During my time in Asunción I’d heard and read about la Chacarita, the most dangerous neighborhood in the city. Tourists were advised not to enter and it seemed to have a bad reputation even with some locals. I did as told and didn’t enter, until I booked a tour which would show me more about the area. We met the guide at the edge of the neighborhood, in a cultural center, where we had an introduction talk. The walking tours started to educate people about the neighborhood and change its reputation. After all, it’s people who live in la Chacarita. People with hopes and dreams and problems, like everyone. Part of the project to transform the barrio was to add street art. The art is slowly getting signs with an explanation, even in braille!
Honestly, the whole center of Asunción gave me strange vibes. During the day it was bustling, but at night there were hardly any people on the street. A random person waiting for the bus. The odd person walking their dog. I can’t feel completely at ease in dark, deserted places. Many buildings were neglected and it was obvious that people had been leaving the historic center to settle in more modern neighborhoods. What could be a charming, cosy place, was now strictly business. Bordering the historic center is la Chacarita. People in the parliament building pretty much look out over the roofs of corrugated iron of houses that stand between the center and the Paraguay river.
During the tour we see a couple of old mansions. Although they’re about to fall apart now, I can imagine the grandeur it used to have. We’re lucky. The lady who has the key to the gate is around and we get to enter the overgrown garden. There’s a beautiful painting of an old woman on one of the walls. On the actual mansion, the blue paint is fading away and some of the stained-glass windows are broken. Once upon a time a rich person had lived here, but now there’s only the shell of the house. Most houses are quite modest, although not all tiny or run down. For most of the tour I feel like I’m just walking through a neighborhood with smaller houses. There is crime, mostly related to drugs, but the majority of the inhabitants are regular people with regular jobs.
La Chacarita is in a rather unfortunate position, so close to the river. It’s been flooded multiple times and yet there’s construction going on in some of the flooded areas. It’ll probably be washed away again at some point. The neighborhood doesn’t have all the services and facilities of the rest of the city. For example, there’s way more garbage lying around. But it’s a town in itself, with stores, barbershops and football fields. We were about to visit the football field to see a tree standing in the the middle of the grandstands when the sprinklers came on. I didn’t get to see that, but I got to see a lot of street art. It’s so colorful and a lot of it relates to stories and experiences of inhabitants. For example, the artist who invented Guarania, a local music style, grew up in la Chacarita. Our guide frequently got out his phone to let us listen to local music.
After the tour we sat chatting in the place where we’d begun. We’d gotten quite hungry and the tour guides walked to the center with us. Coincidentally there was some kind of street party going on. There were stands with food and souvenirs, a stage was being prepared and all the restaurants and cafés had expanded their terraces. I sat down at one of them with my travel buddy, the English speaking tour guide and her mum. I mentioned I’d seen some fans and would like to check them out to take home to my dance classes, where the temperature gets quite high at times. Shortly after that I was gifted a fan by the mum. She was so happy to explore the city with us and enthusiastically shared her stories.
After lunch I my travel buddy had to do some work and I decided to go to a different neighborhood for the museo del barro. My new Paraguayan friends offered to drop me off, since they were heading in the same direction. We stopped at a few places along the way to the car. One was a covered handicraft market, which was just being opened by one of Paraguay’s ministers. We walked in as she was giving her speech. Further on was the museum in the old train station. It’s no longer in use, but there was an old train carriage where a group of high school students was pretending to travel. I even found a piece of Berlin! I suddenly saw some very familiar street art and found Asunción’s “east side gallery”.
When we drove to the next museum, the ladies asked if they could join me. We found out the museum was free on this day and explored the art: the masks, the paintings, the sculptures, the photography. After this we said our goodbyes as I hopped into an Uber back to the hostel. I ate something and went back to the street party. It was dark by now and there were a lot more people. Bands and DJs were playing and everyone was dancing and drinking. I didn’t stay too long because I was alone, but I loved seeing this side of Asunción. This day had gone so differently from how I’d expected. I’d learned about another side of the city, got to know the generosity and friendliness of the people and saw the historic center come alive.
