2020-09-29 Tue

Battle of Boqueron Day, also known as Victory at Boqueron Day (Victoria de Boqueron), is a Paraguayan public holiday celebrated on September 29. It commemorates one of the most important battles of the Chaco War.

The Chaco War was fought between Paraguay and Bolivia from 1932 to 1935. Both countries wanted to seize control over Chaco Boreal (the northern part of the Gran Chaco region), which was thought to have rich oil deposits. The Battle of Boqueron lasted from September 7 to 29th September 1932.

It was the war's first major battle. The Bolivians repulsed the first Paraguayan assault. However, soon they started to suffer from the lack of freshwater. The shortage of water supply, food, medicine, and ammunition weakened them. Seeing this, the Paraguayans launched an all-or-nothing attack. On 29th September 1923, the Bolivians surrendered.

In the year 1952, Central Bank of Paraguay issued a 100 Guarani banknote. The obverse of the note depicts a Portrait of Marshal Jose Felix Estigarribia, Paraguayan "Hero of the Chaco War" and President of Paraguay whereas the reverse features the Legislative Palace (Palacio Legislativo) in the capital city of Asuncion, Paraguay.

Image Courtesy: worldbanknotescoins.com