Nickname(s): Mother of Cities

Asunción

Location in Paraguay Coordinates: Country  Paraguay District Gran Asunción Founded August 15, 1537 Government  • Intendant Arnaldo Samaniego Area  • City 117 km² (45.2 sq mi)  • Metro 1,000 km² (400 sq mi) Elevation 43 m (141 ft) Population (2009^[1])  • City 542,023  • Density 4,411/km² (11,420/sq mi)  • Metro 2,329,061 Demonym Asunceno, -a Postal code 1001-1925 Area code(s) (+595) 21 HDI (2011) 0.742 – high Website http://www.mca.gov.py (Spanish)

Nuestra Señora Santa María de la Asunción (Spanish pronunciation: , Guarani: Paraguay) is the capital and largest city of Paraguay.

The Ciudad de Asunción is an autonomous capital district not part of any department. The metropolitan area, called Gran Asunción, includes the cities of San Lorenzo, Fernando de la Mora, Lambaré, Luque, Mariano Roque Alonso, Ñemby, San Antonio, Limpio, Capiatá and Villa Elisa, which are part of the Central Department. The Asunción metropolitan area has more than 2 million inhabitants. The Municipality of Asunción is listed on the Asunción Stock Exchange, as BVPASA: MUA, a unique feature of any city.

It is the home of the national government, principal port, and the chief industrial and cultural centre of the country.

Contents 1 History 2 Demographics 2.1 Religion 2.2 Language 2.3 Districts 2.4 Neighborhoods 3 Geography 3.1 Climate 4 Education 4.1 Schools 4.2 Universities 5 Economy 6 Transportation 7 Tourist attractions 8 Sports 9 Culture 9.1 The 7 treasures of cultural heritage material of Asunción 10 Media 10.1 Newspapers 11 Twin towns — Sister cities 12 References 13 External links

History

Asunción is one of the oldest cities in South America and the longest continually inhabited area in the Rio de la Plata Basin; for this reason that it is known as "Mother of Cities". It was from Asunción that the colonial expeditions departed to found other cities, including the second foundation of Buenos Aires and of other important cities such as Villarrica, Corrientes, Santa Fe and Santa Cruz de la Sierra.

The site of the city may have been first visited by Spanish conqueror Juan de Ayolas, on his way north, up the Paraguay River, looking for a passage to the mines of Alto Perú (present-day Bolivia). Later, Juan de Salazar y Espinosa and Gonzalo de Mendoza, relative of Pedro de Mendoza, were sent in search of Ayolas, but were unable to find him. On his way up and then down the river, de Salazar stopped briefly at a bay in the left bank to resupply his ships. He found the natives friendly, and decided to found a fort there, in August, 1537. He named it Nuestra Señora Santa María de la Asunción.

In 1562, natives destroyed Buenos Aires, and the Spaniards fled to Asunción. Thus, the city became the center of a large Spanish colonial province comprising part of Brazil, present-day Paraguay and northeastern Argentina: the Giant Province of the Indies. In 1603 Asunción was the seat of the First Synod of Asunción, which set guidelines for the evangelization of the natives in their lingua franca, Guaraní.

In 1731, an uprising under José de Antequera y Castro was one of the first rebellions against Spanish colonial rule. The uprising failed, but it was the first sign of the independent spirit that was growing among the criollos, mestizos and natives of Paraguay. The event influenced the independence of Paraguay, which then materialised in 1811. The secret reunions between the independence leaders to plan an ambush against the Spanish Governor in Paraguay Bernardo de Velasco were held at the home of Juana María de Lara, in downtown Asunción. On the night of May 14 and May 15 the rebels succeeded and were able to force governor Velasco to surrender. Today, Lara's home is known as Casa de la Independencia (House of the Independence) and serves as a museum and historical building.

After Paraguay became independent, there was significant change in Asunción. Under the presidency of Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia roads were built throughout the city and the streets were named. However, it was during the presidency of Carlos Antonio López that Asunción (and Paraguay) progressed, as the new president implemented new economic policies. More than 400 schools, metallurgic factories and the first railroad service in South America were built during the López presidency. After López died, his son Francisco Solano López became the new president and led the country through the disastrous Paraguayan War that lasted for five years. After the end of the armed conflict, Asunción was occupied by Brazilian troops until 1876.

Many historians have claimed that this war provoked a steady downfall of the city and country, since it massacred two thirds of the country's population. Progress slowed down greatly afterwards, and the economy remained stagnated.

After the Paraguayan War, Asunción began a slow recovery attempt. Towards the end of the 19th Century and during the early years of the 20th Century, a flow of immigrants from Europe and the Ottoman Empire came to the city. This led to a change in the appearance of the city as many new buildings were built and Asunción went through an era more prosperous than any since the war.

