Ciudad del Este

Ciudad del Este
Táva Kuarahyresẽme (Avañe'ẽ)
City
August 2012 morning in Ciudad del Este
Ciudad del Este
Location of Ciudad del Este in Paraguay
Coordinates: 25°31′00″S 54°37′00″W / 25.51667°S 54.61667°W / -25.51667; -54.61667Coordinates: 25°31′00″S 54°37′00″W / 25.51667°S 54.61667°W / -25.51667; -54.61667
Country  Paraguay
Department Alto Paraná
Founded February 3, 1957
Government
 • Intendente Municipal Sandra McLeod de Zacarías
Area
 • Total 104 km2 (40 sq mi)
Population (2016)
 • Total 293,817
 • Density 2,800/km2 (7,300/sq mi)
Time zone UTC-04 (AST)
 • Summer (DST) UTC-03 (ADT)
Postal code 7000
Area code(s) (595) (61)
Climate Cfa
Website Official website

Ciudad del Este (Spanish pronunciation: [sjuˈðað ðel ˈeste], Spanish for City of the East) initialed CDE is the second largest city in Paraguay and capital of the Alto Paraná Department, situated on the Paraná River. As of 2008 its population was of 320,782. The city consists of a large population of Lebanese immigrants,[1] as well as Taiwanese.[2] Guaraní International Airport, located in neighboring city Minga Guazú, serves Ciudad del Este. On a daily basis, many tourists from Brazil cross the border to enter Ciudad del Este to take advantage of lower taxes and discounts on many consumer items, in particular on Black Friday.[3][4] The city is home to Club Atlético 3 de Febrero, whose home ground Estadio Antonio Aranda was used for the 1999 Copa América, and is Paraguay's third biggest football stadium.

History

Founded in 1957, it was originally called Puerto Flor de Lis, then until 1989 Puerto Presidente Stroessner, after Alfredo Stroessner. The city is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ciudad del Este.

Geography

The city, coextensive with the homonymous district, is located in south-eastern Paraguay. Part of an international tripoint known as the "Triple Frontier", Ciudad del Este lies opposite the Brazilian city of Foz do Iguaçu (state of Paraná). Separated from it by Paraná River, it is linked by the Friendship Bridge. The Argentine border is located between the neighbouring town of Presidente Franco and Puerto Iguazú (Misiones Province). Ciudad del Este, along with the towns and districts of Hernandarias, Minga Guazú and Presidente Franco, forms a metropolitan area named Gran Ciudad del Este (i.e. Greater Ciudad del Este). The location of Ciudad del Este on the international route that connects southeastern Bolivia with Curitiba and Porto Alegre has contributed to turning this city into a smuggling post between Paraguay and Brazil and of cocaine between southern Bolivia and the large cities of São Paulo, Curitiba, Porto Alegre, and Florianapolis. Because of this negative reputation, many Argentine and Brazilian tourists visiting Lake Itaipú and the Iguazú Falls, both on the Paraná River, avoid Ciudad del Este.[5]

Climate

Ciudad del Este has a humid subtropical climate under Köppen’s climate classification. Summer is hot and humid, with an average of 26 °C (79 °F) in January. The high humidity usually becomes suffocating in the heat. Winter is temperate and irregular, as there are days of intense cold 0 °C (32 °F) and even hot 30 °C (86 °F). The average daily temperature is 16 °C (61 °F) in July.

Ciudad del Este sees on average roughly 1,700 millimetres (67 in) of precipitation annually. In the winter of 1982, it snowed for the first time in the city, being the second snowfall registered in the country.

Population

Ciudad del Este is a multicultural and diverse city. It is home to a large Asian-born population, specifically of Taiwanese, Korean, Lebanese, and Iranian origin, evident in the city's mosques and pagodas. The Taiwanese government paid for the construction of the city's town hall in exchange for Paraguayan support in the United Nations, hence the Taiwanese flag that flies on the building. From the 1970s, Sunni Muslim Arabs moved to the city. This changed in the 1980s to Shia Muslim Arabs from South Lebanon.[7]

Economy

Ciudad del Este has repeatedly been on the list of notorious markets for infringing goods by the United States Trade Representative.[8][9] The city is the headquarters of the company that operates the nearby Itaipu Dam. The city's economy (and Paraguay's economy as well) relies heavily on the mood of the Brazilian economy, as 95% of Paraguay's share of the energy generated by the Itaipu Dam is sold to Brazil (for US$300 million), and that every day many Brazilians cross the border to buy less expensive products[10] (US$1.2 billion, mostly electronics). Smuggling is a major occupation in the city, with some estimates putting the value of this black market at five times the national economy. It is reported that Lebanese immigrants with links to Hezbollah are operating money laundering activities and cocaine trafficking in the city.[11]

Transportation

Guarani International Airport, located in the suburb city of Minga Guazú, connects the city with other South American destinations.

