Culture
Living culture
A bilingual country where Guaraní is spoken on the street, on the radio and at home. Ñandutí lace, harp, polka and guarania, myths still told and festivals handed down.
1509-1556 · Conquistador and governor
Domingo Martínez de Irala
A Basque who arrived with Pedro de Mendoza's expedition, he consolidated Asunción: he established its town council in 1541 and governed it for several terms. His alliance with the Guaraní, sealed through family ties, lies at the root of Paraguay's mestizo heritage.
1561-1634 · First American-born governor of the River Plate
Hernandarias (Hernando Arias de Saavedra)
Born in Asunción, he was the first person born in the Americas to govern the River Plate region. He promoted the arrival of the Jesuits and their missions, founded towns and defended Indigenous people against abuse by the encomenderos (colonial landholders).
1576-1628 · Jesuit, founder of missions, Paraguay's first saint
San Roque González de Santa Cruz
Born in Asunción, he founded several missions, among them Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación de Itapúa (1615), which moved in 1621 to the Paraguayan bank of the river, where Encarnación stands today. He was martyred at Caaró (now in Brazil) in 1628. John Paul II canonized him in Asunción in 1988.
1766-1840 · Supreme Dictator of Paraguay
José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia
A doctor of theology and a key figure of independence, he ruled the country from 1814 until his death. He sealed it off from the outside world and kept it peaceful and independent, at the cost of harsh repression. Roa Bastos portrayed him in 'I the Supreme'.
1792-1862 · First constitutional president
Carlos Antonio López
He governed from 1844 to 1862 and modernized the country: railway, telegraph, the Ybycuí ironworks, shipyards, schools and scholarships to study in Europe. He opened Paraguay to foreign trade after Francia's isolation.
1827-1870 · President and marshal in the War of the Triple Alliance
Francisco Solano López
The son of Carlos Antonio López, he led the country in the war against Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. He died at Cerro Corá on March 1, 1870, a date now marked as Heroes' Day. He remains a hotly debated figure.
1857-1929 · Swiss-Paraguayan naturalist and scientist
Moisés Bertoni
He settled on the banks of the Paraná, in today's Alto Paraná department, and spent decades studying the flora, climate and traditional knowledge of the Guaraní. He described stevia (ka'a he'ẽ). His house, in the Moisés Bertoni Scientific Monument, is open to visitors.
1888-1940 · Commander in the Chaco War and president
José Félix Estigarribia
He led the Paraguayan army in the Chaco War (1932–1935). He was elected president in 1939 and died in a plane crash in 1940; he was posthumously made a marshal. A town in the Chaco bears his name.
1894-1933 · Poet
Manuel Ortiz Guerrero
Born in Villarrica, he wrote the lyrics for immortal guaranias with José Asunción Flores, such as 'India' and 'Nde rendápe aju'. Suffering from leprosy, he lived isolated and in poverty, and he is one of the country's most beloved poets.
1894-1949 · Guaraní-language poet and songwriter
Emiliano R. Fernández
The great popular poet of the Guaraní language. He fought in the Chaco War and wrote songs every Paraguayan knows, such as 'Che la reina', 'Asunción del Paraguay' and '13 Tuyutí'. The anniversary of his death, September 15, coincides with Polka Day. He is credited with 'Rojas Silva rekávo' (1927), cited as the first known rasguido doble.
1903-1999 · Writer, ceramicist and art critic
Josefina Plá
Born in the Canary Islands, she came to Paraguay in 1927 and became a central figure in its culture: poet, playwright, ceramicist and scholar of handicrafts, including ñandutí lace. She championed modern Paraguayan art. She married the artist Julián de la Herrería in 1926. The catalogue she wrote with João Rossi for Olga Blinder's 1952 exhibition is regarded as the manifesto of Paraguayan modern art, and in 1954 she co-founded the Arte Nuevo Group with Blinder and other artists.
