| San Estanislao de Kostka | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
|||
| Nickname(s): Santaní | |||
| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | Paraguay | ||
| Department | San Pedro | ||
| Founded | November 13, 1749 by the Jesuit Sebastián Yegros | ||
| Government | |||
| • Intendente Municipal | Andrés Rafael Jara Melo | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 2,625 km2 (1,013.5 sq mi) | ||
| Elevation | 134 m (440 ft) | ||
| Population (2008) | |||
| • Total | 52,983 | ||
| • Density | 20.18/km2 (52.3/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | -4 Gmt | ||
| Postal code | 8210 | ||
| Area code(s) | (595) (43) | ||
San Estanislao de Kostka (usually referred to as San Estanislao or, more commonly, Santaní) is a city and district in the department of San Pedro, Paraguay.
Contents |
San Estanislao was founded on November 13, 1749 by Father Sebastián de Yegros, a Jesuit priest from Asunción. The town was originally founded as Jesuit mission with the goal of converting the surrounding Indian population.
The city is named for a Polish priest who was canonized by Pope Benedict XIII on November 13, 1726, 23 years before San Estanislao was founded.
Santaní, as the city is commonly referred to locally and throughout Paraguay, is a contraction of the word for saint in Spanish ("san") and the word for Estanislao in Guaraní ("taní"). People from Santaní are referred to as "santanianos" in Spanish.
In 1869, during the Triple Alliance War, San Estanislao was briefly the seat of the national government under Marshall Francisco Solano López. Following battles elsewhere in Paraguay, López and several of his regiments passed through the city. López governed from the city from August 23–31, 1869.
Around 1880, San Estanislao became home to immigrants both from other parts of Paraguay and from Europe, especially from Germany and Italy. The influence of the Italian immigrants, in particular, can still be seen today in various buildings in Italian styles and the last names of some of the oldest Santaniana families.
Decades later, around 1920, Santaní also received immigrants from Lebanon. After arriving to Itacurubí del Rosario, some of the new arrivals made their way to Santaní. Other countries that sent relatively large numbers of immigrants to the city were France, Portugal, Brazil, and Spain.
During the postwar period after 1870, Santaní and the surrounding countryside were sustained mostly through agriculture and forestry. Tobacco was the major crop, and its production and packaging for export were a main contributor of jobs.
Today, the primary economic activity continues to be agriculture (especially cotton, mandioca, soy, and sesame). Beef and milk production, forestry, commerce, and regional services (medical treatment, banking, and construction) also contribute to the city's economy.
San Estanislao is home to schools ranging from primary- to university-level, both public and private.
In 1994, a College of Economic Sciences was established in the city as part of the UNA. There are more than 10 universities in downtown Santani.
Travel time between San Estanislao and Asunción (232 km away) was greatly reduced with the inauguration of Route 3 in May 2004. Buses leave the terminal to Asuncion every half an hour.
Santani is a college town, and its many Plaza's come to life after 9pm when students get out of class. Sidewalk cafes serve pizza and beer from 6pm-12am and hamburger stands in the plaza stay open all night. It is common for people to cruise the strip on their slowly on their motorcycles, beer in hand and music blasting. There is one karaoke bar called "La Rustica" which turns into a dance club after 12 or 12:30am. The bartender/DJ plays everything from cumbia to reggeton to Brazilian music and reggae.