History of Encarnación

Encarnación, (C) Venetia Featherstone-Witty

Encarnación is one of the oldest towns in Paraguay. Like Asunción and Ciudad del Este, the other two big cities in the nation, Encarnación is facing another country, this time, Argentina. Posada is also a big city on the other side of the river. It is one of the reasons why transportation in the region is excellent. There is a train linking the two cities and countries. To this date, it is the only passenger train remaining in Paraguay. Apart from transportation, Encarnación also benefits from tourists because of its beaches, which are the best in the area. Not as diverse as Ciudad del Este or as old as Asunción, the city still has much to offer that makes it exciting and unique. With this in mind, let us look at the history of Encarnación in more detail.

The city was founded on March 25, 1615, by San Roque González de Santa Cruz, a father and priest in the colony at the time. It was first named Reducción de Nuestra Señora de la Encarnación de Itapúa, and was located in the actual place of the city of Posadas, Argentina. Having few colonizers to populate the village, he moved it to the other side of the river, on the actual site of Encarnación. One of his main concerns at the time was that the colonizers, mostly coming from Asunción, were not inclined to cross the river. Even if there was no border between Paraguay and Argentina then, the river was delimiting one territory from the other. They were also targets of the Portuguese Bandeirantes. While he moved the colony to the other side, a couple of families stayed in the former village, which was not officially reformed until the 1800s. When he arrived in Encarnación, he asked the Guaraní living around to construct a little chapel with the materials they could find. Born and raised in Paraguay, San Roque was also fluent in Guaraní Avañe’ẽ. On July 31, 1615, the first mass was organized in the town by González de Santa Cruz.

Growth is difficult to determine in this precise case as sources are scarce. It is highly probable that the village was still relatively small one hundred years later. The area is vast and could have been known better by the colonizers. They probably took more of their time converting pagans to Christianity than taking care of the main village. One of the reasons to think so is that in 1706, Jesuits founded the Reducción Misión Jesuítica de Santísima Trinidad del Paraná. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The village is located just 28 kilometres north of Encarnación. Instead of bringing them to their village, most of the priests moved to Trinidad. At its height, around 3000 Guaraní were living in the reduction, making us wonder if more people lived in this village or Encarnación. However, it did not stay that way long, as Jesuits were expelled from the country in 1767 and 1768. There is a good chance that this mission was abandoned, and people moved to cities like Encarnación.

The 1800s saw most of the colonies of Spain becoming independent. It also created new borders between new nations. Since Ciudad del Este did not exist then, after Asunción, Encarnación was the only other frontier town. Not being as big as the capital, they found the 19th century challenging. Multiple fights occurred in this region during the war for independence, located at a strategic point near the river. No big battles happened to be fought in the town, but the village's citizens feared it could happen. Men of Encarnación participated in the war for independence, protecting the area and fighting the Argentines. The only good point of the 1800s was the growth of the town. In the 1840s and 1850s, the village saw the arrival of Europeans. Because of them, Encarnación became officially a big village (town) on April 8, 1843. They arrived in the region and started to cultivate the land, which is highly arable. It helps the whole area considerably. The same year, the government asked the locals to demolish the original chapel and use all the pieces to make other essential buildings, such as the barracks and the cathedral, which still stand today.

On the wrong side, on October 7, 1847, the government expelled all the indigenous people of the area, who moved to a village nearby. Some of them were living in extreme conditions, and there was a lot of death related to this incident. After that, all the town's citizens are either Paraguayan (mostly mestizos) or European. Growth did not last long because of another important conflict: the War of the Triple Alliance, fought by Paraguay against Argentina, Brazil and his protectorate, Uruguay. It did not help the town or the region at all. It caused a massive exodus to escape the fighting, and a lot of citizens, primarily men, died in battles that took place in the department of Ñeembucú, the state west of where Encarnación is located, as it was the closest battlefield. Paraguay lost most of its men in this terrible war. It altered the country's potential for a while, as nobody was there to realize them. From the 1870s to the end of the 1890s, nothing significant happened in Encarnación as there was no growth or substantial wave of immigration.

The early 1900s saw Encarnación getting back on track. On June 6, 1907, it became officially a city. In 1911 or 1913 (source diverge on the year), trains arrived in the region. At the same time, a new wave of European immigrants moved to Encarnación. It was also the first wave of Asian immigrants arriving in this region of the country. It shaped the city and the entire department into today's multicultural and diverse society. The town of Encarnación reemerged, solid and determined, in front of the more recent Posadas, Argentina, on the Paraná River. For almost 30 years, the city grew exponentially. However, one event changed the course of the town again. In 1926, a strong cyclone hit the city in the afternoon, causing around 400 deaths and extensive damage to Encarnación’s infrastructure: buildings, streets and docks were destroyed. The city slowly got back on its feet, proving once again that adversity would not dampen the spirits of the people of Encarnación.

