The Paraguayan Chamber of Deputies approved on Tuesday, August 11, the bill that declares April 14 as National Vorí Vorí Day. The initiative, which now goes to the Executive Branch for sanction, pays tribute to the traditional dish, recognized as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of the country since 2017, and its international projection.
The original bill, presented by Deputy Luis Federico Franco (PLRA-Central), initially proposed August 22 for the commemoration. However, the Chamber of Senators modified the date to April 14, seeking to align the celebration with the worldwide recognition obtained by vorí vorí. On that date, the international gastronomy website TasteAtlas classified the Paraguayan soup as the best in the world, elevating its global prestige.
During the session, Deputy Héctor Figueredo (ANR-Paraguarí), president of the Industry, Commerce, Tourism and Cooperativism Commission, defended accepting the Senate's modifications. He argued that the new date symbolizes the international consecration of the dish and reinforces its role in Paraguayan cultural identity.
The sanctioned law determines that the National Secretariat of Culture (SNC), in coordination with the National Secretariat of Tourism (Senatur), the Ministry of Education and Sciences (MEC), departmental and municipal governments, and other institutions, develop plans and programs to promote, disseminate, and value vorí vorí inside and outside the country.
In parallel, deputies analyzed in the same session a proposal to declare the Virgin of Caacupé festival as intangible cultural heritage of Paraguay. The project, which is on the discussion agenda, is based on UNESCO criteria and highlights the living character of the celebration, its transmission between generations, and its symbolic meaning for national identity.
Among the elements considered for the declaration of the Caacupé festival are the pilgrimages, masses and novenas, devotional promises, religious music, crafts, associated traditional gastronomy (such as chipa and butifarra), and community practices of hospitality towards pilgrims. The community bearing this heritage includes devotees from across the country, inhabitants of the city of Caacupé, and the local Diocese.