1917-2005 · Writer, 1989 Cervantes Prize winner
Augusto Roa Bastos
Paraguay's greatest novelist. He spent decades in exile and wrote 'Son of Man' ('Hijo de hombre', 1960) and 'I the Supreme' ('Yo el Supremo', 1974), a novel about Dr. Francia. In 1989 he received the Cervantes Prize. He was also a screenwriter, credited with the scripts of twelve feature films.
1915-1977 · Soccer player
Arsenio Erico
Born in Asunción and trained at Club Nacional, he shone at Independiente de Avellaneda in Argentina: with 295 goals, he was considered for decades the all-time top scorer of the Argentine first division (recent reviews put Ángel Labruna first). In 1937 he scored 47 goals in a single season.
1925-1959 · Carmelite nun, Paraguay's first beatified woman
María Felicia de Jesús Sacramentado, 'Chiquitunga'
Born in Villarrica, she devoted her youth to Catholic Action and later became a Carmelite nun in Asunción; she died at 34. She was beatified on June 23, 2018, at the General Pablo Rojas stadium in Asunción.
1957-2024 · Visual artist, creator of Tañarandy's Holy Week
Koki Ruiz
Born in San Ignacio (Misiones), in 1992 he created Tañarandy's Holy Week celebrations and built monumental altarpieces, such as the one made of corn cobs and coconuts for Pope Francis's Mass at Ñu Guasu, Luque (2015). He died in December 2024.
1966 · Classical guitarist
Berta Rojas
Born in Asunción, she is today's great ambassador of the Paraguayan guitar and of the music of Agustín Pío Barrios 'Mangoré'. In 2022 she won the Latin Grammy for Best Classical Album with 'Legado'.
1907–1980 · Novelist and journalist
Gabriel Casaccia
Born in Asunción to Italian parents, he spent his childhood in Areguá, the town he would portray in most of his work. He is regarded as the father of modern Paraguayan narrative. His best-known novel, 'La Babosa' (1952), gives an unflinching look at life in that town and was much debated in Paraguay. He wrote in exile in Argentina; he published 'La llaga' (1964, Kraft Prize), 'Los exiliados' (1966) and 'Los herederos' (1975), and 'Los Huertas' appeared after his death. His remains rest in the Areguá cemetery.
1926–2004 · Poet and essayist
Elvio Romero
Born in Yegros (Caazapá), the son of a farmer who carved small wooden figures, he spoke only Guaraní as a child, his mother's language. After the 1947 civil war he left the country and never lived there again: he toured the Americas, Asia and Europe giving readings and lectures. His book 'El sol bajo las raíces' (1956) was introduced by Miguel Ángel Asturias. As an essayist he wrote about Miguel Hernández and won the National Literature Prize, in its first edition, with 'El poeta y sus encrucijadas' (1991). He died in Buenos Aires.
1905–1953 · Poet
Hérib Campos Cervera
An Asunción-born poet of Spanish family, he brought the avant-garde into Paraguayan poetry. In his lifetime he published a single book, 'Ceniza redimida' (1950), with 28 poems; 'Hombre secreto' appeared after his death. He studied as a youth in Hohenau, wrote literary criticism and spent his last years in exile in Buenos Aires, where he died.
n. 1944 · Writer (poet, novelist and playwright)
Renée Ferrer de Arréllaga
Born in Asunción in 1944, she writes poetry, novels, short stories and theater. She holds a doctorate in History, founded the Paraguayan Writers' Society and the Paraguayan PEN Club, and serves as general secretary of the Paraguayan Academy of the Spanish Language. She received the National Literature Prize in 2011 and France named her Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in 2003. Her novel 'Los nudos del silencio' was translated into Italian and her work circulates in several languages.
1876–1910 · Writer and journalist (Spanish, settled in Paraguay)
Rafael Barrett
Born in Torrelavega (Spain) to an Anglo-Spanish family, he reached Paraguay in 1904 as a correspondent for an Argentine newspaper during the Liberal revolution. He settled in Asunción, took part in the 'La Colmena' literary circle and founded the anarchist paper 'Germinal', where he denounced abuses. He was jailed in October 1908 and banished to Corumbá (Brazil); he returned and settled in Areguá. Ill with tuberculosis, he left for France in 1909 and died in Arcachon in 1910. He is regarded as a major figure of Paraguayan literature and a pioneer of its narrative.
