Paraguay by Xime

Paraguay is located in South America, between Argentina, Bolivia and Brazil. Paraguay is one of the two landlocked countries, the other one is Bolivia. 5,700,000 of people live in this- not very small- part of the world (406,752 km2). The currency is the Guaraní. The country's name comes from the Paraguay river, which goes trough the territory.
The capital is Asunción, a city with an amazing legacy of colonial architecture. It has very antique houses which are very popular among tourists. However in this part of the country, there are also very modern attractions, for example The Lírico Theater, lots of pubs and some elegant hotels.
Paraguay has 3 official languages: Spanish, Guaraní and English. The second one is the language of the indigenous that lived there. Personally, I think it's great that they have adopted the Guaraní language because it is not usual that this happens. Most of the people who live in American countries have forgotten that they also come from the aborigines.
The Paraguayan music is very unique. It has its origins in the 19^th century. They don’t only have one rhythm. For example they play different variations of the European Polka, called Galopa, Krye’ÿ and the Canción Paraguaya, or Paraguayan Song. Other popular styles include the Purahéi Jahe’o and the Compuesto.

About the food, the Paraguayan gastronomy is mainly based in two ingredients: cassava (In Costa Rica it is called yuca) and corn. Some popular plates are, the chipá (traditional bread made of cassava and milk which is typical on Holy week) or the only known solid soup chipá guasú. Obviously, because of the region where this country is situated, they drink mate. This is an infusion of an herb, mate, and hot water that has to be drank trough a metallic straw. This beverage can only be drink when is hot, almost boiling.

Paraguay is a democratic country. As in Costa Rica, the state is divided in 3 parts: the Executive, the Legislative and the Judicial. The most important person in the government is the President of the Republic, who is the chief of the Executive part for a period of 5 years (one more year than in Costa Rica).

Agriculture and stockbreeding are the main economical activities. They seed soybeans, wheat, sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, the mate herb and some more fruits and vegetables. Plus they raised bovine and equine cattle.

The industry stills in development but it is mainly dedicated to producing oil, mate herb, cassava derivates, textiles and lime.

The fact of not having an exit to the sea hasn’t stopped the tourism. The reason is the great geography and the beautiful landscapes that Paraguay offers. So the government has to stimulate the natural and cultural attractions. In recent years, hotel infrastructures, as well as the new options for tourism at ranches have demonstrated a growing improvement on this area.

Sports like soccer, basketball, tennis and chess are very important in Paraguay. Two of the most remarkable achievements made by the basketball team of Paraguay were achieving the second place in the 1955 and 1960 South American Basketball Championship.

If you are interested on looking for more information about this country you can visit http://www.paraguay.com where you can find lots of interesting things about anything you want to know about Paraguay.