Migration–Diplomatics

The following consulates or consulate generals for diplomatic services are located in Ciudad del Este:

  • Argentina Argentina – Consulate General: Boquerón c/Adrián Jara - Edificio China 7º piso[12]
  • Brazil Brazil – Consulate: Calle Pampliega Nr. 205 Esquina con Pai Perez[13]
  • France France – Honorary Consulate: Paraná Country Club, Hernandarias, Casilla de correo 309, 7000 Ciudad del Este[14]
  • Germany Germany – Honorary Consulate: Avenida Paraná 77, Paraná Country Club[15]
  • Mexico Mexico – Honorary Consulate: Av. Adrian Jara, edif. Banco Unión, 3º piso, Oficina 20[16]
  • Peru Peru – Honorary Consulate: Km 4 ½, Monday, B° Bernardino Caballero[17]
  • Slovakia Slovakia – Honorary Consulate: Calle Boquerón 310, Edif. Grupo Monalisa S.A.[18]
  • Syria Syria – Honorary Consulate: Avda. 11 de Septiembre 399[19]
  • Taiwan Republic of China – Consulate General: Avda. de Lago s/n Barrio Boquerón CP 131[20]
  • Turkey Turkey – Honorary Consulate: Av. Monseñor Rodríguez s/n entre Itaybaté y Rubio Ñu, Edificio Mannah 10 Piso A[21]

The city also houses several departments for legal, identification and migration matters:

  • Identifications Department – Located on the street Súper Carretera[22]
  • Supreme Court of Justice – The place is also known as the Palace of Justice. Located near the Estadio Antonio Oddone Sarubbi of the Club Atlético 3 de Febrero: Avda. Bernardino Caballero e/ Cerro León[23]
  • INTERPOL – The city has a regional office of Interpol.[24]
  • National Direction of Migration – Located at the head of the Friendship Bridge bordering Brazil: Cabecera del Puente de la Amistad, margen derecho (Ruta Internacional Nº 7 - Dr. José Gaspar Rodriguez de Francia)[25]

In media

  • Ciudad del Este was featured during a late season 8/early season 9 storyline on the television series JAG in 2003.
  • In 2005, it was a filming location for Miami Vice, a film directed by Michael Mann and based on his television series of the same name.
  • The Triple Frontier (or here referenced as the Tri-Border Area) was featured as the backdrop for the NCIS Season 2 episode "An Eye for an Eye", as NCIS Special Agents Anthony DiNozzo (Michael Weatherly) and Caitlin Todd (Sasha Alexander) traveled to this area of southern Paraguay in order to investigate a professor involved in a case in which a pair of blue eyeballs were mailed to a man who then committed suicide. A deleted scene from this episode would later be shown in the Season 8 episode, "A Man Walks into a Bar" as the team remember their dead colleague, Agent Todd.
  • The city was also mentioned in Vince Flynn's novel, Extreme Measures. A terrorist uses this city as a training area before staging a somewhat successful operation on the United States
  • The city is the setting for the 2014 graphic novel "Cuidad", written by Ande Parks and illustrated by Fernando Leon Gonzalez.
  • A mission from Ubisoft's game "Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Blacklist" is set here

References

  1. ↑ "SICPY: Comunidad de árabes, Ciudad del Este". www.sicpy.gov.py. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  2. ↑ "PARAGUAY'S TIES TO TAIWAN ALIVE, WELL". www.joc.com. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  3. ↑ Schemo, Diana Jean (15 March 1998). "In Paraguay Border Town, Almost Anything Goes". Retrieved 11 April 2018 – via NYTimes.com.
  4. ↑ S.A.P., El Mercurio (10 May 2012). "Miles de turistas se agolpan en Ciudad del Este, Paraguay, en apertura del Black Friday local - Emol.com". emol.com. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  5. ↑ "Ciudad del Este - Dictionary definition of Ciudad del Este - Encyclopedia.com: FREE online dictionary". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  6. ↑ "Ciudad del Este Climate Normals 1961–1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved January 23, 2015.
  7. ↑ John Tofik Karam, (Un)covering Islam and Its Fifty-Year History in a South American Frontier Region Archived 2011-01-07 at the Wayback Machine. (2011), Florida International University.
  8. ↑ Savitz, Eric. "Baidu Hits U.S. List Of "Notorious Markets" For Infringing Goods". Forbes. Retrieved 2017-03-07.
  9. ↑ "2016 Notorious Markets List Spotlights Fight against Global Piracy and Counterfeiting of American Products | United States Trade Representative". ustr.gov. Retrieved 2017-03-07.
  10. ↑ Schemo, Diana Jean (March 15, 1998). "In Paraguay Border Town, Almost Anything Goes". New York Times.
  11. ↑ "Lebanon Is Protecting Hezbollah's Cocaine Trade in Latin America". Foreign Policy. 15 June 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2018.
  12. ↑ http://ccest.cancilleria.gov.ar/
  13. ↑ "Ciudad del Este - Consulado Brasil em Ciudad del Este". www.embaixadas.net. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  14. ↑ "Consulate of France in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay". www.embassypages.com. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  15. ↑ http://www.embassypages.com/missions/embassy24357/%5Bpermanent+dead+link%5D
  16. ↑ "Consulate of Mexico in Ciudad del Este, Paraguay". www.embassypages.com. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  17. ↑ http://www.embassypages.com/missions/embassy24371/
  18. ↑ http://www.embassypages.com/missions/embassy8001/
  19. ↑ http://www.embassypages.com/missions/embassy24374/
  20. ↑ http://www.embassypages.com/missions/embassy8871/
  21. ↑ http://www.embassypages.com/missions/embassy24378/
  22. ↑ "Departamento de Identificaciones". Foursquare. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  23. ↑ "Sexta Circunscripción - Alto Paraná - Poder Judicial". pj.gov.py. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  24. ↑ "Libanés con doble identidad está preso en Interpol". ultimahora.com. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
  25. ↑ http://www.migraciones.gov.py/datos-de-contactos%5Bpermanent+dead+link%5D
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.