Ciudad del Este
Encyclopedia
Ciudad del Este is the second largest city in Paraguay
Paraguay
Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...

 and capital of Alto Paraná department, located at the Rio Paraná.

Founded in 1957, it was originally called Puerto Flor de Lis, then until 1989 Puerto Presidente Stroessner, after Alfredo Stroessner
Alfredo Stroessner
Alfredo Stroessner Matiauda, whose name is also spelled Strössner or Strößner , was a Paraguayan military officer and dictator from 1954 to 1989...

. It is part of a triangle known as the Triple Frontier
Triple Frontier
The Triple Frontier is a tri-border area along the junction of Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil, where the Iguazú and Paraná rivers converge. Near the convergence are the cities of Ciudad del Este, Alto Paraná; Puerto Iguazú, Misiones and Foz do Iguaçu, Paraná...

. It is linked to the Brazilian city of Foz do Iguaçu
Foz do Iguaçu
Foz do Iguaçu is the 7th largest city in Paraná state, Brazil, with a population of 255,900 inhabitants. It is located approximately 650 km west of Curitiba, Parana's capital city, being the westernmost city in that state...

 by the Friendship Bridge
Friendship Bridge (Paraguay–Brazil)
The Friendship Bridge is an arch bridge connecting the Brazilian city of Foz do Iguaçu and the Paraguayan city of Ciudad del Este.-History and importance:...

. The city is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ciudad del Este
Roman Catholic Diocese of Ciudad del Este
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Ciudad del Este is a diocese located in the city of Ciudad del Este in the Ecclesiastical province of Asunción in Paraguay.-History:...

.

Population

The city has a large Asian-born population, specifically Taiwanese
Taiwanese people
Taiwanese people may refer to individuals who either claim or are imputed cultural identity focused on the island of Taiwan and/or Taiwan Area which have been governed by the Republic of China since 1945...

, Koreans
Koreans in Paraguay
Koreans in Paraguay formed one of the earliest Korean diaspora communities in Latin America; however, they were always overshadowed by the larger Korean communities in neighbouring Brazil and Argentina, and since the late 1990s, their population has fallen significantly.-Migration history:The first...

, Lebanese, and Iranians
Iranian citizens abroad
The term Iranians abroad or Iranian diaspora refers to the Iranian people born in Iran but living outside of Iran with their children.As of 2010, there are an estimated four to five million Iranians living abroad, mostly in North America, Europe, Persian Gulf States, Turkey, Australia and the...

, evident in the city's mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...

 and pagoda
Pagoda
A pagoda is the general term in the English language for a tiered tower with multiple eaves common in Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and other parts of Asia. Some pagodas are used as Taoist houses of worship. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most commonly Buddhist,...

s. The Taiwanese government paid for the construction of the city's town hall in exchange for Paraguayan support in the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

, 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.

Economy

The city is the headquarters of the company that operates the nearby Itaipu Dam dam. The city's economy (and Paraguay's economy
Economy of Paraguay
Paraguay has a market economy characterized by a large informal sector. Agriculture dominates the economy, but unequal land distribution has resulted in a large class of peasant farm laborers. A large portion of the population is uninvolved in the formal economy, instead existing as subsistence...

 as well) relies heavily on the mood of the Brazilian economy
Economy of Brazil
The economy of Brazil is the world's seventh largest by nominal GDP and eighth largest by purchasing power parity. Brazil has moderately free markets and an inward-oriented 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 (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. Even if someone or some countries affirm that there are terrorist organizations in the area, no evidence have been already found of this statement .

Transportation

Guarani International Airport
Guarani International Airport
-External links: *...

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

In media

  • In 2005, it was a filming location
    Filming location
    A filming location is a place where some or all of a film or television series is produced, in addition to or instead of using sets constructed on a movie studio backlot or soundstage...

     for Miami Vice
    Miami Vice (film)
    Miami Vice is a 2006 American crime drama film about two Miami police detectives, Crockett and Tubbs, who go undercover to fight drug trafficking operations. The film is a loose adaptation of the 1980s TV series of the same name, written, produced, and directed by Michael Mann...

    , a film directed by Michael Mann and based on his television series of the same name
    Miami Vice
    Miami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami. It ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984–1989...

    .

  • The Triple Frontier (or here referenced as the Tri-Border Area) is featured as the backdrop for the NCIS episode "An Eye for an Eye", as NCIS Special Agents Anthony DiNozzo and Caitlin Todd must travel down 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 murder victim.

Climate

External links

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