FACTS ABOUT PARAGUAY

AMAZING FACTS ABOUT PARAGUAY

1.                 Asuncion is the capital city of Paraguay.

2.                 The total population of Paraguay is 6,862,812.

3.                 The natives of Paraguay are called Paraguayans.

4.                 The Guaraní (PYG) is official currency of Paraguay.

5.                 Paraguay shares a border with Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia.

6.                 Paraguay’s nickname is the “Corazón de América” (the Heart of America). The name refers to Paraguay’s location in the center of the South American continent.

7.                 Paraguay’s name is said to mean “crowned river” after the Guarani words for water and palm crown. According to former president Juan Natalicio Gonzalez, it means “river of the habitants of the sea.”

8.              The Itaipu Dam on the Parana River produces almost all of Paraguay’s electricity. Situated on the border with Brazil, the dam is owned by both countries.

9.                 The Paraguay River, which divides the country into two halves, is South America’s second-longest river after the more famous Amazon River.

10.            Paraguay’s literacy rate is higher than that of the United States. Paraguay’s citizens age 15 and older read and write at a 94 percent literacy rate, compared to 86 percent for the U.S.

11.            The native Guarana people were living in Paraguay long before the arrival of the Spanish in the early 1600s. Today, 95 percent of Paraguay’s people are mestizos, descendants of those Spanish men and Guarana women. This makes Paraguay’s population the most homogenous in South America.

12.            Guarani is still spoken by everyone in Paraguay, regardless of their income, politics or social class. This is one of the country’s unifying strengths. Other indigenous heritages are its traditional 38-string harp music and the traditional bottle dance, performed with dancers twirling bottles around their heads.

13.            Paraguay’s people make some of the world’s finest lacework. Nanduti (meaning “spiderweb”) is beautiful lace created in circular designs and found in a rainbow of various colors. Other traditional folk arts are embroidered cloth, black clay work and ceramics, and gorgeous silver jewelry in filigree designs.

14.            Paraguay’s national beverage is mate. Mate (pronounced “mahtay”) is often served hot. When it is served chilled, it is called tereré. It is imbibed through a metal drinking straw called a bombilla. Yerba mate, which is related to common holly, is cultivated on plantations.

15.            The day’s main meal is eaten at noon. Two staples of the Paraguayan diet are corn and cassava, a starchy root vegetable. Cassava (or mandioca) is baked with cheeses to make the thick bread known as Chipa. Corn is used in Paraguayan soup (sopa paraguaya), Bori bori soup and other dishes.

16.            Lapacho (or Taheebo) comes from the inner bark of Purple or Red Lapacho trees and is used in herbal medicines and as tea. An ancient cure, it was one of the primary medicines of the Incas.

17.            The people of Paraguay enjoy sports, including football (soccer), rugby, tennis, and volleyball. Fishing is as popular as football.

18.            Paraguay is the only country worldwide whose national flag has different emblems on each side. The country’s Coat of Arms is on the front and its Treasury Seal is on the back with its motto, ‘Paz y Justica’ (Peace and Justice). Paraguay’s flag is one of the world’s oldest national flags.

19.            Though Paraguay is a land-locked country with no border on the ocean, it has a well-trained navy. Their navy is the largest of any land-locked country in the world.

20.            Iguacu Falls, spanning the Iguacu River, is made up of more than 275 individual waterfall cascades, is taller than Niagara Falls, and is twice its width.

21.            As many as 210 football stadiums could be built with the same amount of concrete as was used to build the Itaipu Dam.

22.            Paraguay is just a little smaller than the state of California.

23.            Famous Paraguayan athletes are Jose Luis Chilavert of football (soccer) and Rossana De Los Rios (tennis). Leryn Franco is a javelin thrower who participated in three different Olympic Games and was also featured in the 2011 ‘Sports Illustrated’ “Swimsuit Edition.”

24.            Paraguay is home to the world’s largest rodent called the Capybara.

25.            Climbing on and off the national buses, “Chipa ladies” dress in blue miniskirts, train conductor caps and fishnet stockings to sell Chipa to passengers.

