> There are two landlocked countries in South America. One is Bolivia, and what'sthe other?And the answer: Paraguay. Photo credit: Tetsumo [https://www.flickr.com/people/7386864@N08].One of the twolandlocked countries in South America, Paraguay shares borders with Bolivia,Brazil, and Argentina. As written in their 1992 constitution, the officiallanguages of Paraguay are Spanish and the indigenous language of Guaraní, whichis more widely spoken throughout the country than the Spanish language.Sometimes called the Heart of South America due to its central location in thecontinent, Paraguay is the only country in the Americas to have never had acoast. Interestingly, however, Paraguay has the largest navy of any landlockedcountry in the world. As a cattle-raising country, beef is an essential element of Paraguayan cuisine.In fact, Paraguay actually hosted the world's largest barbecue in 2008, withabout 30,000 attendees (talk about a beef cake!). Other notable Paraguayandishes include the sopa paraguaya (a spongy cake similar to corn bread), mbejú (a starch cake), and soyo (a thick meat soup, seasoned with spices andvegetables). Paraguay is home to around 7 million people, and clocks in as just about themost ethnically homogenous country in Latin America. The vast majority ofParaguayan residents identify as Mestizo, meaning mixed European and Indigenousrace. Paraguay is a bilingual country where most speak Guaraní and Spanish, manyof whom identify nationally with the ability to speak Guaraní. Jopara is a mixof the two that is sometimes similarly used. Paraguay has many curious demographics and practices. Despite colonization, themajority of its population speak the native language and participate in nativecustoms. This is due to the fact that Jesuit missionaries and Spanish conquererslearned the Guaraní language to better ally themselves with the population. Overtime, while more Mestizo children were born, Guaraní continued to be taught.Spanish conquerers permitted this transaction of language as it helped savetheir efforts in key moments of battle. Today, native Guarani culture continuesto be celebrated. Check out the attractions and history of Paraguay here[https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/paraguay].