A Visit to Asuncion, Paraguay

A city of less than 600,000 people, Asuncion is the capital city of Paraguay, one of South America's poorest countries. Once one of the most wealthy and influential cities in Latin America as evidenced by its magnificent public buildings, it now has neighborhoods with thousands of families living in abject poverty.

For as poor of a country as it is, the people here have a great amount of pride and friendliness, and even when I was walking in "Chacarita" (the slums), several groups of kids came up to me and asked for me to take their picture, not wanting any coins in exchange.

The historical center is all within walking distance - from the modern Congreso Nacional (built with a $20 million gift from Taiwan, since Paraguay is one of the few countries that recognizes it to be separate from China) to the elaborate Presidential palace and Cabildo.

The most emotional part of my visit here was a stop at the Plaza de los Desaparecidos (Plaza of those who have disappeared). Here, there is a monument resembling a cube with parts of the body taken from a former statue sticking out. The statue was former dictator Alfredo Stroessner, who ruled the country mercilessly for several decades after World War II.

Even though Paraguayan law forbade statues of living citizens to be erected, Stroessner ignored the law and placed statues of himself throughout the country, similar to what Saddam Hussein did in Iraq. When Stroessner was overthrown, the people of the country ripped down and demolished all of his statues, saving one that was to be late reassembled in the shape of a cube, with his body parts protruding, to pay tribute to the tens of thousands of citizens who disappeared under his regime. Nunca mas!

With its sketchy modern day history aside, Asuncion is a charming city and a nice reprieve from chaotic Buenos Aires. The food is cheap and delicious, the nightlife much more reserved and the streets much safer than those in BA.

For more photos of Asuncion, click here.