Demographics

The population is approximately 540,000 people in the city proper.^[1] Roughly 30% of Paraguay's 6 million people live within Greater Asunción. Sixty-five percent of the total population in the city are under the age of 30.^[2]

The population has increased greatly during the last few decades as a consequence of internal migration from other Departments of Paraguay, at first because of the economic boom in the 1970s, and later because of economic recession in the countryside. The adjacent cities in the Gran Asunción area, such as Luque, Lambaré, San Lorenzo, Fernando de la Mora and Mariano Roque Alonso, have absorbed most of this influx due to the low cost of the land and easy access to Asunción. The city has ranked as the least expensive city to live in for five years running by Mercer Human Resource Consulting.^[3]

Population by sex and age according to the 2002 census

Age	Quantity (census 2002)	Men	Women
0 – 4 years	45 382	23 058	22 374
5 – 9 years	46 120	23 330	22 324
10 – 14 years	46 272	22 985	23 287
15 – 29 years	155.675	71 885	83 790
30 – 59 years	164 367	75 871	88 496
+60 years	54 296	21 686	32 610
Total	512 112	238 815	273 297

Demographic development of Asunción

Life expectancy

	1990/1992	[4] 2000/2001	[4] 2010[5]
Total	68,72	72,04	75,90
Men	62,55	69,63	72,78
Women	70,24	74,66	79,33

Religion

Most of the population of Asunción professes the Catholic religion. But in Paraguay's capital there are also places of worship of other Christian denominations including the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as well as other religions including Islam, Buddhism and Judaism.

Language

The main language spoken is Spanish (56,9%), Guaraní language is spoken by (11,1%), the (27,4%) of the population speaks Jopará, which is a positive dialect of mixing (pidgin) from Spanish to Guaraní. Other languages show a presence of 4.5% in the population.

Districts

Asunción is organized geographically into districts and these in turn bring together the different neighborhoods.

Neighborhoods

Neighborhood	Population (2002)	Neighborhood	Population (2002)	Neighborhood	Population (2002)
1. Itá Enramada	4845	24. Seminario	5070	47. Pinoza	6621
2. Santa Ana	5775	25. Vista Alegre	12 611	48. Jara	13 554
3. Bañado Santa Ana	8374	26. Panambí Retá	2386	49. Banco San Miguel	953
4. Roberto L. Pettit	20 201	27. Panambí Verá	2591	50. Tablada Nueva	6573
5. Republicano	8429	28. San Pablo	21 787	51. Virgen del Huerto	4809
6. Pirizal	4022	29. Terminal	4305	52. Virgen de la Asunción	9983
7. San Vicente	15 412	30. Hipódromo	8348	53. Bella Vista	6657
8. Bañado Tacumbú	10 958	31. Nazareth	7133	54. Santo Domingo	2591
9. Obrero	19 823	32. Villa Aurelia	9871	55. Cañada del Ybaray	3166
10. Tacumbú	13 366	33. Los Laureles	3517	56. Las Lomas (Carmelitas)	5604
11. Sajonia	14 873	34. Mariscal Estigarribia	7711	57. Madame Lynch	8589
12. Itá Pytá Punta	4225	35. San Cristóbal	6618	58. Salvador del Mundo	3883
13. San Antonio	9544	36. Herrera	5149	59. Ñu Guazú	1342
14. Dr. Francia	10 925	37. Santa María	4591	60. Mbocayaty	6512
15. La Encarnación	4928	38. Ytay	3054	61. Mburucuyá	8377
16. Catedral	3676	39. San Jorge	4844	62. Trinidad	4515
17. General Díaz	6068	40. Ycuá Satí	6687	63. Virgen de Fátima	6064
18. Pettirossi	11380	41. Manorá	1898	64. San Rafael	10 732
19. San Roque	6355	42. Villa Morra	4114	65. Botánico	9982
20. Ricardo Brugada (Chacarita)	10 455	43. Recoleta	10 230	66. Zeballos Cué	18 553
21. San Felipe	5679	44. Tembetary	3515	67. Loma Pytá	6231
22. Las Mercedes	4827	45. Mburicaó	7691	68. San Blas	3651
23. Ciudad Nueva	8584	46. General Caballero	8128	69. Santa Rosa	3546
				70. Mariscal López	5025

Geography

Asunción is located between the parallels 25° 15' and 25° 20' of south latitude and between the meridians 57° 40' and 57° 30' of west longitude. The city sits on the left bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the River Pilcomayo. The Paraguay River and the Bay of Asunción in the northwest separate the city from the Occidental Region of Paraguay and Argentina in the south part of the city. The rest of the city is surrounded by the Central Department.

With its location along the Paraguay River, the city offers many landscapes; it spreads out over gentle hills in a pattern of rectangular blocks. Places such as Cerro Lambaré, a hill located in Lambaré, offer a spectacular show in the springtime because of the blossoming lapacho trees in the area. Parks such as Parque Independencia and Parque Carlos Antonio López offer large areas of typical Paraguayan vegetation and are frequented by tourists. There are several small hills and slightly elevated areas throughout the city, including Cabará, Clavel, Tarumá, Cachinga, and Tacumbú, among others.