1885–1929 · Poet, essayist and journalist
Eloy Fariña Núñez
Born in Humaitá, he was educated in Corrientes, Paraná and Buenos Aires, with a solid classical culture. He is one of the voices of Paraguayan modernism and the Paraguayan poet most often found in foreign anthologies. He also wrote essays on Guaraní mythology, collected in 'Conceptos estéticos – Mitos guaraníes' (1926). The story goes that he declined a top post if it required changing nationality, saying he had two mothers: Paraguay, which saw him born, and Argentina, which shaped him. He died in Buenos Aires.
1914–1966 · Poet and lyricist of Guaraní songs
Teodoro S. Mongelós
Born in Ypacaraí, at 17 he served as a telegraph operator at the front in the Chaco War. Known as 'the poet of the humble', he is, with Manuel Ortiz Guerrero and Félix Fernández, one of the great authors of Guaraní-language lyrics. He was a member of Congress from 1949 to 1954 and had to go into exile in São Paulo because of his ideas. His remains, which lay for 28 years in Foz do Iguaçu, were repatriated to Ypacaraí in 1994. 'Ha mboriahú', 'Nde resa kuarahyame' and 'Minero sapukai' are among his best-remembered lyrics.
1921–2008 · Painter, printmaker and educator
Olga Blinder
Born in Asunción to a Jewish family, she studied engineering and pedagogy. The catalog of her 1952 show, written by Josefina Plá and João Rossi, is known as the manifesto of Paraguayan modern art. In 1954 she founded the Arte Nuevo Group with Plá and others. She promoted art education for children through the Escolinha de Arte and the Instituto Superior de Arte, and in 1972 created with Carlos Colombino the Colección Circulante, the basis of today's Museo del Barro. She was awarded an honorary doctorate by the National University of Asunción.
1937–2013 · Visual artist, architect, writer and cultural manager
Carlos Colombino
Born in Concepción, he developed xylopainting: rather than using the wooden block only to print, he treated it as the artwork itself, carved and painted in oil, using the grain of the cedar. His works from the 1960s and 70s reflect on political violence, and later he worked with the kamba ra'anga masks of Altos. Under the pen name Esteban Cabañas he wrote poetry, novels and plays; he won the García Lorca Prize in 1998. He was a founder of the Museo del Barro and directed the Centro Cultural de la Ciudad Manzana de la Rivera.
1903–1992 · Printmaker, draftsman and watercolorist (Brazilian settled in Paraguay)
Livio Abramo
Born in Araraquara (São Paulo), he was already an established artist in Brazil when in 1962 he agreed to head the visual-arts section of the Brazilian Cultural Mission in Asunción and settled in Paraguay for good. There he developed his mature period, with series such as 'Paraguay' (1956–1970), 'Lluvias' and 'Misiones'. His prints are held by the British Museum, the Vatican Museums, MoMA and the Metropolitan in New York, among others. He was also a journalist for 33 years. He died in Asunción.
1891–1983 · Naïve painter, 'the painter of Asunción'
Ignacio Núñez Soler
Born in Asunción, the son of a prominent Liberal politician, he put his mother's surname before his father's to honor her. He began by painting houses and decorated the sets of Julio Correa's theater. His first exhibition was in 1931. His naïve art portrays the Asunción of the first half of the 20th century, its neighborhoods and characters, with a popular, suburban eye, which is why he is called 'the painter of Asunción'. He was also a trade unionist and a leading figure of Paraguayan anarchism.
