parguayp2



 =General Information = By: Cassandra Cordova Paraguay is a landlocked country that is bordered by Argentina, Boliva and Brazil ("Paraguay2"). Its capital is Asunción ("Paraguay1"). The two official languages are Spanish and Guarani, the language of the indigenous people ("Paraguay2"). Back to top
 * 1) General Information
 * 2) History
 * 3) Entertainment
 * 4) Food and Cuisine Customs
 * 5) Interview
 * 6) Photo Gallery
 * 7) Resources
 * Population**: 6,831,306 ("Paraguay1")
 * Regions**: Paraguay is divided in to two by the Rio Paraguay, the Eastern (Paraguay Oriental) and the Western (Chaco) ("Paraguay2").
 * Climate/Geography**: To the East of the Paraguay river, the climate is tropical ("Paraguay1"). It is humid, hot and has lush vegetation ("Paraguay1"). This area is where most of Paraguay's rivers are, and where most of the forest is ("Paraguay2"). It also has large wooded hills and grassy plains ("Paraguay2"). On the western side, however, the climate is semiarid ("Paraguay1"). Though it doesn't rain that much, when it does, it pours ("Paraguay2"). This area is either low and marshy or contains dry forest ("Paraguay1").
 * Religion**: Roman Catholic 89.6%, Protestant 6.2%, other Christian 1.1%, other or unspecified 1.9%, none 1.1% ("Paraguay2").
 * Government**: Paraguay is a constitutional republic ("Paraguay1"). Today, the president is Nicanor Duarte, however the people recently have elected a new president, Fernando Lugo ("Paraguay2"). His term will start on the 15th of August. ("Paraguay2")
 * Economy**: Paraguay is the second poorest country in South America ("Paraguay2"), with the GDP (gross domestic production) is $4,000("Paraguay1"). Approximately 15.9% of the population is unemployed ("Paraguay1"). Most of Paraguay's exports are soybeans, cattle, electricity and wood ("Paraguay1"). Their main imports are road vehicles, consumer goods, tobacco, petroleum products, and electrical machinery ("Paraguay1"). Most of their energy comes from the Itaipu Dam (Bateman and Denshire 22). Their currency is the Guarani ("Paraguay2"). 5,031 Guarani are worth one dollar ("Paraguay1").

=History=

By: Jenny Clark Pre-Columbian civilization consisted of the Guarani-speaking tribes. European expeditions started with the failed expedition of Juan Diaz de Solis, in 1516, to the end of the Rio de la Plata (the river that divides Uruguay and Argentina) ("Paraguay"). Settlement of Asunción in 1537 ("Paraguay"). The Spanish explorer who founded Asunción was Juan de Salazar y Espinoza. Asunción became the primary site of the Jesuit missions and settlements in South America in the 1700's (Jordan, 46). Paraguay became independent from Spanish rule in 1811 (Jordan, 46). The first leader of Paraguay after they gained their indpendence was José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia. After Francia died in 1840 his nepew, Carlos Antonio López took over leadership and after him his oldest son Francisco Solano López (Jordan, 46).

Francisco Solano López's expansionist ambitions for Paraguay met with the struggle for power of the River Plate region and led to the War of the Triple Alliance (1865-1870) ("The War of the Triple Alliance"). The Triple Alliance (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay) defeated Paraguay in a devastating war (Jordan, 47). It was said that Paraguay lost over half of their male population (90%) and overall an estimated 300,000 civilians died (Jordan, 47-48).

The next milestone in Paraguayan history came with the Chaco War (1932-1935) ("The Chaco War"). The war was between Bolivia and Paraguay for control over the Gran Chaco region of South America (Wallace, 12). Paraguayan won and re-established sovereignty in the Gran Chaco region (Wallace, 12). After the Chaco War Jose Felix Estigarribia, the "Hero of the Chaco War" became president of Paraguay (Wallace, 13).

After Estigarribia was Hignio Morinigo, a liberalist. He caused the Paraguayan Civil War by suspending the constitution and banning political parties. The general public of Paraguay resisted his rulings and began rioting and striking (Wallace, 20). In 1954-1989 Alfredo Stroessner was dictator (Olson, 10). While he was in power political freedoms were extremely limited, and opponents of his plans were harassed and persecuted under the banner of national security and anti-Communism (Olson, 10). Stroessner also made a policy towards Indians which would convert them from their culture to Paraguayan culture (Olson, 11). Stroessner's education system also banned Guaraní from the education system (Olson, 11-12). Children were forbidden to use their native language as part of their general educaction system (Olson, 12). Under his rule Paraguay became isolated from the rest of the world (Olson, 12). On February 3, 1989, Stroessner was overthrown by a military leader named Andrés Rodríguez (Olson, 12).

