Caazapá
| Caazapá | ||
|---|---|---|
| City | ||
| ||
  Caazapá | ||
| Coordinates: 26°12′00″S 56°22′48″W / 26.20000°S 56.38000°WCoordinates: 26°12′00″S 56°22′48″W / 26.20000°S 56.38000°W | ||
| Country |
 Paraguay | |
| Department | Caazapá | |
| Founded | January 25th., 1607 by Luis de Bolaños | |
| Government | ||
| • Intendente Municipal | Pedro Alejandro Díaz Verón | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 944 km2 (364 sq mi) | |
| Elevation | 155 m (509 ft) | |
| Population (2008) | ||
| • Total | 23,996 | |
| • Density | 25/km2 (66/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | AST (UTC-04) | |
| • Summer (DST) | ADT (UTC-03) | |
| Postal code | 5600 | |
| Area code(s) | (595) (542) | |
Caazapá (Spanish pronunciation: [ka(a)saˈpa]) is a city in Paraguay, founded in 1607, by Friar Luis de Bolaños. It is located in the Caazapá District and is the capital of the Caazapá Department. The name Caazapá comes from the Guarani words "Ka'aguy jehasapa" which means "after the forest", because the natives believed that after the forest, God, with the attendance of Friar Luis de Bolaños, has made born wather from the Earth. There are five neighbourhoods called "Barrios" in the city: Then main one is the Barrio San Pablo, the other 4 are: Barrio Santa Teresita, Barrio San Blás, Barrio San Antonio, and Barrio San Roque-within which is the original Chapel, built by franciscans during the famous Jesuit reductions of Paraguay. The Franciscan Reduction at Caazapá was an important event in Paraguayan cultural heritage.
In 1989, with the new government of President Andrés Rodríguez, Caazapá City became the new capital of the Department of Caazapá. This is because the Departments of Caazapá and Guairá were linked before and the only capital for both was Villarrica. With the new capital city and new authority positions created to be located here, some citizens were selected to occupy them. Among the most prominent of these was Ms. Selva Antonia Aguirre, head of the department handling Education at the Secondary Level, which is responsible for helping young people prepare to attend the Universities. During the exercise of her functions, until the end of her position in 1992, 38 education centers were reformed. Ms. Aguirres' shining performance in the field of Education in Caazapa city is unmatched in its history.
Caazapá City is very famous for its "Ykua Bolaños", a public park with a legendary source of water located in rocky ground to which magical properties are attributed and that was created by God to special request of Friar Luis de Bolaños, according to the legend. The inhabitants of Caazapá are very proud of their illustrious citizens, and they honor them by putting their names on its streets. The last Avenue to be renamed was the main one which goes to the Justice Building. It takes the name of Dr. José de Jesús Aguirre, Ms. Antonia Aguirre's brother, another prominent citizen, not only in Caazapá, but absolutely for all Paraguay. Dr. Aguirre was a jesuit priest, the first Psychologist in adapting the European test to the Paraguayan reality. The current mayor of Caazapa is Francisco Sarubbi. Caazapa is known as "la tierra del paje" (the land of the sorcery) because of the myths alleging that the in the jungle Fray Luis de Bolaños discovered "ka'a GUAJAKAPA" (sorcery weed), near the famous fountain "Ykua Bolaños".
References
- Geografía Ilustrada del Paraguay, Distribuidora Arami SRL; 2007.
- Geografía del Paraguay, Primera Edición 1999, Editorial Hispana Paraguay SRL