No Due to one of those ironies of life, in Paraguay it was decided to celebrate the day of the boy and 
the girl on August 16 of each year. But the reason is not happy at all.

Paraguay faced three South American countries in arms that cowardly allied themselves with the 
aim of wiping this nation off the face of the earth.

It was the year 1864 when the young South American republics suffered from internal turbulence 
that put the balance of the Río de la Plata region at risk.

In Uruguay a conservative government was overthrown by liberal forces who used force to come 
to power.

In Argentina, the new government wanted to have the populations included in the extinct 
Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata under its control.

In Brazil a Portuguese emperor reigned who wanted to maintain the old feudal customs.

In Paraguay, a young military son of the late president inherited power, who wanted above all to 
maintain the balance between the new Republics.

The war broke out for innumerable hidden and overt reasons. And three nations signed a Secret 
Pact to unite in arms against a small country.

The inequality in forces and armaments was enormously unfavorable for Paraguay. However, the 
war that would be won according to the allies in a matter of months lasted 5 years.

Towards the end of the war, with a Paraguayan army annihilated , the Allies went into a Total War, 
in which the civilian population was ruthlessly decimated.



Thus, on August 16, 1869, the Battle of Acosta Ñu was fought, also known as the Battle of Campo 
Grande.

The Allied forces estimated at 20,000 combatants, composed of modern cavalry and artillery 
against the rear of the Paraguayan army contingent retreating to the north.

According to estimates, the Paraguayan forces were made up of between 2,000 to 4,000 people, 
most of them civilians fleeing the enemy's bestiality who already knew from previous events that 
their lives would not be respected.

Of these 4,000 most were children, the rest women, the elderly and the wounded. Regardless of 
this, they decide to face the enemy, with the few weapons they possessed.

The fight begins in the morning, and does not end if not at dusk, when only the wounded were left 
on the battlefield, and the Allies light the grasslands to finish off anyone who was not dead.