Climate

Asunción has a borderline humid subtropical and tropical climate, characterized by hot, humid summers and mild winters. Relative humidity is high in the summer, so the heat index is higher than the true air temperature. The average annual temperature is 23 °C (73 °F). The average annual precipitation is 1,400 mm (55 in), distributed in over 80 days yearly.

Asunción generally has a very short dry season between April to September, but the most cooler is June and July, when can get frost average one day a year. A wet season that covers the remainder of the year. The climate of Asunción can be described as hot and humid for most of the year.

During the wet season, Asunción is generally hot and humid though towards the end of this season, it becomes noticeably cooler. In contrast, Asunción's dry season is pleasantly mild. Asuncion's annual precipitation values observe a summer maximum, due to severe subtropical summer thunderstorms which travel southward from northern Paraguay, originating in the Gran Chaco region of the northwestern part of the country. The wettest and driest months of the year are April and July respectively. receiving 166 mm (6.54 in) and 39 mm (1.54 in) of average total monthly precipitation respectively.

Climate data for Asunción (1971-2000)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	40.4 (104.7)	39.6 (103.3)	39.6 (103.3)	36.4 (97.5)	33.4 (92.1)	32.4 (90.3)	34.0 (93.2)	36.0 (96.8)	39.6 (103.3)	39.2 (102.6)	40.2 (104.4)	41.7 (107.1)	41.7 (107.1)
Average high °C (°F)	33.5 (92.3)	32.6 (90.7)	31.6 (88.9)	28.4 (83.1)	25.0 (77)	23.1 (73.6)	23.2 (73.8)	24.8 (76.6)	26.4 (79.5)	29.2 (84.6)	30.7 (87.3)	32.3 (90.1)	28.4 (83.13)
Daily mean °C (°F)	28 (82)	27 (81)	26 (79)	23 (73)	20 (68)	18 (64)	18 (64)	19 (66)	21 (70)	24 (75)	25 (77)	27 (81)	23 (73.3)
Average low °C (°F)	22.8 (73)	22.3 (72.1)	21.3 (70.3)	18.6 (65.5)	15.7 (60.3)	13.8 (56.8)	13.1 (55.6)	14.3 (57.7)	15.9 (60.6)	18.6 (65.5)	20.1 (68.2)	21.8 (71.2)	18.19 (64.73)
Record low °C (°F)	12.4 (54.3)	12.5 (54.5)	9.4 (48.9)	8.0 (46.4)	2.6 (36.7)	−1.2 (29.8)	−0.6 (30.9)	0.0 (32)	3.6 (38.5)	7.0 (44.6)	8.8 (47.8)	10.0 (50)	−1.2 (29.8)
Rainfall mm (inches)	147.2 (5.795)	129.2 (5.087)	117.9 (4.642)	166.0 (6.535)	113.3 (4.461)	82.4 (3.244)	39.4 (1.551)	72.6 (2.858)	87.7 (3.453)	130.8 (5.15)	164.4 (6.472)	150.3 (5.917)	1,401.2 (55.165)
Avg. precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm)	8	7	7	8	7	7	4	5	6	8	8	8	83
% humidity	68	71	72	75	76	76	70	70	66	67	67	68	70
Mean monthly sunshine hours	276	246	254	228	205	165	195	223	204	242	270	295	2,803
Source #1: World Meteorological Organization[6]
Source #2: NOAA updated to 9/2012.,[7] Danish Meteorological Institute (sun only)[8]

Education

Schools

The city has a large number of both public and private schools. The best-known public schools are the Colegio Nacional de la Capital (which is one of the oldest schools in the city, founded in 1877), Colegio Nacional Presidente Franco and Colegio Nacional Asunción Escalada. The best-known private schools are Colegio Inmaculado Corazón de María, Salesianito, Colegio Cristo Rey, Colegio Internacional, Colegio San José, Colegio San Ignacio de Loyola, Colegio Santa Teresa de Jesús, American School of Asunción, Colegio Dante Alighieri, Colegio Santa Clara, Colegio Campoalto, Colegio Goethe and Colegio de la Asunción.

Universities

The main universities in the city are the Universidad Católica Nuestra Señora de la Asunción (private Catholic university) and the Universidad Nacional de Asunción (state-run). The Católica has a small campus in the downtown area next to the Cathedral and a larger campus in the Santa Ana neighborhood, outwards toward the adjoining city of Lambaré, while the Universidad Nacional has its main campus in the city of San Lorenzo, some 5 km (3 mi) eastward from Asunción. There are also a number of smaller privately run universities such as Uninorte, Universidad Americana and Universidad Autónoma de Asunción, among others.

Economy

In terms of commerce, this sector has grown considerably in recent years stretching towards the suburbs where shopping malls and supermarkets have been built. Paraguay's only stock exchange, the BVPASA, is located here. The city itself is listed on it, as BVPASA: MUA.

In Asuncion, the most important companies, businesses and investment groups are headquartered. This city is the economic center of Paraguay, followed by Ciudad del Este and Encarnación.