Ciudad del Este , formerly Presidente Stroessner, was founded in February 3rd, 1957. It is currently the second most important city in Paraguay. Both its birth and growth are due to commerce and tourism, whose development was headstarted and later consolidated by two bi-national projects: Ponte da Amizade (Friendship Bridge) and Itaipu Power Dam. With over 120 thousand inhabitants, it is located on the edge of Paraná river, 194m over the sea level and 320 km away from Asuncíon.
Ciudad del Este has over 2.600 stores, many of them in shopping malls or commercial galleries.