Paraguayan Argentines (, ) are Argentine citizens of predominantly or total Paraguayan descent or

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 ...

-born people who reside in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. Paraguayan people comprise an important ethnic group in the country due to the sustained immigration that gained importance in the 1970s. The number of people born in Paraguay living in Argentina has been estimated to be about 550,000. Therefore, it is the largest foreign community in the country outnumbering individuals from Italy and Spain (countries which have been historically regarded as the origin of the backbone of Argentine society). It is also one of the fastest growing foreign nationalities. Despite all this, its numbers have been undercounted so it is believed that the real amount is even much higher.

History

The North-Eastern provinces of Argentina were originally inhabited by Guarani tribes conforming with what is now Paraguay and several regions of Brazil the area of influence of Guarani culture. This influence can be seen nowadays in many common cultural features. However, the earliest presence of Paraguayans as an ethnic group can be traced back much later, to the second foundation (and the real permanent settlement) of the city of Buenos Aires by

Juan de Garay Juan de Garay (1528–1583) was a Spanish conquistador. Garay's birthplace is disputed. Some say it was in the city of Junta de Villalba de Losa in Castile, while others argue he was born in the area of Orduña (Basque Country). There's ...

who sailed down Parana River from Asuncion accompanied by local

Mestizo ( , ; fem. , literally 'mixed person') is a term primarily used to denote people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturall ...

and Guarani families. In addition, there have always been certain connections between the two countries during later periods of the Spanish rule, especially when the Viceroyalty of the Rio de la Plata was created in 1776 which included several Intendencias, among them the Intendencia of Paraguay and Intendencia of Buenos Aires. There has been Paraguayan presence in Argentine soil during and 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 ...

and after the Revolution of 1947 in Paraguay but it did not acquire importance before 1970. For many economic reasons (Paraguay being an impoverished country) and political reasons (

Stroessner Alfredo Stroessner Matiauda (; 3 November 1912 – 16 August 2006) was a Paraguayan politician, army general and military dictator who ruled as the 42nd president of Paraguay from 15 August 1954 until his overthrow in 1989. Known there as '' ...

dictatorship), Paraguayans started to settle in larger amounts throughout the wealthier neighbouring territory. Another fact was the porosity of Argentine borders and that the population density has always been disproportionally higher in the Eastern region (Argentine-Brazilian border) rather than the Western region or Chaco (Bolivian border). Very different from other immigrant communities in Argentina (European and Middle-Eastern), Paraguayan entrance has been large (with insignificant return rate) and constant even to these days which makes up to 40 years of sustained immigration that does not seem to stop or decline in the future.

Distribution

According to the , the distribution of Paraguayan-born residents in Argentina is not evenly spread throughout Argentina's territory:

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

and the

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires, officially the Buenos Aires Province, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...

are the top destinations for Paraguayans. In addition, due to geographical proximity facilitating movement and cultural exchange, 40% of the Paraguayan-born community is settled in provinces of the Northeastern region of Argentina, namely Misiones, Corrientes, Formosa, Santa Fe, Córdoba and Chaco, which are near the

Argentina–Paraguay border The Argentina–Paraguay border is the line that limits the territories of Argentina and Paraguay. This boundary is solely defined by three major rivers: the Pilcomayo River, Pilcomayo, Paraná River, Paraná and Paraguay River, Paraguay, being on ...

. The 10% left is spread throughout the rest of the provinces.

Traditions

Some cultural elements shared by Argentina and Paraguay include the consumption of

yerba mate Yerba mate or yerba maté (), ''Ilex paraguariensis'', is a plant species of the holly genus native to South America. It was named by the French botanist Augustin Saint-Hilaire. The leaves of the plant can be steeped in hot water to make a bev ...

(''Ilex paraguayensis'') in the form of mate, a traditional infused drink with hot water claimed by Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay as the national drink, as well as Tereré, a traditional infused drink with cold water and Mate cocido, a traditional infused drink with hot water, both originally from Paraguay; Chamame, folk music genre with its origins in Guarani Jesuit Missions mixed with European styles, and the use of the

Guaraní Language Guarani (Avañe'ẽ), also called Paraguayan Guarani, is a language of South America that belongs to the Tupi–Guarani branch of the Tupian language family. It is one of the two official languages of Paraguay (along with Spanish), where i ...

, which is the official language of Paraguay and second official language of the Argentine

Corrientes Province Corrientes (, ‘currents’ or ‘streams’; ), officially the Province of Corrientes (; ) is a Provinces of Argentina, province in northeast Argentina, in the Mesopotamia, Argentina, Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by (from the north, cl ...

since 24 September 2004.

