Jasy Porá, Open Mbya Village

The life of the Guaraní native community revolves around the forest of Misiones. This is an invitation to learn about their culture and traditions.

A Guaraní brotherhood living in a community and following a lifestyle passed on by their elders still remains in the surroundings of Puerto Iguazú. For a while, the Mbya village known as Josy Porá has been open to visitors to teach them about their beliefs, their relationship with nature and their rites, which consist in worshipping Ñanderu, their creator.

We paid a visit to the venue located in the Yriapú Rainforest, where we found this native reserve. We were welcomed by one of its representatives, who guided us through a trail up to a woodland area containing typical species from the Paraná region. In the meantime, he told us stories and legends he had heard from his elders and which had been passed on from one generation to the next. These included his hunting secrets and ancient survival strategies. We made some questions about their relationship with the land, the sky and their gods. His answers were quite complete for us to grasp enough knowledge.

The main source of income for these people is the handicrafts they make, especially the baskets woven with vegetable fiber. They carve animal figures in wood and use seeds to make necklaces and bracelets.

His own stable craft fair
Carved wooden figures of animals
Guarani families
In the heart of Mount missionary

A group of children offered us several songs from their repertoire while they played some rudimentary drums. Afterwards, they escorted us joyfully, asking us about our own origin.

We had the chance to taste their typical dishes, rich in flavors. We added new flavors to our palate. We tasted mbeyú and reviro, two dishes based on flours of different origin, fat, salt and sugar in the second one..

We felt the conversations we had with the members of these Guaraní families showed us a different perspective of life. They have a more natural, simpler and quieter lifestyle. We rescued their desire to recover tradition and protect their identity and tongue. In a way, we learned many things we will never forget.

Mónica Pons Pablo Etchevers