Independence Day of Paraguay
INDEPENDENCE Day is a public holiday in Paraguay. It is celebrated on May 14 until May 15, which is the National Day of Paraguay. Known in Spanish as Dia de la Independencia Nacional, the day commemorates the country’s independence from Spain in 1911.
The day is marked with parades, the most elaborate of which is in the country’ capital and largest city, Asuncion. People usually wear their traditional clothes as they stroll down the streets. The men wear fancy shirts, broad-brimmed straw hats, ponchos, a faja (sash) around the waist, and full trousers known as bombachas. The women don blouses with lace inserts and brightly colored embroidery, full skirts with many layers of petticoats underneath, and a rebozo or shawl similar to the Spanish mantilla. A traditional Independence Day dish called Sopa Paraguay, is served along with corn and other foods as well as the usual drink called mate. In the campo area of Paraguay, Independence Day is celebrated with family and friends, often outdoors by having barbecues, playing football, loud music, and lots of beer and wine mixed with cola.
Paraguay is a landlocked country between Argentina, Brazil, and Bolivia. It is home to large swaths of swampland, subtropical forest, and chaco, wilderness comprising savanna and scrubland. Its capital and largest city Asuncion lies on the banks of the Paraguay River. It is the seat of the grand Government Palace and the Museo del Barro, which displays pre-Columbian ceramics and nanduti lacework.
Paraguay consisted of nomadic tribes that were known for their fierce warrior traits. It has a wide variety of fauna and flora and a rich history and culture. The Europeans first arrived in the 16th century and the settlement of Asuncion was founded by Spanish explorer Juan de Salazar y Espinola. Asuncion later became the center of a Spanish colonial province as well as a primary site for the Jesuits, many members of which work as missionaries or as human rights activists or in social justice organizations.
We congratulate the people and government of Paraguay led by President Horacio Cartes, on the occasion of its National Day.