Filadelfia is a town in the
Gran Chaco desert of western
Paraguay and is the capital of the
Boquerón department. It is the
centre of the Fernheim Mennonite
colony, the largest of the three in
the country. Founded in 1930, it lay
near the front of the Chaco War, but
was little affected. It became
divided in the Second World War,
with some of the originally German
colonists supporting the Nazis and
later being expelled.
Today the
town is home to a museum, a library,
a radio station and a hospital. The
colony's villages lie around
Filadelfia, as do several labour
camps, home to much of the area's
native population, from the Chulupí,
Lengua, Toba-Pilaga, Sanapaná and
Ayoreo groups.