26.            Paraguay’s name may have come from a parrot befriended by the country’s earliest Jesuit priests. Named Frank, he eventually became dinner for those priests. Whether true or not, the country was actually labeled on 16th-century maps as “Parrot”.

27.            Paraguay is in the Guinness Book of World Records for the world’s largest barbecue, which was attended by approximately 30,000 people.

28.            Homes have no doorbells. To announce your arrival, clap your hands. With windows always open in the hot climate, claps are clearly heard inside.

29.            Dueling is legal here, but only between participants who are registered blood donors.

30.            One of Paraguay’s hidden secrets is Fermina Benitezs, the lady of 100,000 chickens. Now 70, she began making her black clay folk-art chickens when she was 17.

31.            The Triple Alliance War (1864-1870) with Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay was South America’s bloodiest war. Paraguay’s population was cut in half, and only 28,000 men survived.

32.            Before the war, Paraguay was prosperous with substantial gold assets. Between 5,000 and 60,000 caches of this gold were buried or hidden. None are known to have been recovered.

33.            American president Rutherford B. Hayes was the binding arbitrator of the peace terms after the War of the Triple Alliance. Because Hayes awarded the Gran Chaco to Asuncion, Paraguay instead of Buenos Aires, he became a national hero. The town and county of Villa Hayes were named for him.

34.            Paraguay didn’t grant women the right to vote until 1961, the last Latin American nation to do so. Constitutional reforms in 1992 finally gave women equal rights within their marriages.

35.            Ciudad del Este’s crowded street bazaars attract many Brazilians across the river for bargains. Many Brazilians are moving to Paraguay because its homes are less expensive.

36.            With the world’s second-largest hydroelectric plant co-owned with Brazil, Paraguay is the world’s fourth-largest electricity exporter.

37.            The western Paraguay region of Chaco has 60 percent of the country’s land, but only 2 percent of the people live there. The remainder of the population lives within 100 miles of the capital Asuncion in eastern Paraguay. It is estimated that half of the population lives below the poverty level.

38.            Paraguay is the world’s sixth-largest soybean producer, the second-largest tung oil producer, the second-largest stevia producer, sixth-largest corn exporter, seventh-largest beef exporter and fourteenth-largest wheat exporter. Over half of Paraguayans work in agriculture and forestry.

39.            The people of Paraguay are known for their gentle and friendly behavior toward tourists. Do be aware, however, that cheap inns and hotels in Paraguay usually serve as local brothels, as well. European and North American tourists are somewhat of a novelty, and they are treated with respect.

40.            The well-preserved Jesuit ruins in Paraguay dating back to 1706 have been named UNESCO World Heritage sites, though they are some of the most seldom visited in South America. The Robert De Niro film, ‘The Mission,’ was filmed at some of these historic sites.

41.            Paraguay has 42 protected wildlife areas and 10 national parks. There are comfortable accommodations and tours available in the Mbaracayu tropical forests, as well as 89 mammal species and 410 bird species. Ybycui features metallic blue butterflies, waterfalls and howler monkeys.

42.            Paraguay’s colorful festivals also attract tourists. The Festival de San Juan in June features fire walking in hot coals and embers, great food and the ritual burning of an effigy of Judas Iscariot. February’s San Blas Fiestas are Carnival celebrations. Bus service is safe and inexpensive.

43.            There are old, established Australian, German and Japanese communities in Paraguay where visitors can say ‘g’day,’ dine on sushi, rice and fresh vegetables and enjoy fresh schnitzels. In fact, the New Germany colony was established by Friedrich Nietzsche’s sister in the 1880s.

44.            The native Ache peoples gave up cannibalism more than 50 years ago. Today, they still live simply (primitively), but are friendly and are known to welcome visitors in their rain forest homes.

45.            Paraguay Exports: soybeans, livestock feed, cotton, meat, edible oils, wood and leather.

46.            Paraguay Imports: road vehicles, consumer goods, tobacco, petroleum products, electrical machinery, tractors, chemicals and vehicle parts.

47.            The internet country code for Paraguay is .py.