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.
Year-round, at any hour; National Tereré Day is the last Saturday of February
Tereré
It's served in a guampa — a cup made of horn, wood or metal — with a metal straw (bombilla) and a thermos of very cold water in which pohã ñana, medicinal herbs such as menta'i, kapi'i katĩ or lemon verbena, are crushed. One person pours and the guampa goes around the circle, always with the same straw. If you're offered some, accept; when you've had enough, say 'gracias' as you hand it back and the server will understand. UNESCO added it to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2020.
Midday and early afternoon, especially in summer and outside the capital
The siesta
In the countryside many shops close after lunch and reopen mid-afternoon, once the heat eases; the streets empty out and all you hear is the cicadas. In Asunción and in shopping malls, businesses stay open all day, but in small towns it's best to plan shopping and visits for the morning or late afternoon. According to folklore, it's also the hour when Jasy Jatere and the Pombero are out and about.
Throughout June; the main night is June 23–24
San Juan Festival and fire games
Schools, neighborhoods and parishes host 'San Juan' parties with mbeju (a cassava-starch flatbread), chipa, pastel mandi'o (cassava empanadas) and kosereva (candied bitter orange), plus games: pelota tatá (a rag ball soaked in fuel and kicked while ablaze), toro candil (a man wearing flaming horns who charges the crowd), yvyra syi (a greased pole with prizes at the top), the burning of the Judas kái effigy and kambuchi jejoka, smashing a candy-filled clay pot while blindfolded. Watch the fire games from a safe distance.
May 3
Kurusu Ára, Day of the Cross
Every May 3 many families set up the kurusu jegua, the adorned cross: they surround it with bay leaves and hang it with cross-shaped chipas, rosaries of roasted peanuts, candies and flowers. They pray — sometimes with a Mass — for the family's departed, and afterwards the decorations are shared out among neighbors and children. The tradition is still alive in Asunción neighborhoods such as Bañado Norte and in towns across the country.
August 1, on an empty stomach
August 1 Carrulim
August was the harshest month of winter in the countryside, and tradition calls for drinking carrulim — caña (cane liquor), rue and lemon — on an empty stomach to cleanse the body, bring good luck and 'get through August'. The custom speaks of seven sips, though a single one will do: health authorities urge moderation, and children have rue with water instead. The National Secretariat of Culture declared it intangible cultural heritage in 2019.
October 1
October 1 Jopara
On October 1 families cook jopara, a thick stew of beans, hominy, vegetables and sometimes meat. According to the belief, Karai Octubre passes by that day checking the pots: if he finds them empty, the year will be one of scarcity. It's eaten at home and shared with neighbors, and many restaurants and eateries serve it that day. It's a great chance to try a dish that hardly appears on menus the rest of the year.
May 14 and 15
Mother's Day and Independence Day
On May 15 Paraguay celebrates its independence of 1811 and also Mother's Day, in honor of Juana María de Lara, who according to tradition took part in the conspiracy on the night of the 14th. Both are national holidays, with parades, school ceremonies, flags on houses and family lunches. Book restaurants ahead and expect many offices and shops to be closed.
At social gatherings, birthdays and parties
'Paraguayan time'
An invitation for eight o'clock may get going at nine: 'Paraguayan time' is the relaxed attitude toward social schedules, and Paraguayans bring it up with self-deprecating laughter. It doesn't apply to flights, long-distance buses, tours or business meetings, which do run on time. If someone says 'ag̃aite' (right away), it might be in a few minutes... or in quite a while.
Patron-saint festival parades, rural festivals and agricultural shows
The ox cart
For centuries the ox-drawn cart carried yerba mate, sugarcane and harvests; its creaking became music in polkas such as 'Carreta guy'. It's rarely used for work today, but it reappears in patron-saint parades, festivals and agricultural shows, with the drivers in their finest clothes. In some rural towns you can still see carts on dirt roads.
Patron-saint festivals and rural festivals, especially in the countryside
Ring race (carrera de sortija)
A tiny ring hangs from a crossbar, and riders at full gallop try to thread it with a little stick. Whoever takes it wins the prize and, by custom, presents the ring to a young woman in the crowd. It's one of the most eagerly awaited events at country patron-saint festivals, along with rodeo riding and the koygua (village) band. To catch it, check each town's festival program.
