Regional Office for Culture in Latin America and the Caribbean

Portal of Culture of Latin America and the Caribbean

Paraguay - Kamba Kokué neighbourhood

Paraguarí was one of the estates belonging to the Jesuits from the College of Asunción. When they were expelled from the Spanish Kingdom in 1767 among their most precious assets we find not only 1.002 slaves but also the estates of Paraguarí and San Lorenzo. After the Jesuit’s departure all the slaves were sold and all the lands were shared out. There is no information on the particular resettlement of each area, including Paraguarí. At present the community of Kamba kokue[1] and Paraguarí are very important for the memory of slavery.

 

[1] Farm of the blacks, in Guaraní.

 

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There are no material remains, except for the former school, or the Jesuit residence which is today the police headquarters, at one side of the church. The community is dedicated to the Virgen del Rosario (Lady of the Rosary).
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Kamba Kokué neighbourhood. Chapel of Our Lady of the Rosary Kamba kokue – Paraguarí. Photo: John M. Lipsky
Kamba Kokué neighbourhood. Map of the Paraguarí estate . Source: Maeder, 2001, p. 337

Other data of interest

Paraguay

Historical name

Estancia de Paraguarí (Paraguarí Estate)

Founding Date

1620 December11

Address

El barrio de Kamba Kokué, se encuentra a 100 metros de la Ruta Nacional N° 1 "Mariscal Francisco Solano López", a la entrada de la ciudad, a 65 kilómetros de Asunción, Partido de Paraguarí[1].   [1] Gran parte del antiguo valle de Yarigua'á, actual departamento Paraguarí, fue estancia ganadera de la orden jesuítica, formando un todo con sus vastas posesiones que iban desde el río Paraná, por el sur y el este, hasta San Lorenzo del Campo Grande, por el oeste. , PC: 4000 .

Links to social networks

https://www.facebook.com/KambaKokue/

Classification

Human settlement

Category

Others

Function-Testimony

Multipurpose Settlement

Access level

Free

Current Use

Population settlement

Original use

Productive estate to supply the College of Asunción.

Property kind

Mixed

Expressions of intangible heritage associated

The Kamba Kokue Association of People of African Descent organizes since year 2005 and year after year the Kamba Festival to recall the presence of slaves with music and dancing. There is a dance group in the area. The ballet in itself is a focal point and the people know that there is a community of people of African descent in Paraguarí.

Declarations

  • Identified as Memory Site of Paraguay in the framework of “The Slave Route in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay” project.