Guarani placenames in Argentina

Corrientes

Ituzaingó Curuzú Cuatiá Caá Catí Cerro Corá Mburucuyá ("Passion flower" the National flower of Paraguay) Mocoretá Tabay ("small town") Tapebicua Tatacuá ("the hole of the fire") Taragui Yahapé Yataytí Calle Yapeyú Itatí Itá Ibaté ("tall stone") Guaviraví Vaca Cuá Ita Corá Aguay

Misiones

Oberá ("shiny") Caa Yarí Capiobí Caraguatay Garuhapé Garuhapé-Mi Garupá Guaraní Itacaruaré Mbopicuá ("hole of the bat") Panambí ("butterfly") Pindapoy Piray Kilómetro 18 Puerto Iguazú (Iguazú meaning "large water") Puerto Piray (Piray meaning "small fish") Tarumá Tacuaruzú Cuña-Pirú

Chaco

Samuhú ("Chorisia" a kind of subtropical tree) Colonia Tacuarí

El Paranacito El Paranacito, also Villa Paranacito, is a village and municipality in Argentina located in the department of San Fernando in the southeast of Chaco. It is named after the arm of the Paraná River The Paraná River ( ; ; ) is a river in so ...

Salta

Aguaray Yariguarenda Yacuy El Aguay Acambuco Itangua Tobantirenda Capiazuti

Santa Fe

Tacuarendí ("sugarcane fields") El Arazá Caraguatay Aguará Grande Ñanducita ("small spider") Tacural ("anthills")

Vera Vera may refer to: Names *Vera (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Vera (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) **Vera (), archbishop of the archdiocese of Tarr ...

("shiny") Carcarañá ("mean caracara")

Santiago del Estero

Añatuya Caburé Urutaú

Tucumán

'' Tukumã'' Tapia ("wall") El Timbo

Formosa

Pirané ("smelly fish") Ibarreta Yatai Tatané

Entre Ríos

Gualeguay Paraná Mandisoví Villaguay Ubajay Gualeguaychú Chajarí Ñancay Ibicuy

Buenos Aires Province

Pehuajó Pehuajó () is a city in the Pehuajó Partido (Pehuajó district) in the provinces of Argentina, province of Buenos Aires Province, Buenos Aires, Argentina. The partido has about 38,400 inhabitants as per the . The name of this relatively small c ...

, Reta "''retã"'' ("country or nation"), Mar de Ajó, Mar del Tuyú, San Bernardo del Tuyú, Ituzaingó ("waterfall")

Rivers

Paraná Paraguay ("colorful water") Uruguay ("water of the

birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

") Carapari Gualeguay Gualeguaychú Guayquiraró Rivers of the Paraná Delta Ibicuy

Notable Paraguayan Argentines

Politicians

Aníbal Ibarra Aníbal Ibarra (born March 1, 1958) is an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as mayor of Buenos Aires. Biography Ibarra was born in Lomas de Zamora, a district located in the southern region of Greater Buenos Aires. His father was a P ...

(born 1958), former mayor of Buenos Aires *

Vilma Ibarra Vilma Lidia Ibarra (born 21 May 1960) is an Argentine lawyer and politician, formerly a Senator and National Deputy representing Buenos Aires. From 2019 to 2023, she served as the Legal and Technical Secretary of the Presidency under President ...

(born 1960), former congresswoman

Arts and culture

* Arnaldo André (born 1943), actor * Julio Bazan (born 1946), journalist * Gabriel Casaccia (1907–1980), novelist * Florencia de la V (born 1975), television presenter and vedette * Mariana Enríquez (born 1973), novelist and short story writer * Eloy Fariña Núñez (1885–1929), writer * Pablo Lescano (born 1977), cumbia villera musician * Ángel Menchaca (1855–1924), music theorist and composer * Nelly Prono (1926–1997), actress

Sportspeople

* Roberto Acuña (born 1972), footballer *

Lucas Barrios Lucas Ramón Barrios Cáceres (; born 13 November 1984) is a Paraguayan former professional footballer who played as a forward. Barrios is known for his effectiveness in the target area. This earned him his nickname ''La Pantera'', which means ...

(born 1984), footballer * Walter Benítez (born 1993), footballer * Raúl Bobadilla (born 1987), footballer * Juan José Cáceres (born 2000), footballer * Marcelo Cañete (born 1990), footballer * Darío Espínola (born 1973), footballer * Luis Fariña (born 1991), footballer * Nicole Hain (born 2000), futsal player * Juan Iturbe (born 1993), footballer * David Martínez (born 1998), footballer * Hilario Navarro (born 1980), footballer * Leandro Paredes (born 1994), footballer and

2022 World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

champion for Argentina * Jonathan Santana (born 1981), footballer * Julio Soler (born 2005), footballer

References

External links

{{Immigration to Argentina Argentina–Paraguay relations