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Foz, 111 years old

Foz do Iguaçu: from the first bite to Vila Iguassu

The newspaper Nosso Tempo published a special supplement 1889-1989, marking the centenary of the trail and expedition that led to the founding of the city.

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Foz do Iguaçu: from the first bite to Vila Iguassu
According to Nosso Tempo, partial view of Avenida Brasil in 1932, at the height of Rua Bartolomeu de Gusmão.
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Foz do Iguaçu from the first sting to Vila Iguassu was reported by the newspaper Our Time, in the June 1989 edition. The weekly went further, with a special supplement that, on that occasion, celebrated with journalism the 75th anniversary of the city's emancipation.

The notebook is a source of history, about facts and characters, the trajectory and contradictions contemplating the path that became a path and built a municipality. The content is more than a subsidy, it is an invitation to exercise citizenship based on memory.

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The newspaper was nine years old and helped to rescue and value the history of Foz do Iguaçu by interviewing pioneers and conducting research. “By highlighting the centennial of the trail opened in 1889, we are paying tribute to the indigenous people, the mensus and the settlers. They are the pioneers who formed the first nucleus of inhabitants of what is now Foz do Iguaçu,” the editors note.

Foz do Iguaçu, the bite

The newspaper reports that the first attempt to establish a military group on the border between Brazil and Paraguay, in Paraná, dates back to 1765. However, armed colonies were established after 1870, at the end of the “Great War”, for border protection purposes.

The indigenous people lived in the region. In 1881, the first non-indigenous people arrived and, six years later, the nascent population grew with the arrival of families from Argentina, due to “internal problems in that country”, the pages explain.

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“There were also, at certain times of the year, numerous groups of workers who came exclusively to cut wood and work with yerba mate,” he adds. Regular expansion with state presence would begin with the Iguaçu Military Colony, subordinate to the Paraná Strategic Commission.

Commission headed by engineer and military captain Belarmino de Mendonça Lobo left Guarapuava (PR) to “open the trail that would take them to the mouth of the Iguaçu River”, continues the Our Time. The route has been completed.

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A new expedition returned in 1889, with 34 soldiers – three women married to military men – and twelve workers, four muleteers. There were 34 cargo ships carrying essential supplies, such as food, tools and utensils.

On November 23, 1889, Lieutenant Antonio Baptista de Araújo posted notices in the town, announcing the beginning of the foundation work for the Military Colony. He also announced that the corporation had the authority to distribute land.

Iguaçu Falls and Iguassu Village

The special notebook of Our Time It is said that, in the first decade of the last century, the development of the colony was slow. Trade was weak, there were four establishments, in addition to the military command offices, the revenue office and the telegraph station. The population: 2 thousand residents.

“There were small sugar and brandy industries and subsistence agriculture,” the newspaper reports. “The main economic base was the exploitation of yerba mate and timber,” it details.

Our Time remember that food came from Posadas, Argentina, and from Mato Grosso. The currency in circulation near the mouth of the Iguaçu was the Argentine peso. Houses were built from hand-sawn wood.

In 1910, the district called Iguassu was created by State Law No. 971, linked to the municipality of Guarapuava. And elevated to this status in 1914, by State Law No. 1.383. Later, it became a district headquarters and municipality. The story continues, and continues to happen in this year of 2025, with Foz do Iguaçu reaching 111 years of emancipation.

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History of Foz at a click

The portal Our Digital Time brings together the newspaper's entire collection, a project launched to mark the rebel newspaper's 30th anniversary. The aim is to preserve the city's memory, facilitate access to local and regional history, and democratize access to the media collection via the internet.

Access is free. The collection is a valuable resource for residents who want to delve into the history of the city and its actors, as told in the 387 editions of the newspaper that have been digitized, covering the period from December 1980 to December 1989.

Click here and access Nosso Tempo Digital

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Paulo Bogler

Paulo Bogler is a journalist and reporter for H2FOZ.