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=Entertainment=

By: Sarah Tyner

__Sports__:
Some of the more popular sports in Paraguay include swimming, soccer, rugby, chess, tennis, golf, basketball and horse racing. (Paraguay Sports 1) Out of all these sports, soccer is probably the most popular. The more wealthy people have fun playing golf and basketball and watch horse racing. (Paraguay Sports 1) William Paats was a very important person regarding the introduction of soccer in Paraguay. (William Paats 1)

__Athletes:__
Bareiro Fredy, Edgar Barreto, Diego Barreto, Pedro Benitez, Jose Cardozo, Ernesto Cristaldo and Osvaldo Diaz are just a few of the Olympians in Paraguay. (All Athletes 1)

__Movies__:
A lot of people don't have enough money to watch movies in Paraguay. This is something the wealthy usually enjoy. All the movies are imported from Argentina or other nieghboring countries and the U.S.A. (Etcheverry 3)

__Art__:
Scientists have found many different art artifacts (Indigenous art). Some ofthe most famous and well known forms that were found are basketwork and feathered ornaments...these are actually the oldest forms og art that have been uncovered in Paraguay. (Indigenous Art 1) A lot of potery was also found that seemed to have Andean infuences. Wood carvings are also a popular find. These carvings are usually pipes, chairs, apyka, animal/human figures and masks. (Indigenous Art 1)



In the 70's Guido Boggiani and Hector Da Ponte introduced academic techniques into their paintings. By the 20th century it matured into impressionist influences. (Visual Art 1) "Plastic" art then started to flourish in the 60's and 70's. During this time, Carlos Colombino was working on his Xilo paintings. These paintings depicted the pain and tragedy of mankind in the past Some famous poets are Roque Vallejos, Jose Ricardo Mazo, Augusto Roa Bastos. (Visual Art 1)

Music__:__
Some of the popular music in Paraguay is European music. Church music is a lot of times Guarani. (Music of Paraguay 1) Other famous music includes Polka, Guarania, Zarzuela, local folk songs. (Music of Paraguay 1)

__Film:__
The film industry in Paraguay is small compared to its surrounding neighbors. The film industry is struggling because of its lack of initial tradition. Few productions are actually from Paraguay. (Etcheverry 1) Film production was persecuted by government in 70's and 80's because it was considered a subversive activity. (Etcheverry 1-2) Cerro Cora was made in Paraguay in 1977 and it became popular in surrounding countries as well. It was probably the most successful movie they made. (Etcheverry 2)

__Actors:__
There are not many actors in Paraguay, at least not too many that are popular. For example, Arnold Ardre is a popular actor known in Paraguay, but he is an actor from Argentina. Like it was mentioned earlier, most films that are aired in Paraguay are actually from neighboring countries like Argentina for example. (Arnlod Ardre 1)

__Theater:__
Theater is at the moment and always has been popular because film making was always looked down on. Theater has also really struggled because of the lack of funds. (Etcheverry 1)

__Hobbies:__
Women enjoy doing embroidery and lace making a lot. Spiderweb lace is probably the most predominant type of lace making. (Paraguayans 3) People also enjoy making harps, guitars and homemade gold and silver jewelry. (Paraguayans 3)

__Famous Athors:__
Some famous poets are: Roque Vallejos, Jose Ricardo Mazo and Augusto Roa Bastos. Back to top

=Food and Cuisine Customs=

By: Shri Joshee Like in every countries, People in Paraguay love food as well. The traditional food of Paraguay contains mainly two ingredients. They are corn and cassava. People in Paraguay enjoy meat as well. Chicken, pork and Lamb mainly prepare meat dishes. Some of the very popular mean dishes are bife koyguá and puchero. Omelet is loved very Paraguayans especially prepared cheese and cassava starch. People in Paraguay love meat but for those who don’t eat meat mbeyú is very popular. Few other popular food items in Paraguay in include reviro, arró quesú, locro, chipá, so'o yosopy, and chicharö. Drinks  - Soft drinks and fruits juice is loved in Paraguay. Mate is the national drink in Paraguay and it can be taken cold or hot. The cold one is known as terere. Mosto is a sugar cane juice. The alcoholic version of mosto is called "cana ". People in Paraguay love beer but they prefer wine especially from chilly and Argentina.

Meal time -Breafast is usually taken at 7 or earlier in the morning.It consists of cocida, which is made with cooked sugar and milk or some people prefer coffee. Bread and butter is served. Some might eat pastries. Generally during the mid day, Lunch is taken. Lunch is the most important meal and they usually eat some kind of food items made with chipa. Dinner is usually taken after work but it differs in many families and regions. In rural areas, people often take dinner when they have time but in urban areas everyone wait for their families to take dinner together. When guest is invited, children eat their dinner before they arrive. People believe that it is rude for guests to not finish their dinner. In some areas, people do not drink until they finish their dinner.In parties, women are suppose to eat after men are done or eat on a separate tables. Sharing food is very common in paraguay and it is considered rude if you decline the offer.

Restaurants : Paraguay offers a variety of restaurants. Paraguyan resturants are found all over the country but mainly in the city of Asunción. The restaurants of paraguay offer great customer service. They serve a variety of food. All the way from Asia to Latin America.Some of the restaurants have bar and serve all the popular paraguyans drinks including cana.Some of the famous restaurants include:
 * Capo Restaurant
 * La Cascada
 * La Paraguayita
 * Churrasquaria Acuarela
 * La Paraguayita
 * La Pergola Jardin
 * Mburicao
 * Talleyrand
 * Tio Lucas

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