Benjamín Aceval is a city in the Department of

Presidente Hayes Presidente Hayes () is a Departments of Paraguay, department in Paraguay. The capital is the city of Villa Hayes. The department was named after U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes, who awarded the territory to Paraguay while arbitrating a bounda ...

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 ...

. The city is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Benjamín Aceval.

Etymology

The city is named after Tomás Benjamín Aceval Marín, the Paraguayan diplomat who took documents related to the Chaco Boreal dispute with Argentina, after the

Paraguayan War The Paraguayan War (, , ), also known as the War of the Triple Alliance (, , ), was a South American war that lasted from 1864 to 1870. It was fought between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, the Empire of Brazil, and Uruguay. It wa ...

, to the President of the U.S.A.

Rutherford B. Hayes Rutherford Birchard Hayes (; October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was the 19th president of the United States, serving from 1877 to 1881. Hayes served as Cincinnati's city solicitor from 1858 to 1861. He was a staunch Abolitionism in the Un ...

. In his

arbitration Arbitration is a formal method of dispute resolution involving a third party neutral who makes a binding decision. The third party neutral (the 'arbitrator', 'arbiter' or 'arbitral tribunal') renders the decision in the form of an 'arbitrati ...

, Hayes awarded the region to Paraguay.

Weather

Summer temperatures can reach , while in winter it can drop to . The average is .

Demography

Benjamin Aceval has 16,248 inhabitants in total, of which 8,076 are men and 8,171 women, according to estimates by the Directorate General of Statistics, Census and Surveys.

Economy

It is the district with the most farming activity in the department, with extensive sugarcane (caña dulce) plantations. It's the only district with a sugar mill in the Chaco, which produces organic sugar. Emphasis is also placed on the production of molasses or cane syrup. In addition, there are poultry and dairy farms. The dairy factory produces pasteurized milk, yogurt, fresh milk and cheese. Chickens are bred especially for the market in the capital, Asunción. A sawmill located in the area exports its timber to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Tourism

The hills surrounding the area are of great attraction for tourists. The old buildings of the city: the Municipality, the Bishopric and the sugar mill called Censi y Pirotta, can be visited. The patronal feast is celebrated on August 30, the day of Santa Rosa de Lima, patron saint of Benjamin Aceval. On December 8, in the area of Cerrito, the Feast of the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the doctrine that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Mariology, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Debated by medieval theologians, it was not def ...

is celebrated. In the plaza Mcal. Estigarribia there is a tajy or lapacho tree

Tabebuia ''Tabebuia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the Family (biology), family Bignoniaceae.Eberhard Fischer, Inge Theisen, and Lúcia G. Lohmann. 2004. "Bignoniaceae". pages 9-38. In: Klaus Kubitzki (editor) and Joachim W. Kadereit (volume editor) ...

which Estigarribia planted himself, on August 30, 1940, a week before his death. The old sugar mill, from around the 1800s, is a very interesting place to visit. The Toba Qom natives live in the area of Cerrito. They engage in crafts made of vegetable fibers producing bags, backpacks, belts, among other things, also handicrafts in clay. The handicrafts can be seen on display at around 2 km from the center of Benjamin Aceval.

History

Benjamín Aceval was founded on April 30, 1859. The first settlers were European immigrants mostly from France and Belgium. Benjamin Aceval was originally called "Monte Sociedad" because its first inhabitants worked in partnership. The most recognized European immigrant family names are: Richard, Mineur, Mochet Touchet, Cattebecke, Mouser, Etcheverry, Macci, Trepowski, Von Lepel, Orlandini, Petters, Salomón, Lampers, Minck, Blaires, Lahaye, De Witte, etc. In 1940 this department was created by Act 436 of October 6. Paraguay recovered this territory through the ruling of President

who ruled in favor of Paraguay after the

. The naming honors the diplomatic efforts of Benjamin Aceval, who carried the documents to President Hayes. Benjamin Aceval has two districts: Cerrito and Costa.

Schools

* The Agricultural School San Francisco in Cerrito company is a training centre for the whole community, administered by an NGO, Fundación Paraguaya, where they can host up to 150 people if there were workshops or full days on the farm school. * The Colegio Parroquial Subvencionado Santa Rosa de Lima, is one of the most important schools in the city . Most of the politicians, artists, and professionals in the city are graduated from this school. * The School Paí Pukú, open since 1995, is the dream of a group of farmers in the area, concerned about the future and maintenance of the María Medianera school (Pa'í Pukú). This center is dedicated to the education of children and youths, has primary and secondary school. It houses around 500 students. It has multi professional training workshops in carpentry, tailoring and cutting, domestic economy, organic gardens, rural health, hairdressing, computers, typing, electricity, beekeeping, among others. In September there is a festival where folk art forms are prepared by students of the institution. There is typical food, and festivities are held countryside. Students offer

Latin American Latin Americans (; ) are the citizenship, citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their Latin American diaspora, diasporas are Metroethnicity, ...

dances in shows of brotherhood among peoples.

Transportation

Benjamín Aceval is about 42 km from

Asunción Asunción (, ) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay. The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of Asunción in the north ...

, the city is accessed by Route IX "Carlos Antonio López" also called the "Transchaco Road". There is a bus through town called "La Chaqueña".

References

* Geography Illustrated

, Distributed Arami SRL, 2007. * Geography of Paraguay, First Edition 1999, Publisher Hispanic Paraguay SRL
World Gazeteer: Paraguay
– World-Gazetteer.com

External links

National Secretary of Tourism

Directorate General for Surveys, Statistics and Census

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benjamin Aceval Populated places in the Presidente Hayes Department