Encarnación will host a free, national Guarania music festival on Wednesday 27 August, 2025. The event begins at 18:30 and will take place on the Paraguayan city’s iconic waterfront.
Organised by Paraguay’s National Secretariat of Culture, with support from the National Secretariat of Tourism and the Artistic Directorate of the National Popular Music Orchestra, the festival celebrates 100 years of the guarania, a genre of Paraguayan music.
A musical celebration
More than 40 musicians from the National Popular Music Orchestra will perform, under the direction of maestros Luis Álvarez and Óscar Fadlala. The repertoire will feature renowned national and local artists paying tribute to the genre’s centenary.
National figures such as Ricardo Flecha, Andrea Valobra, Purahéi Soul, Juan Toli Nuñez, Vicky Díaz and Orlando Caballero are scheduled to perform. They will be joined by local artists from the Itapúa department: Rebeca Arramendi, Ymaguaréicha, Walter Cataldo, Vito Kruger and Salvador García.
A symbol of Paraguayan identity
Encarnación will provide the setting for a celebration that unites tradition and contemporary relevance, recognising the guarania as a powerful symbol of Paraguayan cultural identity. The National Festival In Encarnación is expected to attract a large number of local and international attendees.
Guarania was created in 1925 by composer José Asunción Flores. the musical genre embodies the spirit of the Paraguayan people through slow, melancholic rhythms and melodies, often in a minor key, with a 6/8 time signature inspired by the Paraguayan polka.
The genre blends native Guarani and popular music elements, using the Guarani language alongside Spanish, and is typically accompanied by the Paraguayan harp, guitar, and sometimes double bass. Flores developed Guarania to express Paraguayan identity, drawing from the traditional “purahéi asy” (sorrowful song).
Celebrating a century of Guarania
The municipality of Encarnación and the Itapúa Governorate are also involved in organising the National Festival In Encarnación. President Santiago Peña and Culture Minister Adriana Ortiz are expected to attend.
The date has been declared National Guarania Day, falling under the umbrella of the National Year of the Guarania, established by Presidential Decree No. 3377. This decree also formed a National Guarania Commemoration Commission, headed by the National Secretariat of Culture.
Earlier this year, Berlin marked 100 Years Of Guarania with “Sounds Of The Soul Concert”.