In the 1930s, Encarnación did not suffer from the Chaco War as the battlefield was far away, at the other end of the country. However, some men from the city have died fighting against Bolivia. In the 1940s, Paraguayans were allowed to join foreign units of European countries during the Second World War. However, a few participated. None of these wars impacted Encarnación. Later on, during the dictatorship of Alfredo Stroessner, the city was not affected as much as Asunción, but the citizens still suffered from it. At the same time, the local government was looking for ways to make Encarnación more attractive and important in the region and regain past growth. One way they found to resolve the issue was to construct a bridge linking the city with Posadas, Argentina. They formally announced the project in 1971. They started the construction in 1983, finishing the project in April 1990. Timed with the end of the dictatorship, both Encarnación and Posadas grew faster than most in the area. At that time, only Ciudad del Este was growing faster in Paraguay.

Encarnación, (C) Última Hora

On May 18, 1988, an incredible event happened in the city. Pope John Paul II visit Paraguay and the city of Encarnación. It was the first time a Pope visited the country. It also happened to arrive on his 68th birthday. On that occasion, he was received by thousands of faithful people from all over the country and neighbouring nations.

In the 2000s, the city saw significant changes in its development that would impact the area for a long time. Around 100 kilometres west, in Ayolas, Paraguay, the Yacyretá Dam was built. To make it work, they had to raise the water level in the whole region from 76m to 83m, which impacted the city drastically. Some residents and merchants of Baja Encarnación were compensated to move out of that part of the town because of the risk of flooding and inundation. Numerous historic buildings were lost, but also a long tradition of stories and families suffered the uprooting from the new relocations in other parts of the territory. In the actual place of the old neighbourhood is one of the numerous Costanera, avenues bordering the Rio Paraná. There are two of these streets on one side of the peninsula and one on the other side. Those avenues were created to regulate the traffic in and out of downtown. There are Costaneras in Asunción, Ciudad del Este, Encarnación, and many other places.

There are 50 neighbourhoods in the city, 23 of which are in the lower part, which the managers of the Yacyretá Dam completely reorganized. If you look at a map of the area, you will see that the urban planning is different in this part, as all the streets are straight lines, compared to the rest of Encarnación, where planning is lacking. There are no official statistics for each neighbourhood. However, we know that 143,281 people are living in the city in 2023. It is the 10th most populous city in the country and the first in this area of Paraguay. In the metropolitan area, as of 2020, there are 226,492 people. If we count the metropolitan area of his sister city, Posadas, on the other side of the river, around 550,000 people live there.

Even if some of the historic buildings are gone, there are things to do in Encarnación. The city has four plazas and parks: Plaza de Armas, Plazoleta de la Ciudad, Parque de la Salud, and Parque Temático Quiteria. There are also multiple beaches, like the Playa San José, Playa Mboi Ka’ê, and Playa San Isidro. Another thing to see apart from the parks, plazas, and monuments is the Escalinata San Pedro, which gives you a partial view of the downtown. Around the central part of the city can be seen the Molino, Silo San José, and Chiminea de la Ex Fabril, related to the history of the region. If you want to understand other moments of Encarnación’s past, you can learn more about trains in the area at the Réplica de la Estación de la Ferrocarril. Just outside of the city is also located the Santuario de la Virgen de Itacuá, where you can walk in nature and pray the Virgin of Itacuá. The city also has one of the country's biggest carnivals, similar to the ones in Brazil.

Football at the country level is relatively new to Encarnación. The city rebuilt the Estadio Villa Alegre after the construction of the dam. They also chose a different location, in the city's eastern part, at the other end of the bay. Currently, the stadium has a capacity of 16,000 fans, but they want to reach the 30,000 capacity. At the time of the inauguration in 2022, they did not have a team. However, they got one in early 2023. The Encarnación F.C. is now the most important club in the city. At first, they played in the Liga Encarnacena de Fútbol, a regional league. In 2024, after a full year of operation, they move to the Segunda División. The most important league in the country, the Primera Division, expects the EFC to join them in the future. They wish to have clubs from other regions of the country, such as Ciudad del Este and Encarnación, areas with no first-league clubs.

Based on the size of the city of Encarnación, they have a good system of transportation to move in the city and out to other departments of the country. They have buses to Asunción, Ciudad del Este, and other regional cities. They also have buses that go to Buenos Aires by Posadas, Argentina. Other than buses, they have the Aeropuerto Internacional Teniente Amín Ayub. It has six flights per week to the capital. It is considered an international airport, as it has had flights to Brazil and Argentina. However, COVID halted the continuation, and at the moment, it only goes to Asunción (Luque). The capital area one is the only airport with official flights outside the country. As for the trains, it is the only passenger train remaining in the whole country that brings you to Posadas. At the moment, during the day, there is at least a train per hour. Inside the city, people rely on buses, regular taxis, Bolt and Uber.

Yes, most of the cities in Paraguay have potential. Asunción, Ciudad del Este, and Encarnación all have potentials and things to offer. The city might not have as many historical buildings, but they have a lot of beaches. The city might not have international flights, but they have passenger trains. They have one of the biggest carnivals in this region of South America and have a lot of tourists in general. Encarnación is on the right track. The city is reaching its full potential, and if the airport accepts international flights soon, it will help them even more. In their region, they are also well-served by university campuses. The future will tell us if they continue to grow by constructing new neighbourhoods, parks, hospitals, schools, and transit such as metro and light rail/tramway or if they get overwhelmed and hit the ceiling. They have the space to grow, but they need to do some urban planning to succeed and continue on the same path they are going into.

Encarnación, (C) Más Encarnación