Areguá is a

creative city Creative City (aka Fujairah Creative City – FCC) is a media free zone government-owned company in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. Overview FCC was launched by Fujairah Media as an alternative to Dubai Media City, aims to attract regional ...

and the capital of

Central Department Central () is a Departments of Paraguay, department in Paraguay. The capital is Areguá. With 1,883,927 inhabitants, it is the most populated of the 17 departments of Paraguay. It is also the smallest department, with a total area of . Geogra ...

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

. It is known for its production of

strawberry The garden strawberry (or simply strawberry; ''Fragaria × ananassa'') is a widely grown Hybrid (biology), hybrid plant cultivated worldwide for its fruit. The genus ''Fragaria'', the strawberries, is in the rose family, Rosaceae. The fruit ...

products,

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other raw materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. The place where such wares are made by a ''potter'' is al ...

colonial architecture Colonial architecture is a hybrid architectural style that arose as colonists combined architectural styles from their country of origin with design characteristics of the settled country. Colonists frequently built houses and buildings in a sty ...

and historic

cobblestone Cobblestone is a natural building material based on Cobble (geology), cobble-sized stones, and is used for Road surface, pavement roads, streets, and buildings. Sett (paving), Setts, also called ''Belgian blocks'', are often referred to as " ...

streets. The district lies between the

Ypacaraí Lake Ypacaraí Lake is a major body of water located in Paraguay, about east of the capital, Asunción. The lake lies in the western part of the Asunción-Sapucai-Villarrica graben, a tectonic depression from the Mesozoic Era, and drains to the nor ...

and the basin it forms with the Salado River to the East and hills to the West.

Etymology

Areguá is thought to come from Classical Guarani ''ariguâ·r'' (" erson/peoplefrom above, from up there"), refererring to the area's high altitude and its first inhabitants from the Mbya Guarani tribes.

History

Areguá was founded by

Domingo Martínez de Irala Domingo Martínez de Irala (1509 – 3 October 1556) was a Spanish-Basque conquistador. He headed for America in 1535 enrolled in the expedition of Pedro de Mendoza and participated in the founding of Buenos Aires. He explored the Paraná and ...

in 1538. Early settlers, numbering about 200, lived close to the church. They were

Mercedarian The Royal, Celestial and Military Order of Our Lady of Mercy and the Redemption of the Captives (, abbreviated O. de M.), also known as the Mercedarians, is a Catholic mendicant order established in 1218 by Peter Nolasco in the city of Barcelon ...

s who arrived with the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

to raise cattle. African slaves were put to work on these farms. It was promoted to district status on November 12, 1862 by

Francisco Solano López Francisco Solano López Carrillo (24 July 1827 or 1826 – 1 March 1870) was a Paraguay, Paraguayan statesman, Officer (armed forces), military officer and politician who served as President of Paraguay between 1862 and 1870, of which he serve ...

. By the end of the 19th century, Areguá had become a tourist destination to which many writers, artists and intellectuals from nearby areas retreated in the summer. In 2019, it was designed as a city of crafts and folk arts by the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

as part of its

Creative Cities Network The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) is a flagship city programme of UNESCO launched in 2004 to promote cooperation among cities which have recognized culture and creativity as strategic drivers of sustainable urban development Urban means ...

Geography

Areguá is divided in twenty-four companies:

Climate

Areguá's climate is

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (approximately 23.5° to 66.5° N/S of the Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ran ...

. Maximum summer temperatures reach 40°C. Average winter temperatures are 0°C. The average annual rainfall is 1377mm distributed throughout the year.

Demography

Areguá's population is about 67,847. Of these residents, 33,870 are female and 33,977 are male.

Culture

Areguá's economy is based on

farming. The town is also known for its pottery, which is an emergent industry in the region. Every year, the Strawberry Expo takes place in Areguá. It consists of a month-long strawberry festival where farmers and producers sell strawberries and strawberry products (from juice, cakes and liquors to ice cream,

empanadas An empanada is a type of baked or fried turnover consisting of pastry and filling, common in Spain, other Southern European countries, North African countries, South Asian countries, Latin American countries, and the Philippines. The name com ...

and pastafrolas). The district's

patronal festival A patronal feast or patronal festival (; ; ; ; ) is a yearly celebration dedicated – in countries influenced by Christianity – to the 'heavenly advocate' or 'patron' of the location holding the festival, who is a saint or virgin. The day of t ...

is February 2 (

Virgin of Candelaria The Virgin of Candelaria or Our Lady of Candelaria ( or ''Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria'') (), popularly called ''La Morenita'', celebrates the Virgin Mary on the island of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands (Spain). The center of worship is l ...

). Celebrations last around ten days, these include: a novena, a folk festival, serenatas and a procession that takes the image of the Virgin of Candelaria to schools, businesses and chapels, among other places.

Places of interest

Areguá has a historic area centred on ''Avenida del Lago'' (Lake Avenue) which runs from a hilltop church to the

. In 1997, the Paraguayan parliament declared it a National Heritage Area. Isla Valle, the local ecological organization, regulates fishing in the lake. Another attraction is the Centro Artesanal de la Cuenca. At the Center, craftsmen from the region display locally made pottery and crafts. Aregua also has art galleries, including Guggiari Arte, Luis Cogliolo Galería de Arte, Paseo La Candelaria, Areguá pesebres, El Cántaro, and Museo las Margaritas. The Koi and Chorori hills are a geologic attraction. Koi Hill is known for its formations of hexagonal sandstone.Eckel E. B. and Milton C
''Geological and Mineral Resources of Paraguay''
U.S. Government Printing Office, 1959 p. 34 The formations are a protected heritage site and the hill was declared a Natural Monument in 1993.

Notable people

The Paraguayan writer

Gabriel Casaccia Benigno Gabriel Casaccia Bibolini (April 20, 1907 – November 24, 1980) was a Paraguayan novelist. He is considered the father of modern Paraguayan literature. Augusto Roa Bastos, another notable Paraguayan novelist, is quoted as saying “Gabri ...

was born in Areguá.

References

External links

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SENATUR
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aregua Populated places in the Central Department