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Guarani Language Day is being celebrated in Paraguay to promote the country's diversity and its roots in the Indigenous people and their territories.
The language was granted constitutional ranking August 25, 1967.
When a new Constitution was drafted in 1992, the nation was declared pluricultural and bilingual, granting Guarani the category of an official language, giving it a legal status on a par with Spanish.
The Law of Languages, approved in 2010, recognized both had an equal footing.
The Guarani language was then introduced into educational programs across the country.
Nationwide events to celebrate its status have been taking place throughout the week and all Paraguayans have been invited to take part to honor their ancestry.
Indigenous Language Day is now in its fourth consecutive year and is organized by the Secretariat of Linguistic Policy in tribute to the the Indigenous people of Paraguay.
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The program "Rohayhu che ñe'e," which means "I love my language" in Guarani, aims to promote the use of the Guarani language in all areas of social interaction.
Celebrations have also been held this week to mark the Day of Paraguayan folklore.
Traditional customs were highlighted by music, games, stories and food.
Around 90 percent of Paraguay's population is bilingual in Spanish and Guarani, while 57 percent only communicate in the pre-Columbian language, according to the last national census.
It is estimated that both the language and the Guarani society are more than five thousand years old, a theory based on archaeological studies.
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