Asunción is one of the oldest cities in South America and for a long time it was the main city of the Río de la Plata basin.
Since 1537, it became a strategic point for the foundation of more than 70 cities in South America such as Villarrica (Paraguay), Corrientes (Argentina), Santa Fe (Argentina), Santa Cruz de la Sierra (Bolivia) Buenos Aires (Argentina) and other important cities, so it earned the name of "Mother of cities"
Juan de Salazar de Espinosa, was sent with a schooner in search of Juan de Ayolas, but they could not find him. On their way back down the river, Salazar's men stopped briefly in a bay on the left bank to resupply their ships. They found the Guaraní village, and decided to invade it and found a fort there on August 15, 1537 (the day of the Virgin's Assumption into heaven). Because of this he called it Our Lady Santa Maria de la Asunción.
The city sits on the left 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 northwest of the city separate the Western Region of Paraguay and Argentina in the southern part of the city. The rest of the city is surrounded by the Central Department.
Asunción has a tropical savanna climate that borders on a humid subtropical climate. it generally has a relatively short dry season that runs from June to September and a wet season that covers the rest of the year. The climate can be described as hot and humid for most of the year. During the rainy season, Asunción is generally hot and humid, although towards the end of this season, it becomes noticeably cooler. By contrast, Asunción's dry season is pleasantly mild.
The most widely spoken language in Asunción is Spanish (56.9%), followed by Jopará (27.4%), and Guaraní (11.1%). Other languages register a presence of 4.5% in the population.
Jopara is a term that is often popularly explained as the result of the morphosyntactic, grammatical and semantic fusion of the Guaraní language with Spanish. The term comes from Guaraní and literally means mixed or mixed.
Asunción is home to several symphony orchestras and theater, opera and ballet companies, the best known orchestras are the Symphonic Orchestra of the City of Asunción (OSCA), the National Symphony Orchestra and the North University Symphony Orchestra.
Among the professional ballet companies, the best known are the Asunción Municipal Classical and Modern Ballet, the National Ballet and the Ballet of the Universidad del Norte. The main opera company is the Universidad del Norte Opera Company.
A long-established theater company is the Fundación de Teatro Arlequín. Traditional venues include the Municipal Theater, the Paraguayan-Japanese Center, the Central Bank's Great Lyric Theater, the Juan de Salazar Cultural Center, the America Theater, the Tom Jobim Theater, the Arlequín Theater, and the Manzana de la Rivera.
The nightlife revolves around two areas: one in the central part of the city and the other in the vicinity of Manora and Las Carmelitas, a night full of bars.
As has been happening in many other parts of the world, cinemas have migrated into the main shopping centers.
Because the Paraguay River runs alongside Asunción, the city is served by a river terminal in the downtown area. This port is strategically located within a bay and is where most of the cargo enters and leaves the country. There is a minor terminal in the Sajonia neighborhood, and a transport service port in Ita Enramada, almost in front of the Argentine city of Clorinda.
Public transportation is widely used and served by buses that reach all regions of the city and surrounding communities. The main long-distance bus terminal is located on Avenida República Argentina and its bus services connect all departments of Paraguay, as well as international routes to neighboring countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia and Uruguay.
Silvio Pettirossi International Airport.
Silvio Pettirossi International Airport is the main national and international gate of Paraguay, located in Luque, a suburb of the capital Asunción. This is named after Paraguayan aviator Silvio Pettirossi and was previously known as Presidente Stroessner International Airport, in honor of former dictator Alfredo Stroessner.
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