1888–1937 · Painter and ceramist
Julián de la Herrería (Andrés Campos Cervera)
Andrés Campos Cervera, who signed his ceramics as Julián de la Herrería, was born in Asunción. He studied art in Madrid, Rome, Florence and Paris and learned ceramics in Manises (Valencia). He pioneered art ceramics in Paraguay and is considered the founder of a school of ceramists. His works are in Asunción's Museo de Bellas Artes and in museums in Madrid and Valencia, among others. He was the husband of Josefina Plá, who later kept his work in a private museum.
1904–1987 · Painter and teacher
Ofelia Echagüe Vera
Born in Asunción, she studied with local teachers, in Montevideo and at Buenos Aires's Escuela Superior de Bellas Artes. Her first solo show was in 1946 and already displayed her trademarks: solid figures, space organized in planes and strong expressiveness. She took part in a group show of women painters that marked a shift in the role of women in Paraguayan visual arts. She was a teacher of Olga Blinder.
1875–1958 · Painter, ethnographer and teacher
Pablo Alborno
Born in Asunción to an Italian father and a Paraguayan mother. He learned painting from Guido Boggiani, studied in Rome, Florence and Venice on a scholarship, and in 1909 founded the Academia de Bellas Artes with Juan A. Samudio. For the Independence centenary he painted the series 'Próceres de Mayo', exhibited on 14 May 1911, with portraits of Pedro Juan Caballero, Fulgencio Yegros and others. He was one of the country's leading portrait and landscape painters and took part in founding the Archaeological and Ethnographic Museum.
1861–1901 · Italian painter, photographer and ethnologist
Guido Boggiani
Born in Omegna (Italy), he reached Asunción in 1888 and went deep into the Chaco, where he met peoples such as the Guaná and the Sanapaná. On his second journey, starting in 1896, he carried a camera and took over 500 photographs of Indigenous communities, which he developed himself in the jungle. He left 38 volumes to the scientific community and sent collections to Berlin's Ethnological Museum. He died in the Chaco in 1901, on his last expedition. He was a teacher of Pablo Alborno.
1899–1973 · Ethnologist and linguist of the Guaraní peoples
León Cadogan
Born in Asunción to Australian immigrants from the New Australia colony, as a young man he worked on yerba mate production in Caaguazú, where he met Mbya communities. He learned their language and became the first non-Indigenous researcher allowed access to their ritual language and esoteric practices. His work 'Ayvu rapyta' (1959) gathers mythic texts of the Mbya of Guairá and is a worldwide reference on Guaraní worldview. He also compiled a Mbya-Guaraní/Spanish dictionary.
1932–2019 · Jesuit, linguist and anthropologist
Bartomeu Melià
Born in Mallorca, he reached Paraguay in 1954 as a Jesuit priest and studied the Guaraní language and culture. A disciple and collaborator of León Cadogan, he taught at the Catholic University of Asunción and directed anthropological journals. He had to leave the country in 1976 after publicly denouncing the persecution of the Aché. He kept working with Guaraní peoples, in intercultural bilingual education and ethnohistory. He received Paraguayan citizenship in 2011 and the Bartolomé de las Casas Prize for defending Indigenous peoples and the Guaraní language.
1920–1996 · Slovenian-Paraguayan anthropologist
Branislava Sušnik
Born in Slovenia, she studied ethnohistory in Ljubljana and Vienna and reached Argentina in 1947. In 1951 she traveled to Asunción at the invitation of Andrés Barbero and from 1952 directed the Ethnographic Museum until her death. She wrote 77 works on Indigenous communities, among them 'El indio colonial del Paraguay'. She received the National Science Prize in 1992, and in 2005 the Paraguayan post issued a stamp with her portrait.
1833–1886 · Historical figure of the López era
Eliza Lynch (Madama Lynch)
Born in Ireland in 1833, she was the partner of Francisco Solano López and lived in Paraguay during the years of the War of the Triple Alliance. She died in Paris in 1886. Culturally she is remembered because, according to music scholarship, she brought fashionable dances from Europe, danced in the Club Nacional's salons and later adapted by the people. Her image was heavily colored by wartime propaganda from her enemies and is now being revised; she remains a debated figure.