Showing posts with label Paraguay. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Paraguay. Show all posts

August 25 - Celebrate Paraguay and Uruguay

  Posted on August 25, 2022     


This is an update of my post published on August 25, 2011:



Today is Constitution Day in Paraguay! The nation celebrates its revised constitution, adopted on this day in 1967.


It's also Independence Day in Uruguay! The nation celebrates its independence from Brazil in 1825.

Can you sort your -guays?

For each question below, answer Paraguay or Uruguay.

  1. Which country is landlocked (has no seacoast)?
  1. Which country has a populace that is primarily (around 88%) of European descent?

  2. Which is one of the most economically developed countries in South America?

  3. Which country has the capital city that is most southerly of the Americas?

  4. Which country has two official languages, Spanish and Guarani?


Answers:
  1. Paraguay is located in the very center of South America (and is sometimes called the Heart of America). It has no access to the ocean and is, therefore, landlocked. Uruguay, on the other hand, is located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean.
  2. Uruguay's population is almost entirely white, with very few mestizo people (mixed Native / indio and white). In contrast, Paraguay's population is 74% mestizo, with white, Black, and Native minorities.

    Above and below, folks in Uruguay


Above and below, folks in Paraguay


3. Uruguay is highly advanced in economic development, industry, and human rights. It has been ranked one of the least corrupt countries in Latin America and THE most “green” (environmentally sound) country in North and South America. Although Paraguay has always been poorer than Uruguay, its economy was the fastest growing on the continent from 1970 to 2009.



4. Uruguay's capital city, Montevideo, is farther south than any other capital in South America. This vastly surprised me, since I always think of Uruguay sitting “on top” of Argentina—thus, I would think, more to the north. However, Uruguay is actually on the east side of the top portion of Argentina—and its capital is slightly south of Buenos Aires, Argentina, as the map above shows.

5. Paraguay has both Spanish and Guarani as official languages. Uruguay only has one official language: Spanish.

Check out Paraguay's spectacular sights:




Check out Uruguay's sights:


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May 15 - Paraguay's Independence Day

     Posted on May 15, 2022

This is an update of my post published on May 15, 2011:



The landlocked nation of Paraguay lies in the center of South America.

The Guarani people fought against the Spanish and won their independence from Spain on May 14, 1811. They celebrate independence on both May 14 and 15. 

The thing about the Paraguayan revolt is that the war wasn't over in May, 1811. Guaranis continued to fight against their stronger neighbors, especially Argentina. The War of the Triple Alliance, fought between Paraguay and the joined forces of Uruguay, Brazil, and Argentina, was the worst war in South American history and decimated the Guarani population—about half the population died during the war—and especially the adult males. Paraguay later fought against Bolivia for a hunk of land.

According to Wikipedia,  the history of Paraguay is even more contested than that of most nations. The “authentic” version of historical events depends on whether it was written in Paraguay, Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay, Brazil, Europe, or North America. Even the two main political parties of Paraguay have different official versions of history!


So many people have said roughly the same thing:
history is written by the winners.
Napoleon once said:
"What is history, but a fable agreed upon?"



There are actually truths to be known about history. Specific events did happen, on specific dates and times, and particular people did and said certain things. In theory, we could wade through various different versions of history, find evidence and eye-witness reports, and discover what really happened. However, as a practical matter, it is hard to know what actually happened! It's best to find histories written by disinterested people—not the winners or the losers of a war, but outsiders who don't have an axe to grind as they write down accounts of events.

Check out Paraguay. This tourism video is cheesy and oriented on attracting tourists from the U.S. and Europe—but it shows some interesting and beautiful sites.


The world-famous Iguazu Falls (also spelled
Iguaçu and a few other ways!) are generally
thought of as being between Brazil and
Argentina, but apparently there is a city in
Paraguay that is another launch-off point to
see this amazing place.




Other beautiful falls in Paraguay
include Saltos del Monday.


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August 16 - Children's Day in Paraguay

Posted on August 16, 2019

This is not what I expect from a "Children's Day"; instead of being just a day where families focus on kids, go to the park or movies, eat kids' favorite foods - all for the love of children - Paraguay's Children's Day is a lot more solemn.

Yes, families and society still celebrates the nation's children. But the reason for doing so on August 16 is that this is the anniversary of the Battle of Acosta Ñu during the Triple Alliance War. On this date in 1869, some 3,500 children and teens (ages 6 to 15) fought and died for their country against about 20,000 Brazilians. 


The kids were poorly armed. They weren't trained. They faced veteran soldiers with much better weapons. And it was all so needless: Paraguay had already lost; the Triple Alliance of Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil had already won.

That's so very super sad. But flashing forward to the "now," Paraguay has since 1992 enjoyed a democratic form of government - with some messy impeachment and murder stuff in there - and Paraguayans seem to be a happy people. As a matter of fact, sometimes those lists of "world's happiest places" feature Paraguay in one of the top positions!

And of course Paraguayan kids can find things to make them smile!





Here two some things that make Paraguay special:

Paraguay is one of just a few South American nations that has one of the indigenous languages as its official language - or rather co-official language. Guaraní is the first languages of many Paraguayans, and it is the most commonly heard language in the nation. Spanish - the most common language in much of South America - is the other official language of this bilingual nation.
 

I keep reading about butterflies in Paraguay. Although some people go to Paraguay to see the amazing birds, the howler monkeys, or the huge rodents (capybaras), I read raves about the many butterflies - many different species of many different colors living in one place. That would be so nice to see!

Here is a sampling of Paraguayan butterflies in photos and postage stamps!








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