Roaming South America

Villarrica, Paraguay

May 8, 2023

Villarrica, Paraguay, has a population: 52,000, and was founded in 1570. When the city was founded the name was Villa Rica del Espíritu Santo (Villa Rica of the Holy Spirit). It has also been known as the "wandering city".

The city was founded by Ruy Díaz de Melgarejo after left the town of Ciudad Real with 40 men and 53 hourses. They headed east to an area where he expected they would find riches of gold and silver. In May 1570, he found an area he liked and founded the town. But, the town was being attacked by other groups of people, so he relocated it, six times! He moved the city in 1592, 1599, 1632, 1642, 1678, 1682. In May 1701, the town was officially settled and founded with the help of Franciscan missionaries.

Coronel Oviedo, Paraguay

May 6, 2023

Coronel Oviedo, Paraguay, population: 72,000, but the metropolitan area/district is about 170,000 people. Oviedo is located midway between Asunción and Ciudad del Este (the two largest cities in Paraguay), and pretty much dead center in the southern half of the country. Therefore, its location makes it an important crossroads for anyone traveling east-west or north-south.

The city has a philharmonic orchestra (more than 40 members) and the Coronel Oviedo Cultural Society. The Cultural Society is mostly young people who dedicate time and energy to the audiovisual arts. Because of the work they have done, Oviedo is considered one of the main cities in Paraguay dedicated to cinema. The Cultural Society is also the organizer of the country's longest-running short film festival, the "National Short Film Competition", which has been running since 2005.

Caacupé, Paraguay

May 5, 2023

Caacupé, Paraguay, population: 26,000, but the metropolitan area/district is about 57,000 people. The nickname for the city is "Spiritual Capital of Paraguay". The church is the Minor Basilica of Caacupé and it receives many thousands of people coming here for the celebration of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, December 8. The church is of a stiking architecture, check out the pics in the photo album.

San Bernardino, Paraguay

May 2, 2023

San Bernardino, AKA San Ber, Paraguay, population: about 12,000 people (although the Wikipedia claims double that). The source their pages typically refer to is citypopulation.de, and I also use that page, but for this town, San Ber, the data doesn't match.

Asunción, Paraguay

May 1, 2023

Nuestra Señora Santa María de la Asunción, Paraguay, (Asunción), population: about a half million people. In the metropolitan area are more than 3 million. The city was founded in August 1537, so it is one of the oldest cities in South America. It is considered to be the third safest city in South America, after Buenos Aires and Santiago. Though, and this is interesting, I have been warned several times by people who live in Paraguay that I should avoid Buenos Aires because of the crime. It is also considered to be one of the cheapest capital cities in the world to live in. Asunción has many museums, a riverside beach, and a soccer stadium that seats a bit more than 46,000 people.