The Paraguayan arpa has become the unofficial national folk instrument
There was a time when we used to congratulate ourselves on the fact that we were the only country in the world to have a musical instrument as our national symbol. It was perhaps part of some de Valeran hangover in which we compensated for our economic insecurities by proclaiming our supposed cultural superiority.
And we are not the only country in the world to regard the harp as a national symbol. In Paraguay, while not officially recognised as an emblem of the state, the harp has long been seen as a vital component of the national identity, or the idea of paraguayidad, which may be translated as Paraguayan-ness. But whereas in Ireland, the harp was a symbol of national self-determination, in Paraguay, it was initially associated with the coloniser.
While Fields was among the first Catholic priests to minister to the Guaraní in the late sixteenth century, he and the handful of his Jesuit companions who had been sent to Paraguay were not at that stage able to establish a permanent mission outside of Asunción. They did, however, play a vital role in ensuring the continuing presence of the Jesuits in Paraguay, as well as contributing to the compilation of the first Spanish-Guaraní dictionary.
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