June 28 and 29 (Saints Peter and Paul), in the Itaguasu district of Altos
Kamba ra'anga Festival of Altos
In the rural district of Itaguasu in Altos (Cordillera), the kamba come out covered in dry banana leaves and wearing masks of timbó wood, cardboard or leather; they chase the crowd, play pranks and stage a mock battle against the Guaicurú. There's pelota tatá, toro candil and traditional food. It's one of the most authentic folk festivals in the country: it takes place at night, and it's best to go with someone who knows the area.
Holy Thursday and Good Friday, Tañarandy (San Ignacio, Misiones)
Holy Week in Tañarandy
Tañarandy, about 230 km from Asunción, glows on Good Friday with thousands of candles and torches: at dusk the procession of Our Lady of Sorrows sets off along the Yvága Rape, the 'road to heaven', with Stations of the Cross hymns, and at night living tableaux are staged at La Barraca. It was created in 1992 by artist Koki Ruiz, who died in December 2024; the La Barraca Foundation and the community keep the tradition going. Check each year's program before you go.
November 30 to December 8; the main day is December 8
Caacupé Pilgrimage
It's the country's largest religious event. During the novena, and especially on the eve of December 8, pilgrims from all over Paraguay walk along the highway from Asunción (about 55 km) or from their hometowns to fulfill vows to the Virgin of Caacupé. Along the way there are stalls selling chipa, water and tereré. If you're traveling on those days, expect road closures and heavy traffic on Route PY02.
Every day, on highways and at bus terminals, toll booths and traffic lights
The chipera (chipa seller)
With a basket covered in a white cloth and the cry of '¡chipa, chipa calentito!' (hot chipa!), chiperas board buses and wait at toll booths and terminals. The trade is strong in chipa towns such as Eusebio Ayala (formerly Barrero Grande, birthplace of chipa barrero) and Coronel Bogado (Itapúa), considered the national capital of chipa — the cheesy cassava-starch bread that Paraguayans adore. Buying a chipa from a chipera is practically a travel rite: pay in cash and keep small bills handy.
Year-round; local league matches mostly on weekends
Soccer
The Dutchman William Paats, who settled in Paraguay in the late 19th century, brought the first ball and drove the founding of Olimpia (1902); today the Olimpia–Cerro Porteño rivalry divides families. The national team, the Albirroja, returned to the World Cup in 2026. On Sundays there's a game on every vacant lot, and Luque is home to CONMEBOL's headquarters and its South American Football Museum. If you go to a derby, buy official tickets and choose your section carefully.
National holidays, folk festivals, school ceremonies
The kuñataĩ and the typói blouse
Kuñataĩ means 'young woman', and she is the heroine of many guaranias and polkas. On festive days, girls and women wear the traditional dress: a typói blouse of ao po'i with lace or ñandutí trim, a long colorful skirt, an ornamental comb and flowers in the hair; men wear an ao po'i shirt, a sash and a pirí straw hat. School ceremonies in May and August are a good time to see it.
February 24
The residenta and Paraguayan Women's Day
The residentas were the women who accompanied the army and the civilian population in the retreat during the War of the Triple Alliance (1864–1870) and who later, with most of the men dead, rebuilt the country. February 24, Paraguayan Women's Day, commemorates the Assembly of American Women held in Asunción in 1867, where they donated their jewelry to the war effort. The song 'Che la residenta' celebrates them.
December through January 6
Nativity scene with coconut flower
In December the markets fill with flor de coco, the fragrant flower cluster of the mbokaja palm, which is hung over the nativity scene along with fruit, clay figures from Areguá or Itá and palm fronds. Its sweet scent is inseparable from Christmas in Paraguay. It's sold at Asunción's Mercado 4 and at roadside stalls; Christmas Eve dinner usually includes chipa guasu, sopa paraguaya and clericó (a fruit-and-wine punch).
August 16
Children's Day
On August 16, 1869, at the Battle of Acosta Ñu (Eusebio Ayala), thousands of Paraguayan children and teenagers fought the Allied army in the final phase of the War of the Triple Alliance; many died. That's why Children's Day falls on this date, with gifts and school parties, but also with remembrance ceremonies at the battlefield.
July 30
Friendship Day
In 1958, in Puerto Pinasco (Chaco), doctor Ramón Artemio Bracho and a group of friends founded the World Friendship Crusade and proposed July 30 as Friendship Day. The idea spread, and in 2011 the UN proclaimed the International Day of Friendship on that date. In Paraguay it's celebrated with gifts, messages and get-togethers with friends.