Cerrito is a small town in the

Ñeembucú Department Ñeembucú (; Guaraní: ''Ñe'ẽmbuku'') is a department located in the south of the Eastern Region of Paraguay. The capital is Pilar. The department is almost entirely rural, and is home to some of the oldest and best-preserved Jesuit ruin ...

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 located along the

Paraná River The Paraná River ( ; ; ) is a river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina for some ."Parana River". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2012. Web. ...

, and is a small town with about 1,000 permanent residents. Its name comes from a little hill (cerrito) located on the bank of the river, from which you can see the beautiful landscape of the city and the river. With warm, clear water, and lovely beaches, Cerrito is a popular vacation spot. Sand dunes mark both sides of the river, and often stretch into the water. In fishing season, anglers flock to Cerrito in pursuit of the elusive

Dorado Dorado (, ) is a constellation in the Southern Sky. It was named in the late 16th century and is now one of the 88 modern constellations. Its name refers to the mahi-mahi (''Coryphaena hippurus''), which is known as ''dorado'' ("golden") in Sp ...

. At the top of the hill lied a statue of former Paraguayan president

Alfredo Stroessner Alfredo Stroessner Matiauda (; 3 November 1912 – 16 August 2006) was a Paraguayan politician, army general and Military dictatorship, military dictator who ruled as the 42nd president of Paraguay from 15 August 1954 until his overthrow in 19 ...

which was destroyed by a

lightning strike A lightning strike or lightning bolt is a lightning event in which an electric discharge takes place between the atmosphere and the ground. Most originate in a cumulonimbus cloud and terminate on the ground, called cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning ...

just before he was overthrown out of the presidency in 1989. Some believe this event indicated a "prediction" of the eventual fall of Stroessner. Others say the statue was never hit by lightning, but was actually toppled by the local citizens celebrating Strossener's overthrow. Local residents say the "hit-by-lightning" story was invented out of embarrassment by local politicians because they belonged to the

Colorado Party (Paraguay) The National Republican Association (, ANR), also known as the Colorado Party (), is a conservative political party in Paraguay, founded on 11 September 1887 by Bernardino Caballero. Since 1947, the ''colorados'', as they are known, has been d ...

, same as the disgraced dictator. A lot of

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

tribes inhabit the city, and several pre-Columbine tombs were found in an area that is very hard to reach because of the poor conditions of the dirt roads. The main tourist attraction of this city is the good fishing spots in the river. Fishing guides and camping areas are available. There are also water taxis to take passengers across the river to Argentina. Cerrito is the birthplace of former Paraguay goalkeeper

Justo Villar Justo Wilmar Villar Viveros (born 30 June 1977) is a Paraguayan former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Other than in his own country, he also played in Argentina, Spain and Chile, in a senior career that lasted 22 years. A ...

References

External links

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World Gazeteer: Paraguay
– World-Gazetteer.com Populated places in the Ñeembucú Department {{Paraguay-geo-stub