Paraguay – Page 4

Paraguayan Dancing

Last week my son participated in his school’s Paraguayan dance celebration. The dancing is a Paraguayan form of folclorico, a traditional style of Latin American dance. He participated with his kindergarten class; each class from kindergarten to sixth grade performed different folclorico dances for their parents and faculty. The boys dressed in black slacks, white shirts, straw hats donned with Paraguayan tricolor bands, and waist sashes also sporting the tricolor (the Paraguayan tricolor, its national color scheme, was inspired by the French red-white-blue tricolor flag). I thought the students all performed very well; the bottle dancing sixth grader did a particularly splendid job.

My son did an excellent job dancing and wielding a broom. He’s ready to tear up the dance floor. I posted some photos of the dance — they tell a much better story than I.

After the dance

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Paraguay-Brazil World Cup Qualifier

We spent the afternoon last Sunday watching the World Cup Qualifying soccer match between Paraguay and Brazil. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to find a seat, and I held my son on my shoulders for 35 minutes through the first Paraguay goal and most of the first half until we decided the discomfort of being jostled around in the packed stadium wasn’t worth it (I had visions of stampeding, panicked soccer fans milling around in my head). Instead, we went home and watched the rest of the game in front of the television. It was cool seeing the game both live and on television.

Paraguay beat the Brazilians 2-0. They were feisty and simply outplayed the Brazilians. Actually, the Paraguayans frequently beat the Brazilians whenever they meet in head-to-head matches other than World Cup matches. It’s a shame the Paraguayans can’t seem to beat Brazil in the World Cup, or Paraguay might have a few World Cup championships until its belt. Bar none, they are one of the best soccer teams from a small country in the world. It’s a shame they lost 4-2 just three days later to the cellar-dwelling Bolivians in La Paz, Bolivia. Whether it was because of the high altitude or exhaustion from expending so much adrenaline against Brazil, it’s hard to say. Paraguay is still number one in the Latin American rankings to qualify for the World Cup, and they will no doubt be present in the 2010 World Cup along with Argentina, Brazil, and perhaps Uruguay. Next up: The Argentines. Bring them on!

For the Shutterbugs: I posted some photos from the game, some of the first photos I’ve posted from Paraguay. Enjoy!

A Paraguayan moment

Dear Reader, I haven’t added a new feature to World Adventurers for a long, long time (mainly because I haven’t written much at all!). Tonight I introduce you to "Moments." No, I’m not referring to some sappy Korean drama; I’m talking about sharing snippets of those unique moments that truly define a culture. Think of an "American moment." What’s an American moment…a moment in time that it uniquely American? I really can’t think of any at this moment because I am down here in Paraguay.

So here is a Paraguayan moment for your to contemplate; a moment to ponder whether your own culture should adopt this habit or custom that is unique to Paraguay. Tonight, as I drove home from work, I saw a couple riding on a motorcycle. The man drove the bike; the women was seated behind him. The man, displaying a courageous act of chivalry, gave his helmet to her and drove helmetless. They stopped at a stoplight next to me, and what did my bewildered eyes behold? I saw the woman pulling out her mate tea jug and pouring some mate tea into the mate cup and hand it to the man. The man drank his mate tea quickly at the stoplight and then handed the cup back to the woman. The woman lovingly put away the cup and the jug, and then they sped away when the light turned green. An intimate Paraguayan moment of sharing mate on a motorcycle at a stoplight. Only in Paraguay.