hotel as one of the high points of
his journey there.
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The Cathedral in Asunción dates mainly from the 19C. |
Almost immediately outside Asunción, the vast countryside begins. Even in the area east of the Río Paraguay, population density is low, and in the area west of the river (the "Chaco") the land is scarcely settled.
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The remains of the Misión San Cosme y Damián are typical of the Jesuit reducciones, and date from about 1760. The Jesuits were expelled from the American colonies by order of the Spanish King in 1767.
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In the eastern part of Paraguay are several small towns founded by German Mennonite immigrants, with characteristic A-frame houses. This one is in the small village of Hohenau. |
Ciudad del Este is on the Paraná River directly opposite Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, close to Iguaçu Falls. It was formerly known as Puerto Stroessner after Paraguay's infamous dictator who ruled from 1954-89, and lives mainly on smuggling and other illicit commerce.
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A fruit vendor operates beside the mostly deserted highway between Ciudad del Este and Asunción. |
Caacupé is home to the Basilica of Our Lady of Caacupé, a popular religious pilgrimage point in Paraguay. |
The Basilica itself was only consecrated by the Pope in 1988. The legend of the Virgin of Caacupé dates from 1603.
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Please don't piss on the side of the Basilica! |
Itaguá is a typical small town influenced by Jesuit town planning and architecture, and is a center of lace weaving.
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Map courtesy of the Perry Castañeda Library Map Collection, University of Texas. |
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