“El Tio”, the spirit owner of the mountains

The words “El Tío” are Spanish for “the uncle” and evince the relationship of patronage that the miners have with the spirit. He is associated with pre-Hispanichuacas as well as the Christian Devil and is a central figure in the ritual life of Bolivian mining communities. An icon of the Tío is situated in each mineshaft to receive sacrificial offerings of alcohol, coca, cigarettes, llama blood and other ritual items from the miners in return for his goodwill and his guarantee of good health and good fortune in the mines.

Paraguay: The Mennonite settlers

Mennonite settlers came to Paraguay from Germany, Canada, Russia and other countries for a number of reasons: religious freedom, the chance to practice their beliefs without hindrance, the quest for land. Although German immigrants had settled in Paraguay before the turn of the 20th century, it wasn’t until the 1920’s and 30s that many, many more arrived.

Many of the immigrants from Russia were fleeing from the ravages of the Bolshevik Revolution and the later Stalin repressions. They traveled to Germany and to other countries, and eventually joined the emigration to Paraguay.

Paraguay welcomed the emigrants. During the War of the Triple Alliance with its neighbors Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina, Paraguay lost substantial territory and many men. Most of Paraguay’s population had settled on the eastern portion of the country, east of the River Paraguay, leaving the vast Chaco almost uninhabited. To populate this region of thorn forests, ponds, and marshes, and bolster both the economy and the dwindling population, Paraguay agreed to allow Mennonite settlements

In return for religious freedom, exemption from military service, the right to speak German in schools and elsewhere, the right to administer their own educational, medical, social organizations and financial institutions, the Mennonites agreed to colonize an area thought to be inhospitable and unproductive due to the lack of water. The 1921 law passed by the Paraguayan congress in effect allowed the Mennonites to create a state within the state of Boqueron.

Extracted from:  http://gosouthamerica.about.com/cs/southamerica/a/ParMennonites.htm

“River where the painted birds live” – meaning of Uruguay in Guarani

In 1928 the treat of Montevideo was signed and Uruguay was formed:

After the triumph of the Argentine forces in the so-called War of Brazil, and under combined diplomatic pressure from the United Kingdom and Brazil, on 20 February 1827, they opened peace talks with mediation by Great Britain.

Lord John Ponsonby was sent from London and proposed as a solution the total independence of the province as a means of reestablishing peace on La Plata, which would consolidate English commerce and impede what were two great states—Brazil and Argentina—which dominated the great estuary of the river.

(the neutrality of the words above are questioned, see the following link for more information:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1828_Treaty_of_Montevideo)